Up in front the user will be working with a 15-inch display at 1080p resolution, this run by an 3rd generation Intel Ivy Bridge processor – we’ve got i5 but you’ll have the option of i7 as well, depending on when you check the device out. Inside is Windows 8 right out of the box, and the display has 10-finger touch sensitivity.

Also inside you’ll find 6GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive, not to mention a 24GB solid state drive as well. The whole machine weighs in at approximately 5.5 pounds, which is right there on the edge of “this is kind of heavy” and “oh this isn’t as heavy as it looks”.

Under the machine you’ll notice some rather sizable bumpers. These pieces of rubbery material hold the notebook hybrid in place while you’re swiveling your display around and offer a bit of a bump so your speakers can blast out the bottom and the sides. You’re also working with some Dolby technology there for sound – and we’re already sure it’s loud.

As it was with the Star Trek Into Darkness film, so too was this machine available starting on the 17th of May. It’ll run a prospective owner $999 USD, and we’ll be letting you know if it’s all worth it soon – stay tuned for SlashGear’s full review!

That chip is paired with 2GB of RAM and up to 64GB of flash storage. The Clover Trail chip has Intel GMA 3650 graphics, driving the 1280 x 768 WXGA multitouch display.

Connectivity includes WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and a micro USB 2.0 port; there’s also a microHDMI output for hooking up an external display. A 2-megapixel webcam is also included.

That Bluetooth connection could be used for hooking up a wireless keyboard, but Acer will also offer a detachable keyboard dock into which the Iconia W3 will slot. The snap-on ‘board is wider than the tablet itself, which means Acer can include full-sized keys.

Acer will offer two variants of the W3, at least initially. The W3-810-27602G03nsw has 32GB of flash storage, while the W3-810-27602G06nsw doubles that to 64GB. Either way, that’s not huge for a Windows 8 tablet; Microsoft’s Surface Pro, for instance, starts off at the 64GB level, and offers 128GB as a more expensive option.

Exactly what the W3 will cost is still unclear at this stage. However, it’s possible that the small tablet will make its official debut in a few weeks time at Computex, held in early June.

Thanks quadtronix!

Acer president Jimmy Wong said last Friday at an event in New York that “the plan for the RT tablet is ongoing.” Acer had previously planned to launch a tablet running Windows RT software in Q2 of 2013. However those plans have now been put on hold.

Wong said, “To be honest, there’s no value doing the current version of RT.” Acer plans for now to continue focusing on Windows 8 and Android tablets. The company recently unveiled a new Android-powered tablet at $169 called the Iconia A1. Acer is planning additional support for devices running Windows 8 and Wong predicts sales for devices running the operating system will be better in the second half of 2013.

Acer currently predicts that 25% of its tablet business will come from devices running Windows 8. Wong also noted that he believes the Windows 8 market is starting to pick up after a slow start. The major focus for Acer will be hybrid devices featuring products such as laptops with screens that can be used as tablets separately.

[via Citeworld]

The Acer W3-810-1600 is an 8.1-inch tablet with a resolution the same as the Nexus 7 – 1,280 x 800 – running Windows 8. According to the specs list, inside users will find a 1.5GHz A4 processor and 2GB of RAM, as well as 32GB of internal storage space. Graphics come by way of Intel GMA, and the battery has a 3500mAh capacity with a reported charge life of 8 hours.

The only connectivity feature listed is 802.11b/g/n – no mention of Bluetooth. There’s a rear webcam with a decent 2-megapixels, and the entire unit measures in at 8.62 x 5.31 x 0.45-inches with a weight of 1.1-pounds. The color for the device is silver – it is possible there could be other color options, but only time will tell.

And finally, there’s the price: $379.99. While it isn’t the cheapest tablet out there, the price tag is nothing unusual for a slate, and it is important to remember that it runs full-blown Windows 8, not the less-than-consumer-embraced Windows RT. There’s nothing else to speak of on the device for now, but if the rumors prove true, we should start hearing about the slate – or others like it – by this fall.

[via PC Magazine]

Acer claims that these new notebooks are 9% slimmer than previous-generation hardware, which doesn’t seem like a huge difference, but Acer seems to think that users will notice a change with these new machines. The new V series includes models all the way from 11.6-inchers to larger versions with 15.6-inch displays, all of which come with touchscreen and non-touchscreen variants.

Aspire V5 and V7 11.6-inch models:

You can also get the new V series with either an AMD dual- or quad-core processor, or an Intel Core chip with either two or four cores as well. Select models can also be equipped with NVIDIA GeForce GT 7000M series or AMD Radeon HD 8750 discrete graphics, which means you’ll be able to do a bit of gaming if you shell out the money for it.

Aspire V5 and V7 14-inch models:

As for availability, the V series laptops will be available toward the end of this month, with a starting price of $499. No word on retail locations that the laptops will be available at, but as with the other new products that Acer announced today, we’re guessing that Best Buy will be the exclusive retailer for the new machines.

Aspire V5 and V7 15.6-inch models:

There’s also a front-facing camera for Skype and similar, along with a microHDMI port for hooking the A1 up to a nearby display. Other connectivity includes microUSB 2.0, WiFi b/g/n, and Bluetooth 4.0, and there’s integrated GPS (though no sign of a 3G variant).

Acer will offer 8GB and 16GB versions of the Iconia A1, with support for up to 32GB microSD cards. The 4:3 aspect screen runs at 1024 x 768, and the whole thing tips the scales at 0.9 pounds and 0.44-inches thick.

Generally it seems Acer has left alone with its modifications, but there is a Touch WakeApp gesture which the company says will kick into preset apps when you swipe in a certain way. Of course, you also get the full Google Play market to explore, if Acer’s tweaks aren’t sufficiently engaging.

The Acer Iconia A1 will go on sale from June, priced at $169.99 for the 8GB model and $199.99 for the 16GB model.

This laptop sports a 15-inch display that sits on a hinge that allows the screen to be pushed up or back, as well as folding in out and down so that it lies nearly flat with the rest of the computer. The 15-inch display sports a 1080p resolution with your choice of an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor to keep things running smoothly.

Of course, the display is touch-friendly, so no matter how you twist the display, you’ll be able to swipe and tap your way around the device. The whole thing will weigh in at about 5.5 pounds, which is pretty hefty for a laptop hybrid, but what you’re getting is essentially a mix between an all-in-one desktop and a laptop.

As for availability, the Aspire R7 will be out on May 17 only at Best Buy for $999, with pre-orders beginning today. As for further specs, we’re looking at 6GB of RAM, 500GB of hard drive storage (with a 24GB solid date drive), and a bevy of ports and sockets that most users will take advantage of.

In that orientation, the P3 can be used either with the fingers or with a stylus; Acer will offer that separately, though the case will have a slot to store it in-between use. Connectivity includes a USB 3.0 port, HDMI, and a headphone socket, and there are Dolby Home Theater speakers and a 720p HD webcam on the front.

On the back, Acer has included a 5-megapixel camera. Inside it’s a choice of 60GB or 120GB SSD, and Acer says the Aspire P3 should wake from sleep in “only a few seconds.” The whole thing tips the scales at 3.06 pounds, and Acer is billing the P3 as ideal for those who might otherwise have considered a tablet – like an iPad – and a separate keyboard dock.

The Acer Aspire P3 runs full Windows 8 – not Windows RT – and is expected to go on sale immediately. It’ll be priced from $799.99 depending on specifications.

It seems that was the case with a lawsuit filed against computer maker Acer. It’s unclear exactly how long ago this lawsuit was filed, but considering the core of the suit has to do with Acer notebooks running Windows Vista, this case has to have been in the courts for a long time. Microsoft already has two versions of Windows that were available after the launch of Vista, including Windows 7 and Windows 8.

The crux of the class-action suit against Acer had to do with allegations that Acer advertised and sold notebook computers that didn’t have enough RAM to support pre-installed versions of Windows Vista. Naturally, Acer denies the claims but has agreed to a settlement to avoid the costs and risks associated with a trial. Any US resident who purchased a new Acer notebook that came with Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, or Ultimate and 1 GB or less of RAM are eligible for the proposed settlement.

Acer is specific that the machine had to have come with 1 GB of RAM or less that was shared with both the system and graphics. The computer also had to be purchased from an authorized retailer and can’t have been returned for refund. The proposed settlement will give people who purchased these machines a 16 GB flash drive with ReadyBoost technology.

Instead of that free flash drive, buyers could opt for a $10 check or a check for up to $100 for reimbursement of any repair costs incurred before April 25, 2013 that have to do with resolving performance issues related to insufficient RAM. Class members who still own the computer can also alternatively get a 1 GB or 2 GB RAM stick to allow the notebook to operate with up to 2 GB of RAM. The court presiding over the case plans to hold another hearing on October 4, 2013 to consider whether or not to approve the settlement.

