Notebook Hunter

The 11.6in ASUS Zenbook UX21E-KX007V may be decidedly entry-level for an Ultrabook, but for $674 it’s nonetheless an excellent value special. It’s powered by a low-voltage 2nd Gen Intel Core i3 (which is why we say entry-level) but together with 4GB of RAM and a 64GB solid state drive you’re still going to get snappy performance.

This tiny Ultrabook has an exceptionally nice all-metal finish as well, and at just 1.1kg you can take it with you anywhere without any difficulties. The only downside to the small size is reduced port variety: you get one USB 3.0, one USB 2.0, one Micro-HDMI and one Mini-VGA port as well as a headphone jack.

We’re not sure when this special expires, but based on past experience we think Sunday is likely. As soon as we know anything more concrete we’ll update the special accordingly.

It also comes with two years of Intel Anti-Theft, a service that allows you to remotely lock the UX21E if it gets stolen or lost. This service normally costs extra, so getting it together with what’s already a good-value Ultrabook is a bargain by any measure.

See the special online here.

See a summary of the specs below.

Processor
The UX21E features a low-voltage 2nd Gen Intel Core i3-2367M (1.4GHz), a decent low-end processor that can fluidly run productivity applications and some more intensive software.

Graphics
It comes with an integrated graphics solution called Intel HD Graphics 3000. It’s on par with a low-end dedicated graphics card, and is sufficient for modern games at the lowest settings.

RAM
4GB of RAM is enough to run several programs at once smoothly. It’s more than enough to ensure fluid overall system performance with Windows 7 Home Premium.

Storage
A 64GB solid state drive is really small, but it has fast response times for reading and writing data. It’ll require strong user discipline to avoid filling it up quickly.

Screen
It sports an 11.6in (1,366 x 768 resolution) gloss screen. The resolution is quite high for the screen size.

Portability
The UX21E has exceptional portability, because it weighs 1.1kg and is 17mm thick at the thickest point.  It’s more than light enough to be taken anywhere without any problems whatsoever.