Acer Corp. today launched their first ultrabook laptop – the Acer Aspire S3, also known as the Aspire 3951 or S3-951.
The sleek aluminum MacBook Air-like notebook with a 13.3″ display measures only 0.51 inches in profile and weighs slightly less than 3 pounds. It packs an Intel Core i7-2637M 1.7GHz dual core ultra-low voltage chip with integrated Intel HD graphics and will be also available with Core i5 (model Aspire S3-951-6646 is available now for pre-orders) and i3 ULV chips. The Aspire S3 3951 has 4GB of RAM, a 240GB solid state drive or a 320GB/500GB hybrid hard disk/SSD, and a battery that delivers “up to 7 hours” of battery life.
On the Acer’s booth at the IFA show, we got hands on an unplugged unit, which had 3 hours of remaining battery life in Balanced mode, while the battery was 75% full.
Also, Acer claims the S3 wakes up from sleep mode in just 1.5 seconds, but the boot up time we experienced was like still very fast 3 seconds.
Regarding system performance the i7-powered S3 scores 4.6 points in Windows 7 Experience Index (CPU – 6.6, memory – 5.9, Windows Aero graphics – 4.6, 3D graphics- 5.9, disk transfers with 500GB hybrid HDD – 7.6).
The display is an average 1,366-by-768 LED backlight 13.3-incher with glossy coating and it does reflect lights much, but on the other side its bright and viewing angles are good.
Overall, the build quality is excellent, from the brushed aluminum notebook lid, to the magnesium alloy palm rest area, the flex-free chiclet keyboard, and one-piece touchpad with good responsiveness and touch quality. Other non-conventional laptop design features are a vent-free bottom (vents blow on the back) for cool operation in laps, a power button which can be pressed while the lid is closed, and rear location of a pair of USB ports and HDMI output. On its left side is located only a headphone jack, while on the left there’s a memory card reader. Stereo speakers are positioned on the bottom of the case. We can’t tell how music from the laptop sounds, since there was too much noise in the expo hall.
The Acer Aspire S3 3951 has Dolby Audio, a 1.3MP web camera, and Bluetooth 4.0+HSR.
The notebook will be priced at between 799 and 1199 Euros when it hit some of the markets during October, while worldwide availability is scheduled for Q4.
New: The S3 will start shipping from mid-October in the U.S. and Canada. The first available model will have a Core i5 processor, a 20GB solid state drive + 320GB solid state drive, 4GB of RAM, and a suggested retail price of $899. Take a look at the S3-951-6646.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2qAH2Y0mGsw
I like this laptop because the design is very slim and lightweight