[via Acerlawsuit.com]

This device has appeared in several photos, some as a tablet, some as a one-piece machine with a tablet bit being detachable. What’s able to be seen here is the machine’s ability to take on more than one form. As we’ve seen from Acer in the recent past, the ability to work as a notebook or a tablet is not something the designers at this manufacturer are afraid of.

UPDATE: MiniMachines appears to have had a takedown notice issued – take a peek while you still can!

Perhaps the most intriguing image is the one you see below. Here you’ve got the 8-inch tablet set against the back – or is that the bottom – of a notebook. This notebook appears to take on a form that’s just a bit different from the docked version you see above. Is there more than a couple of forms of machine here?

If you compare this device with what we saw this morning in the Star Trek Into Darkness teaser, you see that it’s not necessarily impossible for this device and that device to be completely separate releases. Here in this tablet amalgamation you’ve got what very well could be in one case a keyboard dock attached to a large display (like a standard notebook) and in the other case a dock for this smaller tablet.

Could this be a device that takes the idea of a multi-display machine like the ASUS Padfone and makes it happen with a notebook/mini-tablet combo rather than with a detachable full-size tablet or phone? Stay tuned as we get the full story on May 3rd (if not before!) Stick with us here on SlashGear through our big Acer tag portal as we keep on digging!

[via TabletGuide.nl]

The setup for the release at hand has had its stage set by a series of three devices from Acer, each of them appearing in the home for this campaign: Explore Beyond Limits (dot com). This site has several wallpapers with a Star Trek theme and also shows the Acer Iconia W510, Aspire S7, and Aspire V5 Touch. With these three devices in mind, the trailer for Star Trek (with Acer device inside) should have you wondering what the future holds.

The notebook in the trailer above will once again be taking the touch-friendly interface created by Microsoft’s Windows 8 to an ever-so-slightly different place than Acer has gone before. From what we’re seeing here, this notebook will be coming with extended drag fins (or bumpers below the back of the bottom of the base), as well as a display that lifts up beyond the average limit of a notebook’s face.

It would appear that this machine’s touchscreen display and top hood lift up and turn back on a second hinge, allowing the entire notebook to become something that looks similar to the hero spaceship in the Star Trek movies and original Star Trek television show. This machine will have the capabilities of a tablet, a notebook, and some sort of in-between oddity, without a doubt.

This video also adds an interesting twist to the release schedule for Star Trek Into Darkness – let us know if you’re finding this particular push pleasing to your science fiction-loving mind, or if you prefer the regular plain-old trailer set instead?

As this most recent IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker report shows, the first quarter of 2013 was not extremely kind to the likes of HP, Lenovo, Dell, Acer, ASUS, and the rest of the bunch. With a total average drop in PC shipments of 13.9%, it’s not appearing too positive for the near future in next-level PC production. That 13.9% drop is compared to the fourth quarter of 2012, while year-on-year the decline was a rather similar -12.7%.

“At this point, unfortunately, it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only failed to provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market.” – Bob O’Donnell, IDC Program Vice President, Clients and Displays

You’ll find that Lenovo – good ol’ Lenovo – was the only vendor to have stayed flat from the quarter before this one to the one we’ve just completed. Their market share also went up a couple of percentage points while each of the other top-5 groups decreased by at least .2 points of a percentage – that’s Dell hanging in there as well. HP remains on top of the stack with a 15.7% share of the market but was hit hard with a 23.7% drop over the past year.

“While some consumers appreciate the new form factors and touch capabilities of Windows 8, the radical changes to the UI, removal of the familiar Start button, and the costs associated with touch have made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices. Microsoft will have to make some very tough decisions moving forward if it wants to help reinvigorate the PC market.” – Bob O’Donnell, IDC Program Vice President, Clients and Displays

According to the top 5 vendors chart of United States PC Shipments, Apple reaches in for a piece of the pie – as does Toshiba. Here we’ve still got HP up on top, Dell not far behind, and Apple butting heads with Toshiba and Lenovo. Here you’ll find Lenovo once again the only brand of the top five to not have lost market share over the past year with a 13% gain from Q1 of 2012 to Q1 of 2013.

Of course when you average the collection of the top 5 vendors of PCs in the United States, you still get a cool 11% drop this quarter compared to 2012′s Q1. Apple on its own also lost 7.5 points year-on-year in this market, still running strong with an estimated 1,418 units shipped in Q1 2013.

Have a peek at the timeline below for other recent IDC reports to see how the mobile and desktop PC universes are making their time here as we roll into the spring of 2013.

[via IDC]

The C710-2055 comes with an Intel Celeron 847 processor clocked at 1.1GHz with 4GB of RAM. There’s also a larger 320GB hard drive for storing various files, along with cloud storage that Chromebooks are known for. Acer claims that this new model will last six hours on a single charge, compared to four hours with the previous model.

Acer says that while the C7 is particularly aimed for educational uses, this new Chromebook is still a good choice for anyone needing a low-powered computer for everyday use. As for looks, the new model doesn’t seem to be all that much different from the C7 we reviewed late last year, but that’s not particularly surprising, since it’s mostly just a hardware bump anyway.

The new C710-2055 is priced at $279, which is a little steep compared to the $199 of the original C7, but you’ll also get better and faster internals if you need them, along with more storage space. The new model comes with a 11.6-inch display, and the whole unit weighs just over three pounds. The Chromebook is available now in the US at various retailers.

Hardware & Design

At first glance, the Aspire M Touch looks like your typical slab of aluminum gadgetry, which it is, but it’s really sleek. Both the lid and the palm rest are made from brushed metal, while the bottom is lined with plastic. It certainly looks like an expensive laptop, but the build quality from just holding it and grabbing onto it isn’t all that great. The lid caves in from very little pressure, as does the palm rest. It’s a little unnerving at first, but babying the laptop — as most people do — shouldn’t cause any problems.

The laptop comes with a great-looking 14-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1366×768, which is fairly odd for a computer screen, and we’re slightly disappointed that it didn’t come with a higher resolution, especially for a 14-incher. Viewing angles are average, but as with any typical LCD, colors start to get washed out if you’re not looking at it from the optimum, straight-on angle. The touchscreen is 10-point, meaning it’ll detect all ten fingers if need be, and we found responsiveness of the touchscreen to be fairly good.

Inside you’ll find an Intel Core i5 3317U dual-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz with 4GB of RAM. This particular model has a 20GB solid state drive along with a 500GB hard drive. The solid state drive allows for quick boot ups and launching your most-used apps, while the hard drive is there to store all of your bigger files, like photos, videos, music etc. As for graphics, there’s Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics, so you won’t be able to do any hardcore gaming other than the occasional casual title.

As for ports and different connectivity options around the outside edges of the laptop, there’s a small bevy of options, but the placement of the ports is rather odd. Most of the important ports are on the back, including the power port, two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, ethernet, and the Kensington lock. On the left side there’s the lone DVD-RW drive, and on the right side there’s an SD card slot and a combined headphone and microphone jack. As for the power button, it’s placed on the front of the laptop near the status lights — an odd place for it considering that most laptops have the power button in one of the upper corners near the keyboard.

As for the capabilities of the keyboard and trackpad, I wasn’t too impressed by either, but it was definitely a better experience than other laptops I’ve messed around with. The keys have very little travel, making it awkward to type until you finally get used to it. However, the keyboard is backlit, which is perfect for typing into the wee hours of the night, but you can’t adjust the brightness of the LEDs — there’s just an on/off toggle. As for the trackpad, it’s simply just made of plastic, making it a bit more difficult to slide your fingers around on compared to the glass trackpads on MacBooks or even the new Chromebook Pixel. The trackpad is large, however, which is always a good thing to have, and it makes navigating much easier.

Software

The Aspire M Touch runs a full version of Windows 8 as usual, and there definitely is no shortage of bloatware on this bad boy. Acer includes a couple of their pieces of software, and the rest are mostly pre-installed apps that could prove useful to some users, but maybe not quite everyone. There’s Acer Explorer, which is an app that basically teaches you how to use the other apps on the computer, and then there’s Acer Cloud, which is the company’s own cloud storage service that shares files across multiple Acer devices. Lastly there’s Acer Crystal Eye, which is a companion app for the webcam, and it comes with a few features that you may find useful, such as different effects.

However, that’s only the Acer apps. The company pre-installed a ton of other apps on the computer, such as Evernote, Skitch, Kindle, eBay, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Plus, Skype, Spotify, and McAfee. All of these will probably be useful to you, since they’re popular apps, but Acer also pre-installed a few apps that you’ll probably end up never using, including 7digital, Britannica, iCookbook, ChaCha, TuneIn Radio, StumbleUpon, Social Jogger, newsXpresso, and WildTangent Games. Obviously, you can delete the apps you won’t be using, but your first bootup into Windows 8 on this machine won’t be a clean one.

