It's fair to say that Windows laptops have had mixed success when it comes to looks. There's been a few standouts like Dell's Adamo, but for the most part Windows machines with the sort of build quality and design that would make Mac owners envious have been the exception.
More photos: See the ASUS' UX31 Ultrabook up close in our photo gallery
We've owned various Windows laptops over the years and not given this a second thought. As our benchmarks and reviews prove, when you pick Windows you're often getting more grunt than it would cost you at the Apple Store. There are other things to factor in when calculating value, but there's no denying a Core i7 machine for under $1,000 looks like a good buy. Then there's the choice of screen sizes, graphics, games, batteries you can actually remove, a choice of colours, the list goes on…As long it gets the job done, who really cares what it looks like?
Yet sometimes you just want something that doesn’t look cheap and nasty. If you want something affordable, with a bit of class, that runs Windows and doesn't have an Apple logo on it, it's fair to say your choice has been limited.
The ASUS UX31 Ultrabook: one of the most MacBook-like laptops we've seen.
Entering this mix is something new. What you're looking at in the photos here is an ultra-thin, aluminium Windows laptop. Engineered by ASUS, it's called the UX31 Ultrabook, and it's one of the most Mac-like Windows laptops we've seen for a while.
Looking at the photos, the parallel with the MacBook Air is obvious. The UX31 is very thin, with sleek, bare metal, straight lines and an aluminium chassis, chiclet keyboard and clean, minimalist look.
ASUS hasn't publicly committed to a CPU for the UX31 Ultrabook, though this sample is running Core i7
Windows laptop manufacturers usually can't seem to help themselves when it comes to adding special touches like swirls and patterns, fancy volume sliders, lots of buttons, and chrome-like details.
In this regard, ASUS' design team has shown restraint. The UX31 Ultrabook is refreshingly free of superfluous design touches.
The Ultrabook keyboard up close.
We could see faint finger marks on the aluminum chassis, but it's not the smudgy mess you see on shiny plastic surfaces.
Unlike the MacBook, light sources form striking patterns on the metal surface of the UX31 Ultrabook. While it can pick up faint marks from fingers, it's not particularly noticeable.
The significance of this machine is the fact that ASUS was able to able to cram a Core i7 CPU inside the chassis - a design which is 3mm at the thinnest point and 17mm at the thickest. For this, ASUS created their own motherboard design. Instead of blowing hot air out the side of the laptop, cooling vents for the UX31 Ultrabook are located underneath the screen at the hinge point. The chassis material also posed challenges - initial failure rates meant only 60% or so could be used at first.
By the end of 2012, Intel wants 40% of consumer laptops to be less than 20mm thin.
The result is a break from the approach we're used to seeing in Windows machines - one where the design complements, instead of competes, with what you're seeing on the screen. We've seen this done before with Dell's Adamo and Samsung's Series 9 (among others). Now Intel is ambitiously aiming for 40% of consumer laptops to be Ultrabooks by the end of 2012. So perhaps we'll see more elegant designs like this.
Comparing the Ultrabook to a MacBook on looks alone misses the point. There are many reasons other than aesthetics to choose a Mac or another brand of laptop - the operating system being one. But if you don't want a MacBook, and you've found other machines too ugly, the Ultrabook might be what you're looking for.
So why haven't fancy designs without Apple logos taken off before? Perhaps part of the reason is that they've been extremely expensive. And they've sometimes been too slow. ASUS has been tackling the performance part of this equation with this Core i7 machine. We're yet to see what the price will be, or when it will go on sale, but with Acer planning to announce its Ultrabook in Setember, we expect you won't have too long to wait.
Also read our First Look at ASUS' 13in UX31 Ultrabook
More photos: See the ASUS' UX31 Ultrabook up close in our photo gallery
Also read: MacBook Air vs Pro: Which Mac laptop should I get now?
Also read: Windows laptops: they're getting sleeker
