High-end components paired with a
fantastic touchscreen
Price: $1,988
Ratings: 4/5
This is one stylish notebook. The 13.3-inch
Acer Aspire S7 conforms to the high standards that make it an Intel Ultrabook,
and weighs in at a mere 1.3kg. Although it’s certainly an expensive machine,
you’re getting a lot for your money. A great deal of the cost is to do with
that excellent touchscreen. Such displays are rare on notebooks, and rarer
still as touchscreen laptops, and there’s nothing currently on the market that
directly compares with the Acer Aspire S7.
Acer
Aspire S7
Slender screen
One of the most remarkable things about
this display is how thin it is. Before the release of Windows 8, many PC
manufacturers told us it would be extremely difficult to make thin and light
touchscreens for the new OS. The Acer Aspire S7 proves that such screens are
possible, even if they’re costly to make. We expect to see more displays like
this on Windows 8 laptops over the coming months.
The S7’s screen has another trick up its
sleeve too: you can fold it down so it’s completely flat. This isn’t the most
immediately useful feature, but it can be handy for collaborative work. That’s
a rare situation though, so we wouldn’t count it as a major selling point.
Acer has also equipped the screen with
Gorilla Glass 2 to give it extra strength. It’s remarkable that it has managed
to do this without adding extra thickness.
However, the wonderful screen does have one
drawback: battery life. We got just over four hours from the S7, which means it
won’t last long away from the mains power supply. However, given the super
specification, we can bring ourselves to look beyond that.
You
can fold the S7’s screen down so it’s completely flat
You might think that a touchscreen on a
laptop would be rather superfluous. After all, with a trackpad and keyboard
available, would you want to tap the screen? The answer is a resounding yes –
you find yourself compelled to use touch controls whenever you can. This is a
powerful laptop though, so you won’t be using your fingertips for every task.
You won’t be using them to edit a video or process picture, for example, but
you will use them to show your work off.
One thing’s for sure whatever you do;
you’ll look stylish doing it. The white and silver plastic outer may discolor
in years to come, but it does look very fresh, and it’s a nice change from the
brushed metal that’s so popular right now.
Acer has really tried to present the laptop
well, which includes the box, packaging and extras you even get a nice leather
case to keep it in the stylish look extends to the keyboard, too. We were
worried about this, because a good-looking keyboard is often poor for typing,
but that wasn’t the case here. We’re not saying it’s the best ever, but we
quickly got used to it. We found the track-pad a little sensitive, but we soon
sorted it out. The keyboard can even detect light levels, so when you enter a
dark room, the backlights start to glow so you can type more easily.
Because
a good-looking keyboard is often poor for typing, but that wasn’t the case here
There’s a micro HDMI port on the side of
the laptop so you can plug in a monitor, and you get a VGA adapter in the box
for use with older displays. As is the case with many of the thin and light
laptops nowadays, there’s no Ethernet port for wired internet, but you get a
USB to Ethernet adapter.
There’s also home cinema audio from Dolby,
plus the latest version of Bluetooth and an HD webcam. We were disappointed by
the extra software with the laptop though – we found the Acer Update tool and
McAfee security apps intrusive, which has a real shame.
The processor, storage and 4GB of memory
are excellent, and contribute to some very impressive performance figures, but
the one disappointment in terms of internal components is the graphics card.
Unfortunately this is a limitation of the thin and light chassis, and while
it’s fine for most tasks, HD video editing and high-end gaming are somewhat
difficult. The slender chassis also presents some unusual challenges when it
comes to cooling that powerful processor, and Acer has developed something it
calls TwinAir cooling to remove the hot air from the system to solve the
problem. It works.
There’s
a micro HDMI port on the side of the laptop so you can plug in a monitor, and
you get a VGA adapter in the box for use with older displays.
The price of success
The Acer Aspire S7 is a remarkable Windows
8 machine, but would we recommend it? The answer is yes, but the battery life
makes us hesitate, even though we understand why it’s on the low side. Then, of
course, there’s the price, which is a real stumbling block when you can buy a
Windows 8 touchscreen laptop of less than $750. Of course, such a laptop will
be much heavier and less powerful, but the difference in price is staggering.
This should be regarded as a money-no-object machine for mobile workers. If
you’re hesitant about paying so much, there’s another Windows 8 machine out
there for you, with longer battery life, slightly less power and a lower price
tag.
The
13.3-inch Acer Aspire S7 conforms to the high standards that make it an Intel
Ultrabook, and weighs in at a mere 1.3kg.
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Specifications
§ Laptop
type: Ultraportable
§ Thickness:
0.47 inches
§ Weight:
2.86 pounds
§ Operating
system: Windows 8
§ Screen
size (diagonal): 13.3 inches
§ Touch
technology: Capacitive
§ CPU
brand: Intel
§ CPU
family: Ivy Bridge
§ Graphics
type: Integrated
§ Integrated
GPU model: HD Graphics 4000
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