TechRadar Verdict
Pros
- +
Light and slim
- +
Sandy Bridge power
- +
Strong
- +
Carry case supplied
- +
Great battery life
Cons
- -
Pricey for an 11-inch machine
- -
Small keyboard
- -
Limited connectivity
- -
Frustrating track pad
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The Asus Zenbook UX21 is the first 11-inch ultrabook to hit the shelves, joining the likes of the Acer Aspire S3 and its bigger brother, the Asus Zenbook UX31.
It expands the lineup of the new breed of super light and thin laptops, which has been nurtured by Intel. The ultrabook market is quickly expanding, with the Lenovo IdeaPad U300 and Toshiba Portege Z830 expected at the end of November.
The Asus Zenbook UX21 brings the exceptional power of the Intel Ultrabook to the small form laptop market, making it a different proposition to any existing netbook.
There's Sandy Bridge power for starters, and power to match any full form laptop, but Asus has condensed all this technology into the smallest of chassis.
Of course, comparisons will be immediately drawn with the Apple MacBook Air, which is one of the best ultra-portable laptops money can buy, and these two 11-inch portables are very closely matched.
The Asus Zenbook UX21 matches the Apple MacBook Air in every respect. It's just as well-built, made out of a single piece of aluminium, just as light and oozes the same head-turning style and class that makes people cast admiring glances while you work in public.
It has the same Intel Core i5 low voltage 1.6GHz processor, and a 128GB solid state hard drive, which keeps the system really responsive and fast.
While they've slashed the size of this waif- Ultrabook, and retaining some top class tech, Asus has created the best netbook ever made.