Performance

The Aspire M Touch runs off of an Intel Core i5 3317U dual-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz with 4GB of RAM. This keeps the machine pedaling along nicely, and the solid state drive allows for fast bootup times and quick app switching. Running the M Touch through Geekbench, we ended up getting a score of just over 7,000, which isn’t anything fantastic, but it’s also not terrible. This laptop isn’t really meant for the true power user, but rather the everyday average consumer just wanting to stay connected. The integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics prove that this laptop won’t be able to handle any intense gaming, but those wanting to watch a movie won’t have any problems.

As for battery life, this is where we were pleasantly surprised. We were averaging around five hours of use, with the occasional six hour cycle if we purposely tried to stretch it. This may not seem that impressive, but with so many laptops today not even able to last four hours on a single charge, we have to give it up to Acer for being able to pull it off.

Wrap-Up

The Aspire M Touch is a sleek-looking laptop, and there’s no doubt about that. Some of the design elements are a bit wonky, though. For example, most of the important ports that you need to get to are all located on the back, save for the headphone/microphone jack and the SD card slot. It makes sense to have the power port and the HDMI port on the back, that way you have cables sticking out from the sides, but having all the USB ports located on the back of the laptop is just a plain nuisance. However despite the low travel of the keyboard keys and the plastic trackpad, using both actually wasn’t too bad; it was certainly a better experience than other Windows laptops that I’ve played with, so I can’t complain too much in that respect.

You can grab an Aspire M Touch for around $800, which might seem a bit on the pricey side, but it’s actually relatively lower than most other laptops like it. It’s certainly a machine that we’d recommend to anyone looking for something portable to get them by with their everyday computing needs, and we’d have a hard time believing that users weren’t having a good experience with the laptop.

Hardware & Design

Design-wise, the ME600 isn’t anything special to look at — it’s rather bland actually, with a few unique design elements that make it stand out from the crowd, however. It’s your typical mini-tower setup with bays on the front and easy-access ports on the top, with everything else you need around the back. The machine has four USB ports on top, two of which are USB 3.0, and there’s also audio jack and an SD card slot. Overall, nothing too special there, with the exception that Acer likes USB 3.0, but isn’t willing to exclusively go the way of the new transfer protocol.

There’s room for two optical drives on the front of the case, one of which is already occupied by a laptop-style DVD-RW drive. We’re not sure why Acer included two spots for optical drives, especially in a world where even a single optical drive can be considered overkill. However, right below those two slots is a “hot-swappable” hard drive bay, that allows you to quickly change out hard drives without opening up the computer and getting your hands dirty. However, the drive bay isn’t technically hot-swappable, since you have to turn the computer off before messing around with it — not exactly ideal, but a dedicated drive bay like this will certainly turn heads.

On the back, there are a bevy of connectivity options. First off, you have PS/2 ports for an older mouse or keyboard, which may be out of date, but can definitely come in handy during boot-up troubleshooting. There’s also a total of six USB ports on the back, two of which are USB 3.0, so you get a total of four USB 3.0 ports, which is fairly impressive. Other than that, you have HDMI, VGA, ethernet, and the typical audio ports. But wait, what’s missing? Ah, yes — a DVI port. The ME600 lacks a DVI connection. The addition of HDMI is great and all, but a lot of monitors still use DVI mainly, with VGA simply just being a last-resort backup option. We’re not quite sure why Acer left out DVI, but that’s certainly a huge oversight, especially for a desktop computer.

The ME600 comes with a keyboard and mouse for your convenience, both of which are USB wired. Of course, as with most OEM offerings, they’re not much to look at and are fairly cheap. However, they’ll get you by pretty easily. The keyboard actually has a unique design where there’s no plastic shell that wraps around and outlines all the keys — it certainly adds a nice touch.

As for the internal components on this bad boy, you’re looking at an Intel Core i5 3330 quad-core processor clocked at 3.0GHz with 8GB of RAM. That alone should be enough to definitely get you through your day’s work without hesitation. However, any graphic-intensive work you need to do will have to be postponed, since the ME600 only comes with Intel HD 2500 graphics. Then again, this machine isn’t labeled as a gaming rig, nor should it. However, the integrated graphics will certainly get you through Netflix marathons without a problem, and even some light video editing and encoding shouldn’t be too much of a problem, although it won’t be as fast as a dedicated graphics chip. Then again, there’s room for one on the inside if you ever decide to upgrade.

As far as storage space goes, you’ll be working with a full terabyte, which should be plenty of room for all your media, such as photos, home videos, music, etc. And if that turns out to not be enough, you always have that swappable hard drive bay at the front to easily add another terabyte or two to your setup.

Overall, specs look pretty decent for such a low-profile product. The quad-core Core i5 and the 8GB of RAM should keep you running all day long and beyond, and we can’t imagine most typical users would ever run out of storage space. Plus, if you’re fully committed to USB 3.0, the ME600 has you covered. The only serious downfall, though, is the lack of a DVI port. HDMI is certainly a nice feature to have, but a lot of LCD monitors still run natively on DVI, and while you could still use VGA, many of us are way past the analog days.

Software

The ME600 is running your typical Windows 8 setup, but as with any OEM, Acer piled on a lot of bloatware. There’s only a few Acer-centric apps on the machine, including Acer Explorer and Acer Cloud, the former being an app that pretty much teaches you about all the apps on the computer, and the latter simply being a desktop app for Acer’s Cloud storage service.

As for other pre-installed software bits, there’s WildTangent Games, newsXpresso (RSS aggregator of sorts), Evernote and its companion app Skitch, Kindle, Skype, Netflix, Amazon, eBay, 7digital music store app, and the Cut the Rope game. Obviously, that’s a lot of apps, most of which are actually useful to some users, but they may just crowd your homescreen otherwise. And of course, you can’t forget the anti-virus software, in which Acer was kind enough to pre-install two options to choose from: Norton and McAfee.

Performance

Of course, performance of the ME600 is one of the most important aspects that you’re probably curious about. Everyday usage proved successful on this new Acer machine, with apps opening fairly quickly, although not as fast as some more high-powered rigs we’ve played around with. Then again, most casual users won’t mind. We were able to fire up Netflix and watch our shows in high definition without a stutter, and even playing a couple of 1080p Blu-ray rips was great — the ME600 chopped them up and casually ate them for breakfast without hesitation.

As for solid benchmarks, we ran the ME600 through our trusty Geekbench app, and the machine ended up landing on 9,800 for its score, which certainly isn’t bad at all for a mid-range desktop like this. Granted, it’s definitely not up to par compared to other rigs we’ve tested in the past, which have broken into the five-digit bracket, but as aforementioned, most casual and everyday users probably won’t complain about the performance too much. And if you really wanted to give the machine a speed boost, a simple installation of a solid state drive will give the ME600 the performance bump that any user will appreciate.

Wrap-Up

In the end, the Acer Aspire ME600 isn’t a top-end workstation for designers, but it also isn’t just a cheap desktop computer that you’ll get sick of in a few months. It’s a machine for casual, everyday users who want just a little more than what an entry-level machine could offer. The quad-core CPU, 8GB of RAM, and the 1TB hard drive should keep users humming along just fine, but the lack of a DVI port is a huge oversight. While it’s not a complete deal breaker, most users may not be completely happy with just a choice between HDMI or VGA. Then again, priced at a little over $500, the ME600 is reasonably priced to the point that most potential buyers won’t see it as a huge purchase necessarily, but yet they’ll definitely get their money’s worth.

This projector is able to bring on a fabulous 10,000:1 DynamicBlack contrast ratio for the most crisp execution of graphics you’ve ever seen. You’ll find that you’re projecting at a rather green speed as well with ExtremeEco mode. Acer says that this mode allows you “up to 70 percent” power savings and will extend the life of your device’s lamp “up to 7000 hours.” That’s quite significant, needless to say.

So you’ll be using this device not just to watch movies projected from – for example – your laptop. With a compact size – 10.4 x 8.7 x 1.3-inches and a weight at just 4.8 pounds, you’ll be able to bring it along in your backpack wherever you please. Of course you could also hook it up to your gaming PC and project to a massive wall in your basement for 3D gaming galore – can you imagine a next-generation title like Destiny rocking out at 1080p and in 3D on your wall next year?

With this projector’s 2D-to-3D conversion technology, you’ll be able to, as Acer says, “[convert] into 3D any 2D picture or video signal that passes through the HDMI port.” We’ll see how this tech actually stands up when it’s available for demo rather soon. Until then, you’ll also want to know that you’ve got Analog RGB/component video (D-Sub) for input along with component (three RCA), S-Video (mini DIN), and Composite video (RCA), as well as HDMI (video, audio, HDCP) x 2. This is all joined by regular PC audio via a stereo mini jack.

You’ll be able to buy this Acer H6510BD Projector immediately if not soon for a cool $799 USD MSRP. This price includes a limited one-year warranty and is sure to be irresistible to those of you out there with an itch for 3D on a massive scale. Let us know if you’re planning to dive in!

