We’re breaking out of our normal confines of phones for a quick post on the Acer S7 Touchscreen ultrabook running Windows 8. Why? Because we bought one last night and we’ll be damned if it isn’t kind of awesome.
So if you’re curious about this little ditty and what I think, head past the break for a few photos and quick video review of this super premium piece of technology.
The Acer S7 is actually a refresh of the S7 from last year but it now sports some upgraded Intel internals (3rd generation i5 or i7, depending on version) and a Touchscreen to take advantage of Windows 8. But the real gem of this ultrabook (besides its size) is the outstanding 1080x1920 resolution screen. The size of the display is 13.3” making the ppi 161 and with IPS and Gorilla Glass on board, it’s a lot nicer looking than our MacBook Air or Lenovo T420S.
The Acer S7 is also built extremely well with a solid body and a great hinge for the display (it tightens the further back you go so it doesn’t change position when tapping it). The weight comes in at a comfortable 2.9lbs making it quite light and the power-brick is surprisingly nimble as well. That means tossing it in our bag for the day isn’t something I’d regret.
The Acer S7 can do splits for you
The version of the S7 I bought came from a Microsoft Store (highly recommended as you get their Signature service) and it sports an Intel i5 1.7GHz CPU, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. That’ll cost you about $1300 and it is certainly not cheap.
If you need more, you can opt for the Intel i7 1.9GHz version that also double storage to 256GB. That’ll throw on another $350 though, making it a costly upgrade. So far, Windows 8 64-bit hums just nicely at 1.7GHz and don’t see the need for anything more. It also has 2 USB 3.0 ports, SD media slot, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi and a micro HDMI out port. Acer were also feeling nice by tossing in a slick leather sleeve and a Bluetooth mouse, all laid out in a nicely designed package.
1080P IPS display at 13.3"? Yes please.
The keyboard is also quite good, though some have rightly complained that “travel” is less than desired and I agree. But in regular usage, I’ve had little issue when actually typing on it. The laptop can get warm on the bottom, but compared to a MacBook Air it’s a cool breezy day (did anyone ever tell Apple that metal conducts heat?). Speaking of audio, the Acer crushes the MacBook Air in terms of audio—it’s not even a fair competition with the rich, more bassy sound from the Acer.
Look, there’s little debate here that Acer borrowed heavily, ahem, from Apple’s MacBook Air but honestly, they’ve taken that inspiration and went further with it. You get better speakers, higher resolution touchscreen display, fast processor and of course Windows 8. It’s not a perfect device but it has made me smitten with it.
Battery life? Can’t really speak to it just yet. Ars Technica rated it terrible but Cnet says otherwise. So far it seems quite okay to us.
If you’re looking for a new ultrabook this year or next, you should take a look at the Acer S7 as it is quite the looker. Head to the Microsoft Store for more information.
