If you were to create the perfect laptop, what would you ask for? Would it be less weight? A soft keyboard? More memory? Would you ask for speed and performance? Looks? I think most people want most of these things but everyone has that one little thing that makes or breaks a purchase. And for me this is the connectivity.
My house is a geek haven with gadgets and gizmos and doodads all over the place. I want each one to work with another and I don’t want to have to spend ages scuffling in my box of tricks to see if I have a missing piece or some way of jimmying stuff together to make it work. So yes, connectivity.
The ASUS Zenbook UX31E is tiny. Not in a netbook way, of course, but rather in a thin kind of way. Sort of like that rare breed of supermodel that you’re positive hasn’t been fed in a while – lean and hungry looking. I didn’t really think that it would be able to give me the connectivity I needed.
Was I surprised?
I was a bit, yeah. I mean, it has more connectivity than other laptops I’ve reviewed. There is the standard USB 2.0 port relaxing on the left along with a 3.5mm headphone and microphone jack and a SDXC card reader.
On the right you’ll find the power, the HDMI video connection, the micro DisplayPort, and the speedy USB 3.0 port. Thanks to the DisplayPort you are able to connect the UX31E to two digital displays at the same time – quite a neat trick for such a snazzy little machine.
You also get included in your box a micro HDMI to VGA adapter and a USB to Ethernet adapter wrapped in the same fabric as the free case. This handy pouch is great for slipping into a pocket or carry case for use elsewhere and prevents the various pieces from getting lost.
So the Zenbook UX31E definitely has plenty of connectivity options to keep most people happy and even I was pleased with everything that I found.
In my next post I’ll be chatting about the green features of the ASUS Zenbook UX31E and the philosophy that the company has as a whole.
Mrs Mario
Mrs.Mario is a freelance journalist who loves to write about anything and everything. She accidentally fell into the cauldron of technology about eight years ago and has been slowly simmering in there ever since. She’s a geek but still has tons to learn about the wonderful world of technology. She also suffers from a rare disease known as “need to game” that demands it’s sufferers play at least one videogame a week. So far, she’s been coping with her ailment admirably.