Asus UX31 Ultrabook

projectors..... for business...

 

Probably business projectors. Corps are a large purchase market. Though HDMI is becomming slightly more commonplace lately.

 

Do any stores currently have the 13.3" i5 256GB model?

 

Thanks...I guess I should keep my expectations low. I don't game but lower refresh rates sound like there would be a noticeable difference when viewing any movie/animation. I was hoping to get rid of my desktop and "dock" a UX21 when I'm at home, time to scratch that plan.

 

YOU'RE KILLING ME! Aaaargh!

 

I was..../| close to buying a MBA13 and MAC27 to replace my U2711 (and desktop) Vaio SC (I eventually got a SA).

Seriously, Apple DOES put some serious thought and care into their designs. Sometimes, it goes awry. Other times... it's just magic, lol. The Thunderbolt display even CHARGES the laptops

 

For those that DO want full size ports (and would rather not deal with adapters) take a look at the upcoming Toshiba Ultrabook.

 

Damnit, this is so frustrating. You're right about the Thunderbolt setups, they're so simple and really ideal for such a large percentage of usage scenarios.

Well, unfortunately it seems like the UX series is out of contention for now. Maybe the next revision (Ivy Bridge??) will have DisplayPort and upgraded Intel Graphics. Sigh...

 

But the UX31 can be connected to a 1080P HDTV with no problems, right? That's all I really care about

 

Yes, all you need is a mini-HDMI --> HDMI adapter, I think it's included.

 

nope. mini HDMI --> VGA is included for use on a projector etc.. You shouldn't have a problem finding a mini hdmi to full hdmi cable or adapter somewhere.

 

HDMI Cable, Home Theater Accessories, HDMI Products, Cables, Adapters, Video/Audio Switch, Networking, USB, Firewire, Printer Toner, and more!

scroll down to see what's available..

 

The choice not to have DP is entirely on the manufacturer, who knows what ASUS will do with the ivy bridge refresh.

Ivy bridge will have a good bump in graphics:
Intel Ivy Bridge's Next-Gen Graphics Core to Support Beyond High-Definition Video Standards - X-bit labs

There are lots of rumors about a delay of ivy bridge by up to a couple of months... so it could be a good while before the updated UX actually comes out.

 

Really? Normally HDMI to VGA requires a large powered converter unless they manage to send analog through the HDMI when the adapter is plugged in.

 

so to hook it up to a large external display one would have to use analogue VGA? That's kind of a let down. unless you can convert mini-hdmi to dvi, but I haven't that kind of on adapter.

 

They plan to do an update to the USB 3.0 spec that allows for charging via USB. Also there are more monitors now that use USB for charging. With the new update USB 3.0 should be able to do around 100watts. And that new LG TV that is 47" take up 28watts.

I am hoping that 1 day we put all these million connectors behind us and stick to 1 connector that does everything.

 

Question to the owners of the Asus UX31:
The review by Golem.de mentioned that the touchpad was not on par. They noted that the tochsensitive area did not stretch out all the way to the touchpad border, in particular the button areas could not be used for movement, only as buttons. Also, the detection of accidental touches on the pad was said to be bad.
The authors said that they had to use pre-production touchpad drivers, so my question is, how good is the final version of the touchpad and its drivers?

 

The adapter doesn't plug into the HDMI port. It plugs into a dedicated "mini VGA" port on the UX31.

 

How long do you think? Q2,3 or 4 of 2012? Do you think it is worth holding out and waiting for IVY Bridge and Windows 8?



Anyone have any details of this drive?

 

I've said this many times... Enjoy now and worry later.
You can wait til next yr, but by that time probably "tiffany" bridge will be out (name was a joke).

 

Are you mad? Waiting for the next Ivy Bridge? Asus just released this Ultrabook, and they certainly wanna profit with them for one year minimum... So I guess a new version of zenbook only in 2013 Q1/Q2...
And I really think the benefits dont worth such wait...

 

Exact. You buy something brand new fresly release and it's already obselete

 

I'ts mini hdmi..... not mini VGA

 

Bad news..... have my first issue.

The wireless adapter is having problems.

When connected to my wireless router (Linksys WRT400N), it intermittently gets "no internet access" (yellow exclamation mark). It will come back in 20 or 30 seconds (sometimes a minute or so).

I've tried most of the basic troubleshooting
- disabled ipv6
- turned off the power management feature of the adapter.
- Set my router to g only .

Here are some things to note:

- I have 6 other machines in the house, plus 2 Xboxes and none of them have ever had an issue such as this.
- sometimes when viewing adapter properties, the adapter seems to disable itself, and i'm unable to turn it back on (via the hotkey or a right-click | enable)
- finally, and here's the kicker: IT ONLY HAPPENS WHEN ON BATTERY POWER! Regardless of the power setting. It doesn't happen when on AC power.

*sigh*...

so I called Asus tech support (great service). They gave me an RMA number, and I am to drop it off at my local service centre. However, I'm wondering since it's just 2 days old if I should just return it to J&R... Problem is J&R is now out of stock. I'm going to call and see when they expect shipment.. Soo frustrating.

Hmmm... gonna do some more experiments... i wonder if it's the Asus Power4Gear power profiles that are causing it..

