Berlin's IFA Consumer Electronics Show has become the official launch party of Ultrabooks, an Intel-conceptualized category that plans to put more Apple Macbook Air look-alikes into the hands of consumers.
Today, Acer launched its S3 Ultrabook, following Toshiba's and Lenovo's entries into this category. Acer's version measures a mere 0.51 inches, which is thinner than the Macbook Air 13-inch at its thickest point (0.67 inches), and weighs a scant 3.1 pounds.
The S3's thin magnesium shell is no surprise, as metal appears to be the material of choice for crafting Ultrabooks. It features a 13.3-inch widescreen and 1,366-by-768 resolution. Its use of a Chiclet-style keyboard and glass clicking touchpad are consistent with those of the Toshiba Portege Z830 and Lenovo Ideapad U300s.
In terms of features, the bulk of the S3's ports are located in the back, where you'll find HDMI and two USBs. A memory card reader can be found on the right side, while the left side boasts a headphone jack. Like its Ultrabook brethren, the S3 lacks Ethernet, VGA, and of course, a built-in optical drive. Intel requires in its guidelines that Ultrabooks use Solid State Drives in order to take advantage of its Rapid Start Technology, which facilitates instant boot and resume times. Acer, apparently, is also offering options for spinning hard drives, which would lower the price of the laptop but also forfeit its instant-on capabilities.
The rest of the S3's specs are in line with the Toshiba Z830 and Lenovo U300s: It uses a low volt Intel Core i5-2467M processor, 4GB of memory, and 64GB SSD (with a 128GB option). It features a non-removable battery (Acer didn't list its capacity). But if the Z830 and U300s are any indication, the battery is most likely a Lithium Polymer 6-cell and last in the range of eight hours. Yes, long battery life is also part of Intel's Ultrabook guideline.
The Acer S3 will sell for around $1,179 when it ships later this year. By comparison, Asus and Toshiba are planning to sell their Ultrabooks for less than $1,000, while Lenovo listed its U300s for $1,199.
Source:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2392350,00.asp?kc=PCRSS05039TX1K0000760
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