There’s no denying that the Acer Aspire S7 is an attractive-looking machine. It’s a super-thin ultrabook with a 1080p display that rotates 180 degrees, and when we reviewed it, we found there was a lot to love. If you can look past the weak speakers, limited 4GB RAM, and pretty dismal battery life, the S7 is the perfect minimalist notebook.
One thing stopping us from overlooking the S7′s faults was its slightly high price tag — the 11.6-inch model launched at $ 1,199, while a fully-specced 13.3-inch machine would set you back $ 1,649 — but the Microsoft Store is running a promotion that takes care of that. You can now pick up the 11.6-inch S7 for just $ 899, while the Core i5 and Core i7 13.3-inch models will set you back $ 999 and…
The Dell XPS 12 and Acer Aspire S7 aren’t your average laptops. They’re premium, and unique.
One is a razor-thin, Gorilla Glass-infused attempt to transform Acer’s reputation, the other Dell’s carbon fiber-laced realization of an idea that was ahead of its time. Both start at $ 1,199 for a Core i5 processor, 4GB of memory, 128GB of solid state storage, and a brilliant 1080p touchscreen display, but each has its own special way of running Windows 8. The Acer Aspire S7’s screen bends backwards 180 degrees to lay completely flat on a table, sharing a 13.3-inch or 11.6-inch display, while Dell’s XPS 12 has a 12.5-inch monitor that literally spins 180 degrees inside its aluminum bezel, turning the machine into a tablet.
Each…
There’s no question that manufacturers are gearing up for Windows 8′s launch on October 26th with all different kinds of convertible laptops, but there will also be a more traditional route for getting a touchscreen laptop for the new OS: clamshell laptops with touch-enabled displays. Following their first unveil at IFA last month, Acer is now giving us some more information on its first entries into that market: the touch-equipped Aspire M5 ultrabook and thin-and-light Aspire V5 laptops.
The good news is that it looks like touch panels aren’t placing such a price premium on Windows 8 clamshells — the 14-inch M5 ultrabook with touch starts at $ 799.99, while the 14-inch V5 costs $ 749.99 and the 15.6-inch version cost $ 50 more. For…
- Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 review
- Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 hands-on
- Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 Ultrabooks with Kepler graphics coming to the US for $ 680-plus
The PC industry might have 100-some-odd Ultrabooks up its sleeve, but fortunately for restless tech reviewers like yours truly, they’re not all cast from the same mold. As the year wears on, we’ll see prices dip as low as $ 700, and a few will be offered with discrete graphics — a nice respite from games handicapped at 30 fps. And, in some rare cases, you’ll find machines that manage to achieve both. Enter the Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 series, a pair of 14- and 15-inch laptops that start at $ 680, and, for an added premium, can be had with NVIDIA Kepler graphics. What’s more, the 14-inch model we tested has a DVD burner, making it as much a full-fledged laptop as an Intel-approved Ultrabook. Accordingly, then, we’ll be comparing it not just to other low-priced ultraportables, but to some budget mainstream notebooks on offer this back-to-school season. So how does it stack up? Let’s see.
Gallery: Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 review (14-inch)
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Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M5 review: an Ultrabook with discrete graphics (and an optical drive) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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When Acer introduced the Aspire S5 ultrabook at CES in January, it did so to considerable fanfare. The company said it was the thinnest ultrabook yet, and that it didn’t cut corners to get there: the S5 has a Thunderbolt port (good luck finding one on another ultrabook), a huge 256GB SSD, and a crazy hidden ports panel called MagicFlip. Thin, light, fast, and Thunderbolt sounded like a gang not to be trifled with.
More details rolled out over the last few months, leading up to the S5’s release. The final model ships with a Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor, a look that’s much refined and improved over last year’s S3, and a price to match it all: at $ 1399 it’s one of the most expensive ultrabooks on the market. Competing with devices…
Ivy Bridge might be the belle of the ball in laptop-land, but small and nimble will always be on the dance card, too. Despite its petite 11.6-inch 1366×768 screen and 2.6-pound frame, Acer’s newly announced Aspire One 725 can still pirouette with a dual-core C-60 AMD processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, Radeon HD 6290 graphics, and choice of two colors. Along with the 320 or 500GB hard drives and HD output, those specs should allow you to edit the odd video while still doing the emailing and surfing it was made for. Acer’s confirmed the unit will land in Europe in July for 359 euros, but stateside dates and price are still unknown. It’s not as flashy as those ingénues, but it should be a cheap, light date.
Trip the light fantastic with Acer’s 11.6-inch Aspire One 725 Netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 11:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Acer’s Aspire Timeline Ultra M3-581TG is more than just a mouthful: it’s an ultrabook, too. Oh, and it’s not just any ultrabook: it’s the first ultrathin, long-lasting laptop with dedicated GeForce graphics. While we’re at it, we should probably mention that it’s not just any dedicated graphics chip either, but rather Nvidia’s first long-awaited Kepler GPU… and according to Nvidia, it can play Battlefield 3 on ultra settings at the laptop’s native 1366 x 768 resolution. If that’s not impressive enough, the company claims the Ultra M3 can still manage eight hours of battery life for normal tasks using Nvidia’s Optimus graphics switching solution. The 20mm thin chassis holds an optical drive, to boot.
That GPU is the GeForce GT 640M, and…
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Just as we expected, the first of what I’m sure will be plenty of ultrabooks has just showed itself at the CES International show in Las Vegas. Acer just announced what they’re calling the world’s thinnest ultrabook: the Acer Aspire S5.
Just 15mm thick at its thickest point, the 13.3-inch ultrabook sports a magnesium alloy cover, with all of the same requirements were seeing out of ultrabooks like InstantOn technology. There’s also a creative use of space on the S5 with a bevy of ports including HDMI, USB 3.0, and Thunderbolt ports along with an SSD.
Shipping is expected to begin in Q2.
Until now, Windows fans have had precious few alternatives to the MacBook Air. Sure, there’s Samsung’s Series 9, but just like the original Air, it’s far from cheap. Since then, of course, Apple has cut the Air’s starting price to $ 999, while the Windows options — now marketed as Ultrabooks — are about to mushroom in number. And so far, they’re all starting in the (more reasonable) neighborhood of a thousand bucks, making these pinch-thin, long-lasting laptops accessible to the budget-conscious masses.
Acer’s Aspire S3 was the first to hit the market here in the States, and with an entry price of $ 899, it’s currently the least expensive. That it’s skinny (just 13mm thick, to be exact), should be a given, but it also claims to wake from sleep in two seconds flat and reconnect to known networks in two and a half. But, as the least pricey Ultrabook on the shelf, it also forgoes some specs you might have liked to see — namely, all-flash storage and USB 3.0. But does that matter much when you’re potentially saving hundreds of dollars? Let’s find out.
Gallery: Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook review
Continue reading Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook review
Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Acer’s Aspire One 522 and 722 were among the first netbooks to pack AMD’s Fusion Ontario APU, debuting with the 1GHz C-50 model and its built-in Radeon HD 6250 graphics inside. However, Acer wanted to outfit both with some new silicon on the sly, and now each can be had with a 1GHz (with turbo boost up to 1.33GHz) C-60 APU packing upgraded Radeon 6290 graphics. The catch? Those aspiring for one with the upgraded internals must cross the pond to grand Europa, as the powered-up pair isn’t available in the US. What gives, Acer?
Acer Aspire One 522 and 722 hit the gym with faster processors and beefier graphics originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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