A new Acer laptop that rivals the MacBook Air not only for looks, but specs too? No wonder we were a little giddy when we reported the leak a few weeks ago.
Well we were wrong. Turns out we weren't excited enough about it -- now the S3 is official, we can confirm it's thinner and cheaper than the MacBook Air. Apple, it's on.
The S3 is Acer's entry into the 'ultrabook' category, a new type of laptop made possible by Intel shrinking its Atom chips. (Think netbooks on steroids.)
The screen is the same size as the top tier 13.3-inch MacBook Air, yet the Aspire Ultrabook S3 is just 13mm thick. That's thinner than the Air, at certain parts only, admittedly, but impressive nonetheless. It also tips the scales at an impressive 1.4kg, which is just a little more than the equivalent MacBook Air.
There's no confirmed UK-specific price yet, but we do have a European one we're thinking isn't far off the money. And the good news is it starts at just €799 (about £700), compared to the MacBook Air's £849. Oh yes.
And it's quick too, with a choice of ultra-low voltage Core i3, i5 or i7 CPUs. You can have a solid-state or normal hard drive, and it's no slouch to get going, waking from sleep in 1.5 seconds and finding and connecting to Wi-Fi hotspots in about 2.5. That's a lot quicker than us in the morning.
Because it's an ultrabook you can expect low consumption, meaning a mammoth 50-day battery life (in deep sleep mode) and low electricity bills. Good news all round.
The S3 will hit Europe in the next few weeks, and we'll bring you a full review as soon as we can. In the meantime you'll have to make do with our full hands-on Acer Aspire S3 ultrabook preview.
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Comments 4
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anonymous 2 September, 2011 17:36
The Acer Aspire S3 is NOT thinner than the Macbook Air nor is it heavier.
James E. Burkett 7 September, 2011 12:11
Better watch out, Acer. Apple will soon discover that you have slavishly copied the macbook air, and file infringement lawsuits in fifteen countries, but only if your product threatens the macbook sales...
anonymous 30 September, 2011 17:50
Acer is the only PC maker than will kick Apple in the balls so hard in 2012 that Apple won't know what hit them. Acer Iconia Android has a USB port, Micro SD expansion, MicroHDMI, and a USB to PC port, and it does not need iTunes to sync files and sells for a mere $399! This new notebook will deliver a huge hit to MacBook pro sales, when already Acer Timeline X series is stealing tons of customers offering 8 hour battery life (without the screen constantly turning off like on the crappy MacBook pros).
Eddy 12 December, 2011 22:42
What a rip off of the MacBook Air, I'm using it right now and it looks exactly the same (only mines thinner and better), who would buy this piece of **** over a MacBook Air. My Mac will last at least 4 years without slowing down and this will only last about 2.