Asus Zenbook Prime Touch first impressions

A full HD touchscreen, a backlit keyboard, Windows 8, and a thin form factor — these are the things that come to mind when we think about the Asus Zenbook Prime Touch. Asus’ 3rd-generation ultrabook goes full-on Windows 8.

The Asus Zenbook has retained it’s signature design since the first time the Taiwanese company introduced their own ultrabook. Very little has changed in the exterior but the interiors are now so much more.

If you see the metallic spun finish on the lid, you’ll immediately know it’s Asus, head-to-toe. It’s original, solid and creative. However, it feels like it’s easy to scratch, and it’s quite a fingerprint magnet.

It’s thin just like any ultrabook, but it has quite some heft onto it. Inside the box will be the usual stuff plus some nice additions –  adapters & sleeve cases. On the sides you’ll find the ports (USB, charging, audio & etc.) along with the SD card slot. Again, the  ports that lack, the adapters can make up for (ethernet & VGA).

Our model right here is the UX31A, and that packs a 13.3-inch full HD touchscreen. We have no complaints about it except that text may appear small at times. It has good viewing angles, color reproduction and resolution so what is there left to notice?

We’ve been playing around with the Zenbook for quite some time, and we have to say it again: Windows 8 feels better with a touchscreen. With the Zenbook, however, the trackpad feels good and we found ourselves using the touchscreen less often. The backlit keyboard is a major plus, especially when using the laptop under low-light conditions.

Typing did not feel exceptional, but it was more than acceptable. Not much bloatware here either, and the experience itself is clean.

This device runs Intel Core i7 with 4GB RAM and honestly, it doesn’t feel any faster than a Core i5 rig for most of the common tasks.

As for battery life, we were thoroughly impressed — we managed to get on WiFi with a full battery from 6PM until midnight with less than 10% left.

Asus Zenbook Prime Touch (UX31A) specs:
13.3-inch FHD IPS touchscreen LCD @ 1920×1080 pixels 350 nits (166 ppi)
Intel Core i7-3517U 1.9GHz dual-core
Intel HD 4000 Graphics
4GB DDR3 RAM
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
720p HD camera
2 x USB 3.0 ports
SD card reader
mini-VGA port
Windows 8
325 x 223 x 3-18mm (dimensions)
1,400g (weight)

All in all, the Zenbook Prime Touch left us with nothing but good impressions. It’s fast, slim and everything in between. It’s no gaming machine however, and you need to think about it well if this one is for you. Asus Zenbook Prime Touch goes around for Php76,995USD 1,312INR 111,227EUR 1,250CNY 9,555.