The XPS12 is actually 12.5", only slightly smaller than 13"
Yes, I find the same about the screen of the Zenbook touch.
May I ask: Why are you so hung up on touchscreen?

"For business use" - do you mean "I am running my business on this, cannot afford for this machine to be down", or "running some business software, but not mission critical", or "just some MS Office stuff, no big deal"?

Anyway, since you prefer better after sales service, then Dell, Lenovo, HP ...
You may consider some consumer line (more powerful GPU for gaming), or entry level business class laptop (matte screen, slightly better build, normally slightly better warranty support ... )

Dell 14"
Inspiron 14R (Special Edition), i5-3210M + Nvidia GT640M(28nm Kepler)@RM2049[2.38kg], 4GB, 500GB(7200rpm), W7HP/W8
Vostro 3460, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT630M + 32GB mSATA+ 500GB(7200rpm) HDD@RM2559[2.23kg], 4GB, W7HB; colors: red/silver/bronze
Latitude E5430, i5-3320M + Intel HD4000@RM3200, 4GB, 320GB(5400rpm), W7P (32-bit)/W8 Pro, 3 years pro support; [CPU Options: i5-3320M - i7-3520M], HD+ screen upgradable (Opt for HD+ screen. GPU too weak to play games well, but the jump in build quality is noticable)
15"
Inspiron 15R (Special Edition), i7-3612QM + AMD HD7730M + (1920x1080; anti-glare) + 32GB SSD + 1TB HDD(5400rpm)@RM3199, 8GB, backlit keyboard optional, W8
Vostro 3560, i5-3210M + AMD HD7670M + 32GB SSD + 500GB(7200rpm) HDD@RM2549[2.57kg], 4GB, W7HB; colors: red/silver/bronze
Vostro 3560, i7-3632QM + AMD HD7670M + 32GB SSD + 750GB(7200rpm) HDD + (1920x1080)@RM3209[2.57kg], 8GB, W7HB; colors: red/silver/bronze

HP 14"
ProBook 4341s, i5-3210M + AMD HD7570M@RM2599, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W7P, anti-glare

Lenovo 14"
Z480, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT640M@RM2099, 4GB, 1TB(5400rpm) W8, colors: grey/red/blue
ThinkPad Edge E430, i7-3612QM + Nvidia GT630M + (750GB HDD [5,400rpm] + 16GB SSD)@RM3399[2.2kg], W7P, 4GB, anti-glare

Prices are RSP, negotiable. Use your remaining budget to extend warranty to 3 years on site (if the model don't come standard with this).

For standard laptop (especially those of 14" or 15" screen), I find the touchscreen not ergonomical to use, and always worry whether the hinge holding the screen and the keyboard base together will last or not under constant poking Touchscreen work best in those hybrid / convertible laptop (normally found in 11", 12", and rare in 13").

Anyway, if you really want touchscreen:

Lenovo
Z400 touch, i7-3632QM + Nvidia GT645M + (1366x768; touch)@RM2699, 4GB, 1TB, W8; backlit, 2 years warranty

But at this price point, if you omit touchscreen, you could get this
Lenovo
Y400, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT650M@RM2799, 4GB, 500GB, W8, 120wPSU, swappable ODD

Haswell? If you can wait, then wait until end of 2013 There will be a lot more choice on touch screen laptop
Touchscreen on standard laptop, even 13", for me is just not ergonomical (arm get tired real fast poking across keyboard). Also the strength of hinge is a concern. You mention Vivobook and the Samsung. I tried both. The screen (of the demo set) wobble (after constant abuse), and since the glossy touchscreen is reflective of background light, the wobbling just give me headache looking at it

(That's why I think if you really want touchsceen on 13", Yoga is still the best bet Otherwise, go for XPS12 which is 12.5" with pretty decent keyboard)

The one and only

Illegear www.illegear.com 11.6"
R-11, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT650M@RM2999, 8GB, 500(5400rpm), FreeDOS [CPU options: i5-3210M-i7-3630QM]

They are Malaysian selling Clevo barebone. Warranty service is good. Check out the threads in this forum by Prince J (Illegear staff) for some user reviews and (non-photoshopped) pictures of the unit

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Feb 26 2013, 11:29 PM

Seriously, don't attempt touchscreen on 15" (there is only 2 models in Malaysia anyway, iinm). The weigth of the screen compounding with constant poking leads to weaken hinges and wobbly screen in the long run.
RAM is cheap, 4G is ~ RM80. Upgrade aftermarket, normally will not void warranty.

