Asus has announced the latest addition to its Zenbook Ultrabook line, the UX305 with Windows 8.1. And it's crazy slim and light, comparable with Dell's all-new XPS 13 in these regards. The UX305 is a 13.3-inch laptop with a Full HD touchscreen display, Intel Core M CPU, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD storage. With a promised battery life of around 10 hours, it's going to be an option for those on the go.
At 12.3mm (0.48 inches) thin and weighing in at just 1.2kg (2.65 pounds), the UX305 is going to fit inside your bag no problems. As is often the case with modern Ultrabooks, it's made up of a wedge shaped design, tapering to its thinnest points by the trackpad. The keyboard has an "improved layout" and is backlit for those late night typing sessions, and the whole thing will be available in a color that Asus calls "Obsidian Stone" with a spun metal finish.
So, what else do we get? Well, there are 3 USB 3.0 ports, with one of them containing ASUS Charger+ for rapid recharging of mobile devices. A USB Ethernet adaptor comes bundled with the package along with a miniDP to VGA cable for plugging into an external monitor. And the Asus Sonicmaster sound technology will keep you booming on the go.
It'll retail for £649.99 in the UK and will be available from John Lewis and Currys PCWorld. So it's not at the top end of the price range for what looks like a solid Ultrabook. Check out the full press release and some more images below.
Taipei, Taiwan (9th February, 2015) — ASUS today announced the elegant and powerful ZenBook UX305, at just 12.3mm. UX305 weighs just 1.2kg and features a crisp and vibrant in-plane switching (IPS) anti-glare display with a stunningly-detailed 1920 x 1080 resolution. Powered by the all-new Intel® Core™ M processor for seamless multitasking, and featuring an ultra-fast 128GB solid-state disk, UX305 is the ultimate ultraportable laptop for discerning users. The battery life of up to 10 hours[1] gives users true all-day freedom.
ZenBook UX305 has a sleek new wedge-shaped design, crafted from solid aluminum and enhanced with diamond-cut highlights. It is available in Obsidian Stone.
ZenBook UX305 is the recipient of a 2014 Good Design Award from the Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP), and is also included in the Good Design Best 100 list, which is a selection of products receiving special recognition from the jury of industry experts for their exceptional and forward-looking designs.
ZenBook UX305 has also recently received a prestigious 2015 iF Design Award, an award recognized worldwide as seal of quality for products that excel in specific criteria including design quality, degree of innovation, functionality, ergonomics and more. An independent jury of 50 experts from all over the world assesses products and selects winners.
Super-slim elegance with cool new colour
ZenBook UX305 has a subtle and refined new shape that incorporates the DNA of the classic ZenBook. It features an elegantly-tapered wedge design with smooth, comfortable edges and diamond-cut edges that subtly emphasize the sleekness of the 12.3mm-thin chassis.
The full-size ergonomic keyboard has an improved layout for comfortable and accurate typing in any lighting conditions, and the large responsive touchpad supports Smart Gestures for intuitive control of Windows 8.1.
Continuing the long-established Zenbook tradition of combining performance with luxury, this gorgeous ultraportable — which weighs only 1.2kg — is available in a sophisticated new Obsidian Stone colour with Zenbook's signature spun-metal finish with its Zen-inspired concentric circle pattern.
Powerful productivity with all-day battery life and full connectivity
ZenBook UX305 is powered by the all-new Intel Core M processor, a remarkably power-efficient processor that effortlessly delivers smooth performance for any task. In combination with 8GB of RAM and an ultra-fast 128GB SSD, the UX305 delivers impressive all-round performance. The blindingly-fast SATA 6Gbit/s SSD — which is up to six times faster than a traditional hard disk drive — helps make light work of file-intensive office productivity tasks. Applications load in an instant, and boot time is also reduced significantly.
The advanced ASUS thermal management design removes the need for cooling fans, so UX305 is fast yet completely silent, and remains cool at all times. ASUS IceCool technology ensures that the palm-rest area remains below body temperature at all times for maximum user comfort.
The use of a lithium-polymer battery and power-efficient components means that UX305 provides all-day computing with a battery life of up to 10 hours1, perfect for busy on-the-go professionals.
Despite its slim design, UX305 offers users full connectivity, with a total of three SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports, offering data transfers that are up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0. One of the USB ports supports ASUS Charger+ technology for rapid recharging of mobile devices. A USB-to-Ethernet adapter is bundled with UX305, along with a mini DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter for connecting to an external monitor.
Stunningly-detailed FHD display
A stunning ultraportable needs a display that's out of the ordinary, so ZenBook UX305 is fitted with an ultra-sharp 13.3-inch in-plane switching (IPS) multi-touch display with an FHD resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels and wide viewing angles. With 300cd/m2 brightness, a contrast ratio of 770:1 and an ergonomic anti-glare coating, blacks are deep, whites are stunningly pure, and the wide gamut (72% NTSC) ensures accurate colours.
Incredible Touch, Incredible Sound
Touch is at the very heart of ZenBook UX305. With its ultra-sensitive touchscreen, precise multi-touch touchpad with Smart Gesture support, and a superbly-engineered backlit full-size ergonomic keyboard, every part of UX305 is designed for the ultimate touch experience in Windows 8.1.
Incredible sound has always been a feature of the ZenBook family, and UX305 is no exception. ASUS SonicMaster audio, incorporating ICEpower®, Bang & Olufsen technology produces sound like you've never heard from a laptop, with deep rich bass and crystal-clear vocals. The easy-to-use AudioWizard software has five presets optimized for different sound sources, so users can always enjoy the ultimate listening experience.
