Asus UX31LA - stealth Haswell

[s44]

I realize most of you have been waiting for the new Zenbook under its Infinity tag and model #, the UX301, and have dismissed any UX31 models as last year's.

Well, not quite. This model, $1200 for i5/8gb/128gb (I believe that leaves one of the two M.2 SSD slots open) is actually a refresh called the Zenbook Touch. Not only does it add, well, touch (1080p IPS multitouch) but actually brings Haswell to the table. Finally!

The change is so stealth, however, that even the stat listings are wrong. The battery claim is an Ivy-esque 5 hours, but the Sweclockers test puts the Haswell i7 version of the UX31LA right with the Haswell XPS12, which is pretty good.

Even though not enough people have bought this to nail down the SSD upgrade particulars, this looks to be a much better option than the arm-and-a-leg pricing of 25*14 and QHD+ ultrabooks this year. I guess there's also the Yoga 2, but the color issues have me a bit spooked -- and Asus can certainly build 'em.

 

[Infohawk]

So what is the difference with the infinity (301) then? Resolution? Does the infinity only come with iris graphics? Anything else?

I am fine with 1080p but i wouldn't mind the iris graphics.

 

[s44]

Resolution, no Iris, and I think last year's chassis design (metal lid) instead of this year's (glass).

 

[you2]

No review yet; not sure how long battery life will be...

 

[s44]

No review yet; not sure how long battery life will be...

Not of the US model, but the Sweclockers link is to their battery test page. 7.5 hours in their browsing test, which is 150% of the Ivy Bridge UX31A's time.

 

[FwFred]

Price is too high compared to the Yoga. Best Buy has i7/8GB/256GB for the same price, with a higher res screen and convertible form factor.f

My Dad has the UX31A Ivy. Nice, but I wouldn't put the build quality above the Yoga. Hopefully they'll discount this one.

 

[s44]

The Yoga 2 has a serious display flaw (yellows screwed up) with no sign of whether there can or will be a fix.

The same panel looks awesome in the (arm and a leg) Samsung Book 9+. Both of them had better hope the scaling in W8.1 actually works though.

 

[Kallogan]

http://www.slashgear.com/fujitsu-li...-convertible-13-3-inch-igzo-display-09300733/

I need to see that in test, igzo screens are supposed to consume 2/3 less than current screens. But at a price.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fuji...-Ultrabook-with-Palm-Vein-Sensor-389450.shtml

Omg price starts at 3000+ dollars.

 

[FwFred]

The Yoga 2 has a serious display flaw (yellows screwed up) with no sign of whether there can or will be a fix.

I have it. The yellows are fine with the workaround--even after lowering brightness. This shows it's a SW problem, not a problem with the panel itself. It certainly can be fixed, though you still have to put trust in Lenovo. I've had bad experiences in the past with this, though this one should be pretty easy.

 

[Infohawk]

On Asus's site there is mention of an 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD version. I wonder when this will start appearing. These have mini display ports which I have been waiting for.

 

[GTRagnarok]

Isn't this a much better buy? You can upgrade the RAM and SSD (7mm). And of course, it's the newer design with the glass lid.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-zen...specifications

 

[you2]

Has conventional hd; but is only 999. Not clear on battery life; here is a video review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2zRVonGeWs (2.?lb is nice)
-
Some notes from the written review:
does not indicate brightness or accuracy of display
battery life seems weak
unlike many of other ultra; memory is not solder - you can replace it and the disk is easy to access and replace
-
it has gpu and is somewhat billed as a 'gaming' ultra laptop.
-
For me biggest downer is battery life. The reviewer was suggesting 6 hours general and 90 minutes gaming.

Isn't this a much better buy? You can upgrade the RAM and SSD (7mm). And of course, it's the newer design with the glass lid.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-zen...specifications

 

[GTRagnarok]

Has conventional hd; but is only 999. Not clear on battery life; here is a video review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2zRVonGeWs (2.?lb is nice)
-
Some notes from the written review:
does not indicate brightness or accuracy of display
battery life seems weak
unlike many of other ultra; memory is not solder - you can replace it and the disk is easy to access and replace
-
it has gpu and is somewhat billed as a 'gaming' ultra laptop.
-
For me biggest downer is battery life. The reviewer was suggesting 6 hours general and 90 minutes gaming.

That's the UX302LG that has the dedicated GPU. The Best Buy one I posted is the UX302LA which only has integrated graphics. The reviewer is pretty vague on his battery test.I would think the battery life would be pretty similar to the UX31LA. The fact that it's upgradable is a big selling point to me, with SSDs continuing to slowly drop in price.

 

[s44]

M.2 SSDs are still expensive as hell. You won't save any money.

 

[GTRagnarok]

It uses regular 7mm 2.5" SSDs.

 

[s44]

It uses regular 7mm 2.5" SSDs.

Oops, duh, of course... otherwise it wouldn't fit the conventional one.

3.2lbs... hmm.

Ha ha, a much-needed model clarification article:
http://www.ultrabookreview.com/3601-asus-zenbooks-compare/

 

[you2]

Bleh they cover (almost) everything but battery life

Oops, duh, of course... otherwise it wouldn't fit the conventional one.

3.2lbs... hmm.

Ha ha, a much-needed model clarification article:
http://www.ultrabookreview.com/3601-asus-zenbooks-compare/

 

[sheh]

No Haswell models yet with a dGPU?