Asus Zenbook shows the serenity in Ultrabooks

Australia’s first real player in the Ultrabook space, the Zenbook from Asus, may not help you actually reach Nirvana, but it will help you reach Nirvana.com pretty quickly.

Hitting retail shelves this week, the Zenbook is the first of a new breed of laptops powered by Intel’s second generation Core processors, with an emphasis on speed, power and amazing design. Or in other words, a Windows competitor to the MacBook Air.

There are four models as part of the launch lineup, the 11.6-inch UX21 and the UX31 13.3-inch model, with both flavours featuring a standard Core i5 processor and a Core i7 option as well. All models come with Windows 7 Home Premium, 4GB RAM, 0.3MP webcam, Bang & Olufsen ICEPower audio technology plus a VGA adapter, a USB to LAN adapter, and a protective sleeve in the box.

With a boot up time of two seconds from standby – something Apple machines have long held an advantage over Windows PCs with – plus a stunning unibody design that seems to shine more than the MacBook Air, the Zenbook is a stunning laptop, perfect for stylish men or women everywhere.

Prices start at $1,399 for the i5 11.6-inch UX21, jumping up to $1,599 for the i7 model, while the 13.3-inch UX31 starts at $1,499 for the i5 and jumps to $1,999 for the Core i7.

Price: From $1,399
Web: zenbook.asus.com