Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook Reviewed

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The first generation of ultrabook war these days is already started, with the Toshiba Satellite Z830 and therefore the Lenovo Ideapad U300S up from the outlet to raise the Zenbook Asus and this machine, the Acer Aspire Series S. during this manner four fierce battle Royale need to contest, however Acer can do enough to beat its competitors.

The crazy slim laptop competition?

The Taiwanese company undoubtedly has experience producing every variety of laptop, from the ultra-portable Timeline vary of models just like the Acer Aspire Timeline X 3820TZ to the mighty Ethos multimedia machines in conjunction with the Acer Aspire Ethos 5943G.

Design

One of its dinkiest offerings nevertheless, the 13.3-inch Acer Aspire S3-951 is an appealing prospect for traditional travellers. whereas the laptop doesn't have plenty of advantage inside the approach of favor and makes some compromises, it's a solid performer with an honest keyboard and trackpad, and nice battery life—a combination that's been a rare understand up to currently.

The Acer Aspire S3 weighs a modest one.38kgs, merely a tad below the Macbook Air. whereas it is a trifle heavier than the other ultrabooks, the load can provides a sensible grip whereas working on it. The Aspire S3 look sensible, and appears to handle well when folded--there's no weird weight distribution which can build it in danger of drops once you are juggling it with different gear. The plastic shell isn't as rigid as a result of the alloy shells on some Ultrabooks, but it's purposeful.

The power button on the S3 is embedded in its hinge next to two very little indicator lights. The S3 encompasses a restricted provide of inputs, with combine of} USB a pair of.0 ports and an HDMI port. A headphone jack is on the left hand side, and an SD card slot is on the correct.

Keyboard & Touchpad

Opening the Aspire S3 reveals a muted gray keyboard that with regards to disappears into the chassis and otherwise is notable for possessing the tiniest set of navigation keys (arrows, Page Up, Page Down, and thus the like) that i will be able to recall seeing on any Windows laptop. they do not appear to be plenty of larger than mobile phone Chiclet keys, and regarding the only positive i will be able to see is that the Page Down and Page Up keys are discrete, so they are doing not want a separate operate key press.

The island-style keyboard on the S3 isn't the worst we've ever used, but it fully was somewhat stiff; keys were big and well spaced (with the exception of the arrow keys, that were a pain), but we'd have preferred alittle further travel and responsiveness. On quite one occasion, the keyboard missed our inputs once we have a tendency to were typing at a fast pace, which we have a tendency to had to make a acutely aware effort to press more durable. And since the trackpad doesn't devour a hovering palm, the cursor doesn't skate across the screen unexpectedly. However, it's cursed with integrated mouse buttons. instead of having separate mouse buttons, you would like to push the left and right corners of the pad right all the way down to simulate mouse clicks.

Frankly, it's a horrible experience.

Anyone who's used one in of these touchpads will grasp the deal. typically once you push the corners in to select a menu alternative, the cursor will skip across the screen, leading to incorrect menu picks.

Display

The show includes a median, 1366-by-768-pixel native resolution. once I sat inside the sweet spot, the screen looked bright and vibrant. Still photos looked sensible and HD content streamed over the native house network smoothly. However, streaming Netflix HD content looked even softer than it continually can. additionally, the LCD panel's vary of angles for high-quality viewing is extremely restricted, with noticeable color and distinction shifts at minor displacements from dead center.

Instant On

One house where Windows PCs have traditionally stumbled may are resolved – standby mode. Instant-on worked well in our tests. In fact, this is {often|this can be} often the first Windows laptop we’ve encountered that may be consistently place to sleep by closing the lid, and which could wake another time and be ready for business when opened.

Audio

The Acer Aspire S3-951 includes a strive of very very little speakers that vent through all-time low and thus the keyboard. Don’t be misled by the Professionally Tuned script on the bodywork – these speakers sound dreadfully tinny despite the efforts of Dolby and its ineffectual Home Theater v4 software.

Battery Life

Battery life is further necessary than ever on Ultrabooks, as a result of the integrated batteries are either not user replaceable or very troublesome to interchange at best. Here the Aspire S3 holds its head up proudly, managing over seven hours merely off from a socket. Despite editing photos on the Photoshop, keeping 7-8 Google Chrome tabs inside the background, Skype and Google speak signed in, and 1-2 Microsoft Word documents open, it lasted regarding vi hours before it asked me to plug it into a post. As a matter of reality, even with merely V-day of battery remaining, it comfortably gave me 45 minutes of performance before it set to hibernate on its own.

Specifications

Operating System Windows seven Home Premium

Processor Intel Core i3-2367M/i5-2467M

Memory 4GB DDR3

Display 13.3" HD 1366x768 resolution LED-backlit TFT LCD

Graphics Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 128 dedicated memory

Storage 320GB HDD + 20GB SDD

Webcam 720p audio/video recording

Dimension twelve.6 in. width x eight.5 diagonal x zero.7 in. height

Weight 1.38kg

Battery 3260 mAh

Verdict

At Rs 50,984, the Acer Aspire S3 ultrabook could also be a really very little premium at the worth. Considering the performance belted out by the machine, i'd gladly [*fr1] regarding Rs forty,000 for constant, but nothing quite that. Yes, it’s a performer clearly, but a budget and plasticky build quality could also be a finish off. Plus, the very best lid is therefore flimsy that it finishes up quivering when kept directly below the fan.

However, one issue is clearly, the slim & engaging dimensions of the Acer Aspire S3 have re-ignited my want of a Macbook Air. maybe it’s time.