Dell
Inspiron 15R (Special Edition), i5-3210M + AMD HD7730M@RM2199, 4GB, 1TB(5400rpm); backlit keyboard optional, W8

Lenovo
Z580, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT640M@RM2299, 4GB, 750GB(5400rpm), W7HB, white
Z580, i7-3612QM + Nvidia GT640M@RM2299, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), freeDOS, white
Z500, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT645M @RM2299, 4GB, 1TB, W8; backlit, 2 years warranty (4-cell)

Prices is RSP, negotiable.

If you are experience with W7 or older, make sure you don't grope in dark with W8, it will make you frustrated very quickly (like figure out how to shut down )
Search the net for videos or articles on how to use W8. Some laptop brands like Asus also produce W8 manual like this:
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/Apps/e..._User_Guide.pdf

Just keep an open mind. You don't need touch screen to use W8. Keyboard short cut, "just typing", the build in search of W8, make W8 really a breeze to use.
Performance wise, W8 is faster / snappier than W7, and there are a lot of niffy new tools in W8 (like native support for ISO file ... )

As I said, negotiate. It will be within your budget

What is your budget? The best screen in laptops are those in Apple Retina Display, HP Elitebook DreamColor and Dell Precision PremierColor. Also the Clevo barebone sold by Illegear (www.illegear.com) could be customised with great screen.

The cheapest laptop with good IPS screen now is this one:
Acer
V3-571G-736b8G1T, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT730M(DDR3) + (1920x1080 IPS) @RM2899[2.6kg], 8GB, 1TB, W8

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Feb 27 2013, 05:10 PM

No 14" Apple

Asus
A45VS-VX028H, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT640M@RM2899[2.4kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8
A45VS-VX026H, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT645M@RM2199[2.4kg], 2GB, 500GB, W8

Dell
Inspiron 14R (Special Edition), i5-3210M + Nvidia GT640M(28nm Kepler)@RM2049[2.38kg], 4GB, 500GB(7200rpm), W7HP/W8
Inspiron 14R (Special Edition), i7-3612QM + Nvidia GT640M(28nm Kepler)@RM2799[2.38kg], 8GB, 1TB(5400rpm); backlit keyboard optional
Alienware M14x R2, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT650M (1GB) + (1600x900)@RM3999[2.92kg][Klipsch], 8GB, 1TB(5400rpm); [CPU Options: i7-3630QM - i7-3840QM], W8, 2 years warranty

Lenovo
Y400, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT650M@RM2799, 4GB, 500GB, W8, 120wPSU, swappable ODD
Z400 touch, i7-3632QM + Nvidia GT645M + (1366x768; touch)@RM2699, 4GB, 1TB, W8; backlit, 2 years warranty
Z480, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT640M@RM2099, 4GB, 1TB(5400rpm) W8, colors: grey/red/blue

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

Yes.

What do you mean Z400 touch not available?

Anyway:
Acer
M5-481PTG-53316G52, i5-3317U + Nvidia GT640M + 20GB mSATA + 500GB HDD@RM2999, 10-point touch, W8
V5-471PG, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT710M + (1366x768; touch)@RM2299, 4GB, 500GB, W8

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

Ideapad Y500, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT650M + (1920x1080)@RM3799, 4GB, 500GB, W8; GN36 exGPU, 120W & 170W AC adapter, 2 Yr International Warranty

This is the standard spec and RSP of Y500 in Malaysia. (Re-sellers are selling ~ RM34xx)
Anything else are probably grey import sets, which you may have problem getting warranty support from Lenovo Malaysia.
Those at ~ RM28xx most probably are grey imports that don't come together with the ultrabay GPU.

