ASUS Announces ‘Zenbook’ Ultrabook Series; Takes MacBook Air Head-on

ASUS has long been manufacturing some of my favorite notebooks, and with the company’s new Zenbook line-up, I think my love has just been refreshed. Based on “Ultrabook” designs, the Zenbook models are set to compete head-to-head with Apple’s MacBook Air in terms of dimensions, weight and battery-life.

Five models are being made available at launch, consisting of two 11.6-inch and three 13.3-inch models. On the former, a screen resolution of 1366×768 is made available, while on the latter, it gets boosted to a roomy 1600×900. All models include 4GB of DDR3, Bluetooth 4.0, Wireless 802.11 b/g/n, a 0.3 megapixel camera and special Bang and Olufsen ICEpower audio – which ASUS states delivers outstanding audio performance that exceeds the notebook’s compact size.

The 11-inch model weighs in at 2.43lbs and offers dimensions of 11.7 x 7.7 x 0.11-0.67″, while the larger 13-inch comes in at 2.86lbs and 12.8 x 8.8 x 0.11-0.71″. It’s clear that the Zenbooks are meant to be both compact, capable and as fast as possible. With Intel’s Core i5 and i7s under the hood, I don’t think performance is going to be a big issue here.

Like the MacBook Air, ASUS is packing in some SSD goodness with its Zenbook; 128GB for the 11-inch models and 256GB on the 13-inch. There’s no word on who manufactures these SSDs, but I am sure the information will trickle out at some point.

Interestingly, in terms of pricing ASUS doesn’t undercut Apple too much, though the Zenbook is more likely to offer just a bit more functionality regardless of which model you choose. Compared to the base MacBook Air 13-inch at $1,299, ASUS’ similar Zenbook costs $50 more, but bumps the SSD from 128GB to 256GB – a worthy way to spend $50. ASUS also offers USB 3.0 support while Apple does not (the vice versa could be said about Thunderbolt). If there’s an issue to point out with the Zenbook, it’s that the webcam is not too hot, coming in at a mere 0.3 megapixels. For a form-factor that suits the businessperson well, it’s odd to see a webcam capable of capturing at only 640×480.

That aside, I have always appreciated what the MacBook Air has offered, but I have never enjoyed Apple’s aesthetics. With its Zenbook series, ASUS is the first company to give me a real option in the Ultrabook space. Its looks are clean, stylish, and the notebook itself is more than capable for business trips and regular work. I can’t wait to see one of these in action.