Connectivity also includes dualband 3G and quadband GSM/EDGE, in addition to a microSD card slot to add to the 4GB of internal storage. Acer fits a 1,760 mAh battery to the 132 x 68.5 x 9.9mm, 130g handset, and loads a copy of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with some of its own customizations.

As for the Acer Liquid Z2, that’s a smaller device, at 110 x 62.5 x 12.25mm and 110g, and pairs a 3.5-inch HVGA screen with a 1GHz processor. It also runs Android 4.1, but has only half the RAM – 512MB – of the bigger E1; you still get microSD and 4GB of storage, though.

Two camera versions – either 3-megapixels or 5-megapixels – will be offered, along with a dual-SIM option. All will have dualband 3G, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0+EDR, and an FM radio.

Acer will offer both new phones first in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the Ukraine, followed by launches in Russia, the UK, and Italy. Expect prices around €199-€229 for the Liquid E1 and €99-€129 for the Liquid Z2

[via Engadget]

With the 21.5-inch (H226HQL) and the 23-inch (H236HL) panels you’ll be working with the ability to tilt in a pretty great way – negative 5 degrees all the way back to 15 degrees – that ain’t half bad for a standard solution! Both display models come with built-in speakers and connectivity via HDMI, DVI, and VGA as well. Expect this to be your everyday connect-everything sort of setup without a doubt.

Borders around these monitors are .08-inch, prompting Acer to call this construction “zero frame.” This next-generation design allows you to see virtually “seamless” picture while you’re rocking and rolling with what Acer calls a “stylish brushed hairline finish” as well. As a bit of a bonus, the stand for these monitors are magnetic too – made perfect for your paperclips (if you still use paper, that is.)

Each of these new monitors comes with a standard three-year warranty as well as a price tag under two bills. The 21.5-inch Acer H226HQL display will be (or already is) available for $149.99 USD MSRP while the 23-inch Acer H236HL display is coming at you for a cool $179.99 USD MSRP. You’ll be grabbing these displays with the full-on Acer eColor Management tool built-in and you’re encouraged to buy a bunch of them, lining them all up in a massive grid on your wall – feel free!

Hardware

The Acer Iconia W510-1422 is not just a tablet first, notebook second sort of situation like many modern multi-mode machines are. Instead you’ve got full Windows 8 (as opposed to the tablet-centric Windows RT) along with a solid touchscreen display and a keyboard dock thats clearly made to be part of the full package rather than an after-thought. The keyboard here is clearly the bottom half of the unit rather than the piece you leave at home when you’re feeling no need to key.

Because you can bend the display back to a display position (with the keys of the keyboard then facing down towards the table) you’ve got a rather nice and nearly unique situation on your hands. While we’ve seen this position for tablet convertible machines several times over the past few months, you can rest assured that Acer does it right with a well-balanced and relatively rugged delivery of all pieces involved. And it feels natural to use this machine in each of its three major positions – that’s important when it comes to this modern touch-friendly Windows 8 environment we’re in here in the first part of 2013.

On this unit you’ve got a LED-backlit TFT LCD HD 10.1-inch display up front with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution covered by a smooth sheet of Gorilla Glass 2. Viewing angles are essentially perfect across the grid and the brightness you’ve got here is ready for everyday action (everywhere save direct sunlight). You’ll be rolling out with 5-finger touch as opposed to the 10 you’ll find on desktop PCs in 2013 for the most part, but unless you’ve got something rather unique on your hands that needs more than a couple fingers at a time, you’ll never notice.

Inside you’ve got wireless connectivity as well as Bluetooth 4.0+HS and all around the rim you’ve got high-quality connections and blasters of media. Two speakers sit on the sides of the tablet portion of this setup to the left and the right, this allowing sound to bounce off your palm and into your ears with ease. This machine has an integrated digital microphone that works well with the cameras in front and back and you’ve got a set of ports for USB connectivity as well.

On the tablet itself you’ve got a microUSB port and a microHDMI port for 1080p output as well as multi-display. With this port you’re able to use a massive display as a second screen – as you well should – and it works smooth as if it were a single-unit solution. The microUSB port allows you to connect to whatever other PC you’ve got handy and works with the microUSB-to-full size USB converter accessory that comes in the box as well – great for mice.

The keyboard portion of this setup also has a full-sized USB port for additional accessories, and the whole setup is powered by a port (with included power cord) that exists on the tablet itself and on the keyboard dock. When the tablet is connected to the keyboard, it does so with this port, leaving the keyboard dock to do all the powering of the whole unit.

Camera

The front-facing camera you’ve got here is more than ready for great video chat – better than some desktop machines these days with 1920 x 1080 resolution and 1080p video recording ready for action. The back-facing camera is also decent, though not exactly on-par with the camera you’re getting on most modern smartphones with the same specifications. have a peek at a few demo photos below to get an idea of what you’re working with here.

Note that most of the photos are taken with the back-facing camera indoors while the photo looking upward at the dog was taken with the front-facing camera. Again, this front-facing camera should be used primarily for video chat rather than photography, mind you.

Software and Performance

The full Windows 8 experience you’ll be working with here offers up a collection of Acer-added applications for cloud computing, security, connectivity with your other wireless devices on the web, and everything in-between. This machine features the “Acer Ring” with its ability to quick-launch apps and websites as well as take screenshots on-the-fly. Acer Ring is essentially a home screen replacement app that allow you to take control of your machine in tablet mode, this version of the app made specifically for this device. You’ll find each of the ports sitting in their right places and all of your media action controllable from one location – great stuff!

You’ll be able to run nearly every kind of app you’d be able to run on any other Windows 8 machine (within reason.) While the whole experience is fluid and surprisingly powerful for what the physical size of the unit implies, you wont be anywhere near the monstrous power of desktop machines like the Acer Predator. Don’t expect to play Hawken at full power here (not yet, at least).

Under the hood you’ve got an Intel Atom Dual-Core processor from the Clover Trail generation that proves its might by doing well with every app the device comes with and some of the more interesting nearly high-powered oddities you’ll find like Remote Desktop. With Remote Desktop you’ll be able to work with your computer from another over a wireless network – the Iconia W510-1422 keeps up rather nicely. The exact model we’ve got here is the Intel Atom Z2760 1.5GHz (dual core) complete with Intel Burst Technology up to 1.8GHz (1MB L2 cache).

Also under the hood you’ve got a 64GB Solid State Drive, 2GB of DDR3 SDRAM, and Intel Graphic Media Accelerator technology with 64MB of dedicated system memory. Battery time with the tablet alone has proven to be right between 7 and 8 hours when we’re using it and several days if it’s just sitting on the desk on its own, asleep. The tablet itself works with a 3450mAh battery while the base includes an additional battery that adds nearly as much battery time again. Together you’re looking at several days of standby time at LEAST with around 11 hours of up-time just so long as you’re browsing the web and playing videos (high-powered games give you a bit less).

Wrap-up

This machine is ready for the 2013 season of Windows 8 action, but it’s not going to replace your MacBook Air. It’s not meant to – if you’re a Windows user and want a mobile device ready for everyday action and a relatively large amount of battery time, that’s where you’ll find the greatness in the Iconia W5. The whole setup is solid, the presentation is ready to take on the top competition in the market today, and it’s easily one of our top choices for convertible tablets running full Windows 8 today – and not just because there aren’t many of them out there!

According to the China Times, Acer CEO Linxian Lang spoke about the possibility of expanding the company’s tablet lineup with more size options and price points to compete with other tablet manufacturers. These quad-core tablets the he speaks of are said to be ranging from 150 to 175 Euros, which puts them at about $202 to $236 in US dollars.

While that’s certainly on par with other budget tablets currently available, the quad-core processor may make Acer’s upcoming tablets more of a bargain buy compared to the Nexus 7 or the Kindle Fire HD. Lang also discussed the company’s projections as far as sales go. Acer expects to ship 200 million tablets this year, 80 million of which will be higher-end models.

Of course, there’s no word on when these budget tablets will appear exactly, but seeing as the Iconia B1 isn’t planned for a US release, we’re sadly expecting the same thing from these upcoming slates. Either way, we’re looking forward to seeing what Acer has up their sleeves this year, and if they’ll release budget tablets that can compete.

[via Android Community]

Acer saw a 28-percent drop in Q4 2012 shipments, year on year, and blames Microsoft’s new platform for its PC shortfall. “The whole market didn’t come back to growth after the Windows 8 launch,” Wong argues, “that’s a simple way to judge if it is successful or not.”

What particularly impressed the Acer chief was how well Chrome OS has done despite Google’s relatively low-key marketing of the platform. Unlike the Windows 8 gush in advance of Microsoft’s launch late last year, Google’s promotional work was “not as broad” Wong points out, describing it as “encouraging” how much consumer attention Chromebooks nonetheless garnered.

