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The Asus Zenbook Prime Ultrabooks have knockout, full-HD IPSdisplays and other notable upgrades from the Zenbooks that launchedlast year. But how do these premium Ultrabooks stack up against thegrowing competition? Here's a quick look. Gorgeous Display Let's get straight to it: The new Zenbook Prime Ultrabooks have thebest displays of any Ultrabooks introduced so far. The ZenbookPrime 11-inch UX21A and 13-inch UX31A and UX32VD all offer optionalfull HD 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixel) displays. This is a big updatefrom the last year's screen resolutions -- 1366 by 768 pixels onthe 11-inch UX21, and 1600 by 900 pixels on the 13-inch UX31. Morepixels means you'll see sharper text and images, and you won't haveto scroll as often. Most Ultrabooks today only offer 1366 by 768 pixel resolutiondisplays. Resolution-wise, the Zenbook Prime's closest Ultrabookcompetitors are the Gigabyte U2442 series , Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon and Samsung Series 9 (2012 model) , all of which have 1600 by 900 pixel resolution on their 13.3- to15.6-inch screens. None of the other Ultrabooks use the IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology offered on the Zenbook Prime full HD displays. Screens with IPShave brilliant color and better viewing angles. In his hands-on with the Zenbook Prime UX31A , PCWorld editor Jason Cross notes the laptop's superior displaycompared to other Ultrabooks, and assures us the text isn't toosmall on the high-resolution screen. (Skip to the bottom for quick view chart) Ivy Bridge Processors The Zenbook Prime Ultrabooks will debut next month withthird-generation Intel Ivy Bridge processors. This gives the AsusUltrabooks a leg up on the first wave of Ultrabooks, including the Dell XPS 13 and Samsung Series 9 , which have yet to announce Ivy Bridge updates. However, there's little doubt that, once Ivy Bridge arrives in June for all Ultrabooks , PC makers will refresh their laptops' processors -- so theZenbooks' Ivy Bridge refresh isn't that important unless you'rebuying a new laptop in the next month. HP, Sony, and Lenovo havealready announced that their latest Ultrabooks will use Ivy Bridgeprocessors. Graphics Card Options Like most Ultrabooks, the Asus Zenbook Prime laptops use integratedIntel graphics: specifically, the Intel HD 4000. A few Ultrabooks,especially early ones like the Acer Aspire S3 , use older Intel HD 3000 graphics. One Zenbook Prime model, the UX32VD, comes with an optional NvidiaGeForce graphics card. This discrete graphics option might put theZenbook Prime ahead of the rest if you're a gamer or you needexcellent graphics performance for another reason. There are fewother Ultrabooks with discrete graphics options, including the14-inch Gigabyte U2442 series and large 15-inch Acer Ultra M3 (which really pushes the Ultrabook form factor with its 5-poundweight). However, HP offers an Ultrabook alternative, the 15.6-inch HP Sleekbook , with an AMD Trinity APU that performs much better on graphics benchmarks than Intel's Ivy Bridge with integrated graphics. And theSleekbook does all that at nearly half the cost of the ZenbookPrime UX21A or UX31A. Price The Zenbook Prime Ultrabooks are priced at a little over$1,000--even with the full HD IPS display options, which makes thecompetitively priced against other Ultrabooks and the MacBook Air. The exception is HP's aggressively-priced new Sleekbook , and its stylish line of Ultrabooks. The Sleekbook starts at just$599.99, while HP's 14-inch Envy Ultrabook starts at $749.99. The exception is HP's very aggressively priced new line of Ultrabooks and the Sleekbook , starting at $599.99 for the Sleekbook and $749.99 for the 14-inchHP Envy Ultrabook. Don't get me wrong -- the Zenbook Prime updates are great, and include a brilliant display, backlit keyboard, andimproved audio, making the Prime a top Ultrabook contender. Thatsaid, we expect a slew of other Ultrabooks on the way , so get ready for a difficult decision if you're on the market foran ultra-light, wafer-thin laptop. Follow Melanie Pinola (@melaniepinola) and Today@PCWorld on Twitter. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Custom Plastic Containers , China Plastic Electronic Enclosures, and more. For more , please visit Silicone Rubber Keypads today!
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