MX or UX- any thoughts?

Weighing both options and it is a tough choice- each has obvious pluses- like the weight of the UX and of course the screen size of the MX, although screen height is the same in both. Not interested in gaming and have a desktop for photoediting and the like, so the dedicated graphics on the MX, while wonderful, is not critical. If I opt for the ultraportability of the UX, what will I be losing? Anyone know how the heat/fan noise compare on the two? Are there any recent reviews of the UX- I could only find old ones? Looking for a solid, reliable machine for Office applications and Internet primarily. It's going to be used back and forth for school so it needs to be durable and the lighter the better....

 

The UX is a rebranded Asus Z22a with Artic Silver, so heat really shouldn'd be an issue. I debated getting the UX myself, but after reading reviews like this one on Notebookreview, I decided against it for one major reason - battery life. I have heard estimates of around 1.5 hours of standard use with the 3-cell battery. Now, you will probably notice that the 9-cell adds some considerable battery life, but it also sticks out and pushes the weight of the laptop up to over 4 lbs. At this point, I feel it has lost ultraportable status. I ended up going with the Fujitsu S-series in the end, because at 4 lbs I can get over 4 hours of battery life and a better screen (check one of the posts on the review above for a point on the screen). While I would wager that the UX probably has a slightly better build overall, I feel that the battery life and screen on the Fujitsu (along with a lower price - the s2110 is a couple hundred cheaper and the s6420 has a $100 rebate currently) make them a better buy. I really like my s2110 - you can read a review here.

If you are really dead-set on getting the UX or the MX... the MX is probably the better way to go, simply because the batterylife/9-cell weight issue of the UX means the MX is less than a pound heavier with a better screen.

Hope that helped, since I was recently in the same boat.

 

Hmmm...thanks...actually, the link you gave provided the broken down machine weights, and with the 9 cell battery the UX would weigh in at just under 4 pounds (since you first have to subtract the weight of the 3 cell, which I hadn't done), and gives about 6 hours of battery life. Since the MX is widescreen anyway, the vertical height of the two units is equivalent, so we might be better off with the UX for our use. I respect your bias towards Fujitsu, but personally have had a bad experience, so will not buy another.
Anyone have input on the regular versus the transreflective screen on the UX?

Thanks

 

Good call on the UX, I guess my quick rounding was ever so slightly off, but I did realize that the MX is 5.3 rather than 4.8 lbs (both numbers which I have seen before) which is a bigger difference than I thought.

Anyway, while I can't speak for the transreflexive screen on the UX, I know that on Fujitsu Tablets at least it made it look better outdoors but slightly worse inside than one with a regular screen. People seem to have mixed opinions on that particular screen as well. So while I can't comment for certain on the UX's screen, I would advising saving yourself the $369 and getting a regular screen unless you are planning on using it outdoors a lot.

 

This is a brand new screen, different from the Fujitsu and reputedly much better. Ivan at Portableone thinks its super, and that company is so amazing I am inclined to trust his judgement, so I am going to go for it. Thanks for your help though, and I did learn a bit about screens from your link.