Overview of the Asus UL30A-X5 Laptop

While there has been lots of chatter online about the Asus UL30 and UL20 laptop line, there has been very little talk of the very laptop model that I have had my eye on, the UL30A-X5. Not anymore.

The Asus UL30A-X5 is similiar in chassis design as the UL30A-A1, the "flagship" model in the 13.3-inch series. With the same dimensions, the same aluminum lid over the LCD panel, the same keyboard, the same port selection, and the same hardware specs (centered around an Intel Core 2 Duo ULV processor), what sets this model apart from the UL30-A1?

Case color, battery life, and price. That's it.

The most obvious difference from the UL30-A1 is the color of the case. As where the A1 features a design very similar to Apple's Macbook line, with a silver body and black island-style keyboard, the X5 is simply black all around; case, keyboard, and all. The body is mostly a matte-style plastic with a solid feel and no obvious flex. The inner plastic around the keyboard and LCD bezel is glossy black, which can be a little distracting under bright light but not terribly so. The aluminum lid is the same as the A1, so no comment there. The all-black look is sleek and trimming, just like it should be.

As where the A1 features a battery advertised to last up to 12 hours (and largely averaging between 6 and 10 hours in online reviews), the X5 has a smaller-capacity battery, but not but much. The A1's battery (8-cell, 5600 mAh) is similar to the X5 battery (8-cell, 4400 mAh), but despite the smaller capacity I have been getting fantastic battery life out of the X5 thus far. I have been seeing 8 to 9 hours of web-browsing use out of the machine, which is fantastic for such a light computer. I have yet to do any extensive battery-drain tests, but I would estimate 5 to 9 hours of use per charge overall depending on the usual factors of use, screen brightness, and Wi-Fi usage. (My source for some of these numbers: Amazon discussion page.)

Finally, price. For a flagship model, the A1 has an MSRP of $799. An $800 thin-and-light laptop seems too good to be true, but just as netbooks did in 2007, sub-$1000 thin-and-lights like this line seem hell-bent on redefining the market's expectations. This is even more true of the X5, as it retails for $699 but can usually be found for less online. Amazon routinely sells the X5 for $649, for example. At this price, even with a lower-capacity battery than the A1, the X5 is a great value.

I personally love the sleek, all-black look, and the lower-capacity battery still gets a minimum of 5 or 6 hours, something that I cannot complain about. The entire Asus UL30A line (and the similar UL20A line) seem to redefine the concept of "budget thin-and-light," and no more is that apparent than with the X5, a perfect balance of size, performance, and price.

Rather than regurgitate all the detailed spec information on this laptop, I will say this: Visit this page at CNet for an overview of the UL30A-A1 model. The internal and external specs are the same as the X5, save for the color and battery differences I pointed out in this article.

If anyone has any questions about my experiences with the X5, feel free to contact me via the usual channels or leave a comment below.

B3 out.