Likely to be helpful is the average price of a Chrome OS device, which – in part because Google gives away Chrome OS licenses free, rather than charging for them as Microsoft does for OEMs using Windows 8 – undercuts most regular notebook models. The C7, for instance – which we reviewed last year - is priced at just $199, though Wong says Acer spent some of the money it saved on licensing fees on marketing and promotions instead.

Acer now intends to launch Chrome OS devices more broadly, with particular hopes for the potential of the low-cost machines in developing markets. Unfortunately for Microsoft, that’s not the strategy Acer will be taking with Windows RT, the version of Windows intended for use on ARM-based tablets and notebooks. The company is still evaluating the platform, Wong says.

Meanwhile, Acer hopes to triple its smartphone sales in 2013, aiming for 1.5m sales globally and targeting individual carriers with specific devices, rather than blanketing the market. It’s likely that will involve Android, Google’s better-known OS.

The Acer Liquid E1 is 132 × 68.5 × 9.9 mm in physical size, weighs in at 130g, and is going to be available (at least at first) in white only. On the back of the device as well as the front you’re going to see speaker grilles, these prepared to work with the DTS surround sound technology included in the device. Onboard you’ll also find Acer’s own DTS-ready video and music apps along with the standard Google fare.

NOTE: This is a device that takes on the name of the original Acer Liquid from back in 2010 – a lot has changed since then!

Under the hood you’ve got a dual-core 1GHz processor (unnamed at the moment) as well as 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, and a microSD card slot for memory expansion. You’ll be working with a 5 megapixel camera on the back, a front-facing camera for video chat, and a 1760 mAh battery to keep you running all night long. Bluetooth, GPS, FM Radio, and HSPA connectivity are included as well.

You’ll be connecting with a standard microUSB port for charging and data transfer with your PC if you do so desire. This machine uses a standard SIM card size (still prevalent across the planet, mind you), and will likely not be working with 4G LTE in its lifespan internationally or inside the USA. This device was, if you’ll remember leaked in December of 2012 – here it is again!

This device is not yet announced as being available for the USA, but you can bet it’ll be released internationally before the year is over. We’ll also quite likely be seeing it at Mobile World Congress 2013 along with the rest of the massive amounts of mobile madness that come with said event. Be sure you stay tuned to the Acer tag as well as our MWC 2013 tag portal for all the latest and greatest as this and many more miraculous machines come forth over the coming weeks and months.

[via Eurodroid]

Design

Acer has been putting out some good looking PCs lately, and the Predator AG3620 is no different. The black case has a pair of colored stripes running along the front and the top, with the word “Predator” emblazoned on both sides of the PC. The Predator only sports a mid-size case, which isn’t something we’re used to seeing in a gaming rig. Normally, full-size cases are the standard, given the large amount of equipment you need to pack into it.

At any rate, that mid-size case makes the Predator smaller than other gaming rigs, meaning it can fit into tighter spaces. It’s also surprisingly light for a tower PC – I had no problem lifting and carrying it, though admittedly weight isn’t usually an issue for a computer that will spend most of its life in the same place.

On the front is obviously where the DVD drive is, with two more bays for additional expansions in the future. The front-facing ports have all been moved to the top of the tower, with two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, the headphone jack, and the microphone jack all arranged in a neat little line behind the power button. Speaking of the power button, that’s what will draw your attention when you look at the top of the machine, as it’s big, red, and triangular – almost like one of those caution signs that warn you of rough driving ahead or other upcoming hazards.

Around the back, you’ll find more USB ports. There are six additional USB ports, to be exact, with four more USB 2.0 and two more USB 3.0. There’s also VGA and DVI ports, along with two HDMI ports. You’ve got the standard audio jacks underneath the additional USB ports, jacks for a mouse and keyboard, and an RJ-45 port for 10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN.

Essentially, the ports are what you’d expect from any other gaming rig, though the Predator’s case is a bit louder than other PC cases. That isn’t a bad thing, as I have to say I like the overall look of the Predator. It may not be big, but it doesn’t need to be – all of the computer’s hardware fits nicely inside the case, and as I said above, that smaller form factor means it isn’t going to take up a lot of room when you get it home. As far as design goes, the Predator AG3260 is a winner.

Hardware

I need to start this section right off by saying that you’re not getting the best of the best with the AG3260 in terms of hardware. If you want a rig that’s packed with the highest-end equipment, you better start looking elsewhere because the Predator isn’t the machine you want. That being said, the Predator is packed with excellent or otherwise good hardware, as any gaming rig should be.

The third-gen Intel Core i7-3370 CPU is definitely the star of this show. Initially it’s clocked at 3.4GHz, though the computer can turn that clock speed up to 3.9GHz using Intel’s Turbo Boost technology. That may not be necessary when gaming due to the fact that the graphics card will cause a bottleneck, but it’s nice to have the option nonetheless. Of course, we expect an Intel Core i7 in a gaming rig – anything less and it couldn’t really be considered a gaming rig, after all. Still, it’s great to have it along for the ride, and as you’ll see a bit later, the Core i7 has no problem posting excellent scores in benchmark tests.

The Predator AG3620 also comes equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce GT630, which definitely isn’t the best graphics card NVIDIA has on offer. It’s still a relatively powerful GPU, but it would have been nice to see a card that’s even slightly more powerful. Don’t get me wrong, the GeForce GT630 will do its part to keep visuals looking good, but I feel like it’s going to cause some issues with bottlenecking, especially if Turbo Boost cranks the i7 up to 3.9GHz.

You should be set with the 12GB of DDR3 RAM the AG3620 ships with for quite some time, and here’s another area that Acer decided to make a few small cuts to save some money. With a lot of pre-built gaming rigs these days, it isn’t uncommon to see 16GB of RAM. Truth is, when it comes to gaming, we don’t need 16GB of RAM just yet, so 12GB should get the job done. You’ll probably need to add a bit more at some point down the road, but for now, there doesn’t seem to be anything lost with having 12GB of RAM instead of 16.

For internal storage, Acer has paired a 128GB SSD with a 2TB 7200RPM SATA HDD. I have to say that I’m a pretty big fan of the SSD/HDD hybrid setup, and with Windows 8 loaded onto the SSD, boot up and shut down times are sometimes surprisingly fast. Of course, you’ll run out of space pretty quickly if you try to pack everything on the SSD, but between that and the HDD, you should have plenty of space for your game library.

Sadly, you’ve only got a 16X DVD+R/RW drive, which means no Blu-Ray. That Blu-Ray functionality is definitely missed, considering the Predator AG3620 would be a computer that has no problem playing back HD video, but again, Acer decided to ditch the Blu-Ray drive to keep the price low. You could always swap the DVD drive out for a Blu-Ray drive, however, and since Blu-Ray aren’t super expensive these days, it might not be a bad idea to order one alongside your computer. As far as wireless connectivity is concerned, you’ll have 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 to look forward to.

While the hardware on the inside generally ranges from good to excellent, the keyboard and mouse don’t fall into that stretch. For PC gamers – this computer’s target audience – the keyboard and mouse are going to disappoint. Packed in with the Predator is a two-button optical mouse with a scroll wheel, so if you play FPS or MMO games, you’ll probably want a mouse with more buttons or adjustable DPI settings.

Just the same, you’ll probably want to swap the keyboard out for one made specifically for gamers. The keyboard again is standard fare, though I will say that the keys do have an interesting look. They also make a nice clicking sound like mechanical keyboards, but the problem here is that the spacing seems just a little bit off. Maybe it’s all in my head, but the keys seem slightly further apart than keys on other keyboards. Whether it’s just a personal hang up or not, I was making all kinds of errors while using the keyboard that comes packed with the computer. Hook up your gaming mouse and keyboard instead, because the equipment included with the Predator isn’t stuff you want to use for competitive gaming.

Software

The Predator comes running Windows 8 64-bit, which is bound to be a sore point with some gamers. While I don’t mind Windows 8, I know there are plenty out there who do. If you don’t have a touch monitor, some of the usefulness of Windows 8 will be lost, but all in all, I don’t see much of a problem with having the OS on the Predator. At the end of the day, it’ll all come down to personal preference.

Of course, with Windows 8 on board, you’ll have plenty of Microsoft’s apps from the start. This line up includes Internet Explorer, which I suggest you skip altogether, along with standard Windows 8 apps like People, Weather, News, Maps, and SkyDrive. All of the pre-installed Windows 8 apps vary in usefulness, but one of the main draws of the OS is that you can use the Store to download new apps for your start screen.

Acer has also included some pre-installed apps of its choosing, with Cut the Rope, Acer Explorer, Evernote, and Kindle present from the start. Both Hulu Plus and Netflix come pre-installed on the Predator, so if you have accounts with either of those streaming services, you can begin using them right away without the need for a download. McAfee is there to annoy you from the very first time you start up your computer, while Amazon and eBay also come pre-installed, giving online shoppers to portals to jump in immediately.