Ok, so interesting.. I went into the power profiles themselves, and set the wireless to Maximum performance. So far so good. I would have thought that by unchecking "allow windows to turn off this device to save power" would eliminate that.. heh interesting...

Hopefully crisis averted.. This should not happen out of the box.

 

I highly doubt it'll be that early if the past 2 years of releases are anything to go by. Intel is already talking of delaying Ivy Bridge to Q2 so that will postpone anything hitting the market even longer.

Sandy Bridge came out in January but most of the ultraportables weren't remodeled until late summer and when Arrandales came out (CES Jan 2010), same thing. Around June has been when the manufacturers start giving priority to the 13 & 14" notebooks in form of press releases for upcoming models. Also remember the SATA port problems for the very first SB boards so to wait for IB would probably be around 9-12 months. And wasn't there something about the cases going fiberglass too?

 

No. The specs and the photos clearly show that there is a separate mini-HDMI connector AND a min-VGA connector...

 

Can any1 compare noise to the MBA's?

I can't really hear my MBA during web browsing etc.

And how about that power tip? I've had Asus 1215N back in the day and it was very thin - many people reported broken tips.

 

I got one of these puppies on Friday through Amazon - i ordered at midnight on Wednesday and they had 10.

Anyway, i got this same networking problem. I'll try the max performance as well and see if that works.

Thanks for the idea.

 

Thank you so much. You solution fixed the wireless problems I was having with my UX21.

 

OMG! OMG! I have to have one of these.

 

At first I thought I'd be buying the most expensive one, but then I figured a 400$ (with Canadian taxes) difference for the extra 100Mhz, 1MB Cache and 128GB SSD wasn't worth it to me (that's ~32% more!).

And the UX31E-DH52 was in stock... so... ;-)

 

Anybody have an idea about how they gonna sell in Germany? Usually they give u the option for the QWERTZ or QWERTY?
I really dont want a QWERTZ, will i need to buy in france or other country?

 

If you buy it in France you'll probably get an AZERTY. If you want a QWERTY you should probably look to buy from the Netherlands.

 

Where were you able to purchase it for shipment to Canada? I've been looking to order but can't find any site shipping to Canada that has it in stock.

Thanks

 

Holy crap! Azerty?? no, thanks. Anyway I'll look for Netherlands. What sucks is that is no amazon there, probably I'll go buy in physical stores up there. Sombody knows if I buy inside EU I will pay importation fees?

All computers changes keyboards layouts according to the country? Or there is a chance of keeping the international keyboard?

 

The keyboard layouts do vary quite a bit based on region. There is a good list on wikipedia: Keyboard layout - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Normally you could just swap out the keyboard, but based on the design of the UX, it'll require a lot of disassembly of the bottom chassis to get at it. It's not mounted from the top.

 

Does anyone know whether the 4gb memory can be upgraded? (Is it soldered into the motherboard?)

 

I'm not sure about the RAM being soldered or not. These are the only pics I've seen of the inside:

In those pics I don't see any RAM so it is impossible to say.

 

J&R probably, they ship to Canada and had a few in stock when it launched.

Amazon.ca = 10 nov.
NCIX.ca doesn't even list the laptop yet

 

Exactly, but they were all gone by 2-3 PM!

 

I'm having the same issue, and as you, was very disappointed because now I have a clicking fan AND a faulty wireless adapter.

I've set the power profile to Maximum performance for wireless. I'll let everybody know if it resolves my wireless issues.

 

Yep, thank you. Definitely I wont bother disassembling the stucture for swapping the KB, but, you know, german QWERTZ suck for no german writers. I'll wait for the start of the deliver here to check.

 

No problem.. Glad I could be the guinea pig!

It still points to an issue - most likely with the driver. You technically should have it be able to handle the lower power settings. Hopefully a driver update will remedy, but i'm ok with the workaround.

Keep us posted.. So far, I have no disconnects since setting it to maximum.

Maybe the mods can sticky it for others?

 

Have a look at the Amazon reviews. A couple of people have mentioned this. One rang ASUS and was advised to upgrade the drivers and use the Beta ones on the ASUS website. Apparently it worked like a charm. The beta versions won't appear as an ASUS auto update option until they are final, so you do actually have to go to the website.

 

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Drivers and Download UX31E

For those who are running windows and having issues, maybe there is an update available?
I see one for Wi-Fi from the 12th...


EDIT: The page also answers the USB-Ethernet adapter question: "ASIX USB2.0 to Fast Ethernet Adapter"

 

Sry there is no way to sticky a post within a thread. :-/

If you want visibility for a particular post you can put it in your signature... that's the best I can think of for now.

You could also start an owners lounge for the UX21/UX31 here: ASUS Reviews and Owners' Lounges

In general the OP of any lounge or review should keep the first post updated with that kind of info.

 

Has anyone found out if the RAM is upgradeable yet?

 

Done. Visit here for UX31E Owners' lounge thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...1e-zenbook-ultrabook-owners-lounge.html#links

 

With the wireless issue, try to turn off the bluetooth if you don't use it. I found on many of my laptops that the bluetooth often causes drops.

 

I am keen to find this out as well. It is interesting that nobody has disassembled it to the point to see whether the ram is soldered (or replaceable).