Most 15" are heavy ~ 3kg (of course G series, Alienware are nearer to 4kg )
If you like FHD screen (more work space), then go for 15":

Acer (I know you did not mention this , but the screen is very nice )
V3-571G-736b8G1T, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT730M(DDR3) + (1920x1080 IPS) @RM2899[2.6kg], 8GB, 1TB, W8

Asus
N56VZ-S4284H, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT650M + (1920x1080) + Bluray@RM3699[2.7kg][B&O], 4GB, 1TB, W8; color: black

Dell
Inspiron 15R (Special Edition), i7-3612QM + AMD HD7730M + (1920x1080; anti-glare) + 32GB SSD + 1TB HDD(5400rpm)@RM3199, 8GB, backlit keyboard optional, W8

Lenovo
Ideapad Y500, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT650M + (1920x1080)@RM3799, 4GB, 500GB, W8; GN36 exGPU, 120W & 170W AC adapter (this is a gaming laptop actually )
Ideapad Y580, i7-3610QM + Nvidia GTX660M (2GB) + (1920x1080) + Bluray@RM3499[JBL], 8GB, 1TB HDD(7200rpm), W7HP, backlit keyboard, 2 years international warranty

HP 14" (I know you also did not mention this brand but the build quality is top notch for real pro and excellent warranty)
EliteBook 8470w, i7-3520M + AMD FirePro M2000 (1600x900) @RM5099, 4GB, 500GB(7200rpm), W7P, anti-glare, 3 years

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Feb 27 2013, 06:48 PM

Good screen cost money, and nothing particularly good is fitted in models within your budget

The cheapest model with good screen (IPS panel) is this:
Acer
V3-571G-736b8G1T, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT730M(DDR3) + (1920x1080 IPS) @RM2899[2.6kg], 8GB, 1TB, W8

Alternative is for you to connect to external display when you need it, a good IPS 23" is ~ RM600.

There has been a few iterations of ZenBook already. The current gen with ivy bridge ULV CPU was launched ~ 3Q12. Actually, most ultrabook with ivy brige ULV were refreshed started from 2Q12.
Obviously the next refresh cycle will be for Haswell, which is only expected to "start" on early 4Q13
So you just need to make up your mind. Want to catch the tail of this wave or the crest of the new one?

As all sifus will tell you, you should look at the real thing (look at the screen, type on the keyboard, click on the touchpad, carry it around ... ) before you actually buy any laptop (actually most thing in life )

Don't need touchscreen to use W8. Users need to learn keyboard short cut and how to use W8 search. Watch videos, articles tuturial that you can find online.

Want good screen? 15"?
If you go for 15" with 1366x768 resolution, and compare that with 14" with the same resolution of 1366x768, of course it will look "blurry" in 15", because you are looking at the same image in a larger screen
Want something sharp in 15", go for HD+ or FHD.
Consider these:

Acer
V3-571G-736b8G1T, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT730M(DDR3) + (1920x1080 IPS) @RM2899[2.6kg], 8GB, 1TB, W8

Dell
Inspiron 15R (Special Edition), i7-3612QM + AMD HD7730M + (1920x1080; anti-glare) + 32GB SSD + 1TB HDD(5400rpm)@RM3199, 8GB, backlit keyboard optional, W8

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

You are in luck
Talk to Prince J in this forum (he is from illegear).
Ask him about this 11.6" model: (very portable)
R-11, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT650M@RM2999, 8GB, 500(5400rpm), FreeDOS [CPU options: i5-3210M-i7-3630QM]
Tell him your requirement, and ask him to custom fit a IPS FHD panel for you (they will probably tell you the panel model they could source, and the type of machine in the market that fit with those panel so you could get a good idea). They also offer professional calibration, so better than the IPS in ZenBook off the shelf (you have to pay, but illegear sometime do promotion and give this service and other goodies for free )

This post has been edited by nexus2238: Feb 28 2013, 10:16 AM

Read the 1st post in this thread:
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2491914

Read the 1st post in this thread, PLEASE
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2491914