Others, like AcerCloud and Spotify will be appreciated by some users, but most will probably want to do a little bit of clean up once they get their Predator out of the box. Everything on the computer seems to be installed on the SSD, so deleting the apps you don’t want becomes even more important. Keep in mind, though, that you’ll have 1.79TB of free storage on the HDD, so you’ve got plenty of extra space to go a little crazy with your downloads.

Gaming and Benchmarks

After describing the hardware that’s in this rig, most PC enthusiasts already know what the benchmark results are going to say. In Geekbench, the Predator netted a score of 16152 – we’ve seen gaming computers score much higher than that, but the Predator’s score shows that its still a reasonably powerful machine. Similarly, in Cinebench the computer took home an OpenGL framerate of 26.72 fps while the CPU test awarded a score 7.44.

These results say the same thing: while the Predator isn’t the most powerful computer on the block, it still has some solid hardware working under the hood. That will ultimately get gamers who care first and foremost about gorgeous visuals without thinking about cost to turn the other way. However, for gamers who can settle for a decently powerful rig in exchange for a lower price point, the Predator probably isn’t going to disappoint.

Gaming seems to be a matter of compromise sometimes. Do you want games to run at 60 frames per second, or do you want to crank all of the graphics features up as high as they go? On most modern games, you won’t be able to do both, but you will be able to find a happy medium. In Skyrim, for instance, turning all of the graphics settings to ultra (which includes 16x antisotropic filtering and 8x antialiasing) and setting the resolution to 1080p produces a frame rate that rarely leaves the teens. At this point, the game is still playable, but stutters and slowdowns quickly wear on the nerves.

On the other hand, by flipping the switch from ultra to high – which brings antisotropic filtering down to 8 samples – we get better results. At these settings, the game runs right around 30 frames per second, sometimes dropping below that point when you’re in outdoor areas with a lot to see, and other times rising above when you’re indoors. That isn’t bad, considering that most console games run at 30 frames per second. The difference here is that on high settings, Skyrim looks much better than its console counterpart. If you can accept console-quality frame rate, you’ll still get a good looking experience.

The same is true for Batman: Arkham City. Bringing the resolution up to 1080p, turning FXAA to high, switching the detail level to very high, and turning on most of the eye candy features like dynamic shadows and reflection, we get right around 30 frames per second in-game. The frame rate will sometimes fluctuate between 25 and 30 fps, less frequently dropping down below 25, but almost never going below 20. Some may not like hearing that, but for me, the frame rate wasn’t really an issue. It should be noted, however, that DirectX 11 features and tessellation had to be turned off to get that frame rate, so that may be a sacrifice some players aren’t willing to make.

Unfortunately, if we move up to more recent games, the Predator begins struggling a bit. By playing Far Cry 3 with DirectX 9 and medium settings across the board, we get a frame rate that likes to linger in the low teens. There are times when it will jump up into the toward the 20s, but a low frame rate like that might turn some gamers off. Ultimately, the GeForce GT630 had some issues with Far Cry 3, but then again, titles like Ubisoft’s latest demand some serious hardware before you can get excellent visuals at an acceptable frame rate.

Wrap-Up

In many ways, I’m torn when it comes time to decide whether or not the Predator AG3620 deserves a recommendation. It’s true that the computer struggled with Far Cry 3, but with Arkham City and Skyrim, the results were pretty good. The fact that you can find the Predator AG3620 for around $1000 helps sweeten the deal quite a bit, but at that point, you might be better off spending a little bit more in return for a better GPU.

As it is, the Predator is a capable gaming rig, it just isn’t exceptional. It may be worth a purchase for gamers who want a solid gaming PC foundation and won’t mind upgrading their graphics card in a year or so. All the same, if you don’t mind giving the most graphics-intensive games a pass (or, alternatively, are willing to put up with playing them at low or medium settings), then the Predator is a decent, relatively inexpensive choice.

If you’re a PC gamer primarily for the amazing graphics that are achievable, it’s probably best to look elsewhere. Naturally, if it’s top-tier graphics quality you want, you’ll probably be building your own rig, and the Predator was never targeted at you in the first place. In the end, if you’re the type who thinks that graphics aren’t everything, or you’re looking for a somewhat cheap way of giving the PC gaming world a spin, the Predator may be worthy of consideration – but only if you’re willing to make some compromises.

Other specifications of the Chromebox are unclear, though we’d guess at something along the lines of Acer’s C7 Chromebook; that has VGA, HDMI, several USB 2.0 ports, and integrated WiFi, though we’d expect Acer to throw wired ethernet into the Chromebox too.

Acer isn’t the only company flirting with the desktop form-factor. Samsung also recently refreshed its Chromebox, slapping an Intel Core i5 processor inside along with 4GB of RAM; it only has 16GB of local storage, though uses flash memory rather than what’s presumably a traditional spinning-platter drive in the Acer version. Samsung’s Chromebox has USB 2.0, ethernet, DVI, DisplayPort, Bluetooth and WiFi, but not VGA or HDMI.

Pricing and availability for the Chromebox are unknown, though there’s speculation that Acer and Google will aim for a highly-competitive $99 price point. That seems possible, given the C7 is $199, and since the components Acer is believed to have used for the desktop should be relatively inexpensive. Where the x86 chip in the C7 meant battery life proved lacking in comparison to Samsung’s Series 3 Chromebook, power consumption is less of an issue for a desk-bound computer.

[via Chrome Story]

Chief among these new features is perhaps the Remote Files app, which will allow users to access their Windows-based PCs from any of their devices. With Acer Cloud Docs, users will be able to push their Microsoft Office documents to their other devices, making them downloadable and readable on iOS or Android. Acer will make these documents available for 30 days after they were last modified, and unlike AcerCloud as a whole, there isn’t any storage limit when you’re working with AcerCloud Docs.

Of course, your AcerCloud storage limit is determined by how much free space you have on your PC’s hard drive, which potentially means that you can far exceed the storage capacity offered by many other cloud services. Considering that AcerCloud is a free service for Acer PC owners, that sounds like a pretty great deal, though you are essentially still paying for the service in terms of additional hard drive space.

Other features announced today include PicStream, which is a lot like AcerCloud Docs in that it will push pictures taken with one device to all of your machines (which then remain available for 30 days), and AcerCloud clear.fi, a feature that will let you sync your media libraries – music included – between all of your devices. This AcerCloud update will be available for download sometime this month, and Acer says that the new version of AcerCloud will be bundled with all of the company’s PCs starting in Q2 2013.

Just as we heard prior to this announcement, the Iconia B1-A71 will come equipped with a dual-core MediaTek processor (MTK 8317T) clocked at 1.2GHz, which is working in tandem with just 512MB of RAM. The tablet sports a 7-inch WSVGA touchscreen that’s displaying at 1,024×600 resolution, so we’re getting a bump down in resolution as compared to the Nexus 7′s 1280×800 display.

If there’s one thing particularly exciting about the Iconia B1-A71, it’s the fact that it has a microSD slot, so you’ll be able to add more memory if the 8GB that’s on board out of the box isn’t quite enough. The Nexus 7 quite famously doesn’t have a microSD slot, so users are stuck with whatever internal memory their tablet ships with. The Iconia B1-A71 will also be running Android Jelly Bean (Acer didn’t specify the exact version), which is another plus.

Users will have a relatively beefy 2,710mAh battery to power their Iconia B1-A71, along with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS making the list of wireless connectivity options. Acer hasn’t announced when its new tablet will be launching, but it does say that the B1-A71 will be available at a starting price that comes in under $150. We’ll have to wait for more details, but for now, just know that Acer’s budget 7-inch tablet is real. Stay tuned.

We’ve heard nothing official come from Acer, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been leaks. This latest leak comes from Bulgarian site Tablet.bg, which apparently managed to spend some up close and personal time with the rumored tablet. Along with these images come a list of specs, and from the sound of things, it seems that the Iconia Tab B1 will still be relatively powerful despite its expected $99 price point.

With the Iconia B1, we’ll supposedly have a MediaTek dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and 8GB of internal storage. Group those with a 7-inch screen displaying at 1026 x 600 resolution, and it’s immediately clear that this isn’t going to be the most powerful tablet under the sun. It’ll be far from it, in fact, but that’s okay if it comes with a price tag of $99 – people who aren’t looking to spend an arm and a leg on a tablet don’t need the absolute best hardware, they just need a tablet that has hardware powerful enough to get the job done. It sounds like that could be the Iconia B1.

For now, we wait. We’re not sure if Acer is planning to launch this in the US, but we wouldn’t be too surprised to see something similar eventually. Perhaps we’ll get to take a gander at CES 2013 next week? We’ll find out soon enough, so keep it here at SlashGear for all of your CES 2013 news!

[via Android Community]

You could still find few netbooks in 2012, especially earlier in the year but they were nowhere near as popular as they had been in years past. If you’re a fan of the netbook, the little machines are going extinct in 2013. The Guardian reports that Asus announced yesterday that it would not make any more of its Eee netbooks in 2013. During 2012, only Asus and Acer were making netbooks.

Acer also won’t make any more netbooks for 2013. Undoubtedly, there will be a few netbook sales this year as retailers both online and in the real world cut prices to clear remaining inventories. Once the machines Asus and Acer have are constructed are sold, there will be no more. The demise of netbooks is blamed on several factors.

Those factors included an uptick in the economy leading people back to more expensive and more powerful machines such as ultrabooks and traditional laptops. The incredible popularity of tablets such as the iPad and Android offerings are probably the biggest nail in the coffin of the netbook. In 2010 and 2011 netbook sales steadily declined from a high of over 2 million units in Q1 of 2010 to only about 750,000 units sold in Q4 2011.

[via Guardian]

Steve Jobs’ massive yacht was impounded after the designer didn’t get his fee, and there’s apparently a new hardware issue that’s bricking Galaxy S III handsets. Apple has reached its highest-ever smartphone share coming in at 53.3%, while we took a quick look back at NASA’s lunar landers. A US Senator has introduced a new bill that will regulate data caps, and Hulu was busy today asking investors for $200 million in additional funding.

The Senate has passed a bill that will allow Netflix users to share what they’re watching on Facebook, and Apple said it will soon allow for 30-pin and Lightning dock connector combos. We found out today that Ubisoft may be looking to buy up some of THQ’s assets, while Electronic Arts dropped some new details on End Game, the next piece of Battlefield 3 DLC. Instagram has been updated on iOS and Android, and Facebook has released a new Poke app to take on Snapchat. The Archos 97 Titanium HD was revealed today with a impressive 2048×1536 resolution, while Google is said to be teaming up with Motorola to make a new X Phone.

Neilsen’s 2012 recap ranks the year’s top performers, and Google has launched a new search trial that uses receipts and hotel reservations from your Gmail account. Finally tonight, Chris Burns tells us why BlackBerry is jumping the shark with tiered service plans, Don Reisinger explains why the dual-screen TV experience doesn’t do anything for him, we go hands-on with EyeEm, and Chris Davies calls out Instagram for taking the lazy, sneaky way out. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you enjoy the weekend folks!

This machine will take on Acer’s still-burgeoning smartphone attack across Europe and will likely hit the USA early next year as the company attempts to converge on the states. Inside this phone is a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5Ghz processor running from 384MHz to 1.512GHz bottom to top. This processor is the MSM8960 and has been seen on several smartphones throughout 2012 such as the HTC One series and the Samsung Galaxy S III, not to mention the LG Optimus LTE II and the Motorola RAZR MAXX HD.

This machine will carry with it Acer’s own view of Android right over the top of Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean with connections to the rest of their smartphone and desktop computer universe. This means it’ll be working with Acer cloud services and will have many of the same manufacturer-specific software perks that Acer machines have worked with throughout 2012.

We’ll know more about this machine either at CES 2013 or Mobile World Congress 2013 – and lucky you, SlashGear will be live in-person to bring you all the heat. Meanwhile have a peek at the Acer tag portal as well as the portals for both of the events via their names right here in this paragraph (MWC link coming soon). It’s going to be fun and excitement from Acer all year through!

[via GLbenchmark]

The makers of the POP charger are now being forced to refund Kickstarter pledges after they failed to secure the rights to use Apple’s Lightning cable, and Adobe has acquired Behance to improve its Creative Cloud offerings. We heard today that HTC might have suspended a number of smartphone orders for 2013, while the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone was leaked with a couple of different color combinations. Speaking of BlackBerry, RIM released its Q3 2013 earnings today, showing a slight profit gain but also some subscriber loss.

The Steam holiday sale kicked off today, so hopefully you have some money left in your bank account after all of your holiday shopping. GM is recalling more than 145,000 mid-sized trucks after a hood latch issue, and Facebook is testing a new feature that will let you send messages to strangers for a fee. Polaroid will be showing off a mirrorless Android camera at CES 2013, while the FTC clarified some of the amendments in its Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule today.

Amazon has ordered six original TV shows and will let viewers vote on the pilots, and Foxconn has purchased a 9% stake in GoPro for $200 million. Flipboard landed on Android tablets today, while Borderlands 2‘s next DLC was given a release date. Final Fantasy IV is now available on the iOS App Store, while the makers of the eagle-stealing-baby video that has been such a hit on YouTube revealed that it was a fake. Those who purchased a Windows 7 PC and now want to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro might need to supply their product key to do so, and finally tonight, we go hands-on with Rockmelt for iOS. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you enjoy the rest of your night folks!

This tablet will more than likely be revealed in early 2013 either at CES 2013 or MWC 2013 – both of which SlashGear will, of course, be covering will bells on. Acer has been known to bring many different sizes of tablets to the market and a new iteration looking like what we’re seeing here is entirely believable given their past executions and the market today. Today’s leak includes an FCC listing as well as a couple of, as mentioned, full-color photos.

This machine has a Mediatek processor inside with dual-core CPU action and 512 MB of RAM. Inside you’ll also find 8GB of storage and a microSD card slot for memory expansion. This Acer amalgamation of excellence will be coming with Bluetooth 4.0 as well as GPS and will likely be running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean when it’s revealed.

The temperature of the tablet war today dictates that this beast will be going up for battle with the likes of the ASUS $99 tablet and the Google Nexus 7, not to mention the iPad mini. In a price war it would seem that the Android masses are coming up quick with the consumer products the public wants – less power under the hood for a much, much lower cost than ever before. We’ll see more soon!

[via PhoneArena]

This device is said to be bringing on Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean, a 4.5-inch qHD (960 x 540 pixel) display, and a 1GHz dual-core processor. While it’s not quite top of the pile when it comes to best specifications on the market, this machine’s 244.77 PPI display and the two front-facing speakers are setting it up nicely to be a machine made for watching videos and playing fabulous video games.

This device is said to weigh in at 140 grams and is 9.9mm thin and works with a 5 megapixel camera on the back with a single LED flash. You’ve got a microSD card slot for memory expansion, and the whole beast is quite likely to be revealed in early 2013. Also of interest is the two giant screws on the back of this machine. While we’ve never seen anything exactly like these on a smartphone as such, we must assume they’re there for security of some type or another – perhaps a special unlock key tool comes with the package.

This device will continue to push Acer into the smartphone universe without making it appear that they’re making a grab for the top spot. It would be foolish for Acer to attempt to take on the Samsung Galaxy S III and the iPhone 5 as these two titans are already very well established in the minds of the masses. Instead, continuing to grab hold of the middle-market will be the groups best bet – expect more of this throughout 2013.

Thanks for the tip, Jerry!

[via VR-Zone]

What we know so far is that it’ll have a 4.5-inch display with a rather disappointing qHD resolution (960 x 540). On the inside, it’ll run a dual-core 1GHz processor, and will feature a 5MP rear camera with a VGA-quality front-facing camera. It’s said it’ll run Android 4.1, as opposed to 4.2, but at least it’s getting Jelly Bean to begin with.

There’s no mention of how much RAM this puppy will hold, nor is there any say on whether a microSD card slot will be available. The device is said to weigh in at just under five ounces and has measurements of 132mm x 68.5mm x 9.9mm, making it a fairly large handset, but not anything that we haven’t seen before.

The V360 is expected to be available in both black and white, and will debut somewhere around $300 without a contract, which isn’t a bad price at, especially off-contract. Of course, it’s definitely not a high-end device by any means, so it’s certainly believable that it won’t cost as much as some top-tier phones currently on the market.

[via Android Community]

UPDATE: Acer has updated the status of this machine saying that this boosted C7 Chromebook is not an official model at the moment. We’ll just have to wait and see if the higher-spec’d machines hit the market soon!

Storage takes a leap from 320GB to 500GB, though of course Google would still prefer you to use its cloud-based storage. 100GB is included for the first two years of ownership, according to Acer. As for the battery, that doubles in capacity. Acer claimed 3.5hrs of runtime from the 2,500 mAh li-ion pack in the $200 C7, whereas the 5,000 mAh pack in the $300 version is estimated at 6hrs runtime. Considering we managed around 4hrs from the basic C7, we’d expect Acer’s figures to hold up for the beefier version.

That means that the Chromebook to go for if battery life is your priority remains Samsung’s Series 3, which uses its frugal ARM-based processor to good effect and squeezes out several hours more than the Acer can manage.

We’re yet to see the C710-2605 version of Acer’s Chromebook go up for sale, though our guess would be that it’ll happen sooner rather than later.

[Thanks tipster!]

Design

If we were judging this simply based on looks, the Apsire 7600U would receive a glowing review. This is one sexy computer, with its 27-inch screen and a glass panel that covers the entire thing. Make no mistake, this is a big and heavy computer, but its been very well designed. Beneath the screen is a piece of glass that spans the entire width of the computer – this looks nice, but it does attract dirt and fingerprints easily. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be an issue with the screen itself, and even if your screen gets dirty after a while, Acer was kind enough to include a microfiber cloth to wipe it down. Ah, the little things.

On the right side of the device is where the Blu-Ray drive and eject button are located, with nothing else to accompany them. On the left side there’s a bit more going on, with two USB 3.0 ports, a multi-card slot, and jacks for a microphone and headset. Around the back of the device there are even more ports, including two HDMI ins, one HDMI out, a set of four of USB ports (with one of them housing the Bluetooth module), Ethernet, and SPDIF. Among other things, the HDMI in ports mean you can connect an Xbox 360 or PS3 (or Wii U, if you’re lucky enough to have one already), and with a screen as nice as this, it might not be a bad idea.

When I initially pulled the computer out of the box, I spent a good five minutes trying to find the power jack so I could, you know, actually turn this thing on. After looking all over the back and sides, I finally found it – it was on the end of the silver kickstand that’s attached to this all-in-one. That annoyed me at first, but after a while, I came to love the idea. By having the power jack there, it keeps the power cord out of the way, which means that there will be one less cord to get tangled up in the mess you’re bound to have back there before long.

The kickstand itself is nice and sturdy, and though I’m not usually a fan of them, I like this one. The silver meshes well with the overall design, and this kickstand in particular manages to look sleek while still being strong enough to hold this beast of a computer up.

All in all, this is one really nice looking computer. From a design standpoint, it doesn’t get much better than this, and the fact that it’s so slim helps with that a lot. As you get closer to the top, the thickness increases to make room for the Blu-Ray drive and the speakers, but even at it’s thickest, this computer is still pretty thin. As I said above, if we were judging this solely on looks, the Aspire 7600U would receive an excellent review. However, design is only one aspect of the equation, and it takes a back seat to things like hardware and overall ease-of-use.

Hardware

The hardware found in the Aspire 7600U is somewhat underwhelming, which is a shame considering how good this computer looks. Before we jump inside, let’s talk about the screen a little more. As you already know, the 7600U offers a 27-inch screen, this one displaying at 1920×1080 resolution. I think the screen looks great – brightness is spot on for my tastes, and the colors are great. With the Blu-Ray drive this computer comes standard with, it makes a great machine for watching movies, and I have a feeling you’ll be pleased with the results if you decide to connect a game console. The screen features 10-point multitouch, which allows you to take full advantage of Windows 8.

The 7600U comes equipped with an Intel Core i5 3210M clocked at 2.5GHz, which is similar to the processors we see in some ultrabooks. That should give you an idea of where this is headed – you won’t have a lot of power to work with, at least as far as the processor is concerned.

Thankfully, the Core i5 isn’t terrible, and the 7600U seems to make up for it in other areas. For instance, there are 8GB of RAM in this bad boy, which should be enough to keep things speedy most of the time. The processor may struggle occasionally, but it’s nice to have 8GB of RAM on board.

Surprisingly, the 7600U also uses discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M graphics, which makes it a capable gaming rig. You’re not going to be able to crank everything up to max settings on more recent games, but the 7600U should be able run a number of games without any issues. The problem, of course, is the processor – while the GPU isn’t half bad, that doesn’t really matter if the processor isn’t all that it could be. It would have been nice to see a Core i7 in the configuration I received to review, but that would have driven costs up so high that I think Acer would have had a difficult time moving units.

The speakers on the 7600U are decent, but they aren’t great. Sounds aren’t always as full as they should, and the bass in particular could definitely use a boost. They can certainly get loud though, but you may not want to go too high if you’re watching an action movie or playing a game with a lot of explosions (which seems to be most games these days). Truth be told, you’re better off using a good pair of headphones – those will give you the good sound quality you need to go along with the excellent screen.

The 7600U also ships with a matching wireless mouse and keyboard. Both look sleek, and while I was quite pleased with the keyboard, the mouse leaves something to be desired. The mouse feels fine in the hand, though clicking the mouse buttons isn’t all that satisfying. It’s also worth pointing out that the mouse only includes left and right buttons and a scroll wheel, so you’re essentially getting the bare minimum as far as mice go.

Let’s jump back to the keyboard, which I think is a pretty nice piece of equipment. The keyboard for the 7600U is very, very slim, which makes it feel a little on the delicate side, but typing on it is a pleasant experience. On this you’ll find chiclet-style keys we see on notebooks and ultrabooks, and these keys give off a satisfying sound when you hit them. The keyboard manages to pack in a full number pad while remaining quite small, which is nice. There was one small problem I ran into, though: the wireless on this keyboard seems to be a bit touchy at times. There were a few times I was trying to type something with nothing showing up on screen, but a quick adjustment was all that was needed to fix this issue.

Software

One of the main draws of the 7600U is Windows 8. Microsoft’s new operating system is aimed directly toward touchscreens, and with 27-inches of real estate to play with, it works well on the 7600U. If you’re new to Windows 8 you’ll probably still feel completely lost for a little while starting out, but the touchscreen definitely lets you get the hang of things quickly.

You’ll have a number of pre-installed apps right from the start, but thankfully, some of them are actually useful. Acer has taken the liberty of installing apps like Evernote, Netflix, Spotify, Hulu Plus, eBay, and Kindle, so if you’re a user of some or all of those services, it’s nice to have the app ready to go right when you pull it out of the box. A trial of Cut the Rope is installed too, which makes for a perfect way of testing out the screen.

Of course, Microsoft’s programs are there in force too, with Skype, a trial of Microsoft Office 2010, and Internet Explorer present and accounted for. There are also the standard Windows 8 apps including People, Weather, Finance, News, and SkyDrive, so you’ve got a healthy serving of apps already installed before you even plug it in. You’ll have 909GB of the 7600U’s 1TB hard drive available to use, and the installed apps bring that total down to 871GB of free space – that amount should tide you over for a while, but some may want to do some cleaning once they get the computer out of the box.

Above the screen, the 7600U has a camera for video chat and gesture controls. Gesture controls don’t seem to work as well as they should, which is a shame because I could see them coming in handy. The problem is that the camera doesn’t always recognize what it is you’re trying to do – I even had issues working my way through Acer’s tutorial. Instead of popping your hand up for a quick command, often times you end up waving your arms around as if you were playing a Kinect game. It may be a better idea to skip gesture controls entirely and just use the touchscreen or the mouse and keyboard instead.

Benchmarks

Running the 7600U through Geekbench, it’s obvious that we don’t have the most powerful computer on our hands. With a score of 8549, the 7600U actually falls in line with the ratings we see for a number of ultrabooks out there. That being said, it isn’t as if the score is a terrible one, and the 7600U does have some decent hardware running under the hood. The problem with that is the computer’s hardware doesn’t really justify the high cost.

Wrap-Up

So with the Aspire 7600U, we have a computer that’s shooting for high-end but doesn’t quite make it. The screen is definitely the star of this show at 27-inches with 1080p HD and ten-point multitouch to boot. The whole unit looks great too; no cheap looking stand, a slim design despite the fact that Acer had to cram so much hardware behind that screen, and an overall look that does scream “high-end.”

The problem, though, is with the hardware. With that $1899 price tag, it’s clear that you’re paying a lot of money for the screen, as the hardware on its own isn’t all that expensive. The Geforce GT 640M is definitely appreciated, but I feel that the Core i5 might hold it back in some instances. We’d really be rocking if the i5 had been swapped out for an i7, but that would have easily pushed the cost up above $2000, a price point Acer is clearly trying to stay under.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked the time I spent with the 7600U. I just think there will be quite a few folks who will pass at the $1899 price point. Acer did a lot of cool things with this computer, but in the end, the Aspire 7600U falls short of greatness almost every time.

Hardware

This machine works with a set of two USB 3.0 ports, one micro-HDMI-out port, a combo headphone/mic jack, and a DC-in jack for your power cord. On the right you’ve got a dual memory card reader for SD and MMC, and also included in the box you’ve got a couple of adapter cords, one made for VGA output, the other allowing you to use an Ethernet cord (USB to RJ-45). The camera up front is a 1.3 megapixel HD webcam able to pick up 1280 x 1024 for video chat, the battery inside is a 4-cell lithium polymer at 4680mAh, and you’ve got 4096MB DDR3 dual-channel memory (4GB onboard memory) as well as Intel HD Graphics 4000 to keep that massively dense display high-powered.

This machine works with Optimized Dolby Home Theater v4 audio enhancements with two built-in stereo speakers and high-definition audio support. There’s also a built-in digital microphone for use with your video chat adventures, and under the hood you’ve got a lovely 256GB SSD drive as well. The touchpad is what Acer calls their “ZoomPerfect” unit with single and multi-finger scroll action – that’s up to 5 fingers to scroll, pinch, rotate, flip, and the like.

Weighing in at 2.86 lbs / 1.3kg and measuring in at 17.2″ W x 3.58″ D x 10.67″ H (437mm W x 91mm D x 271mm H), you’ll find this mix of metal and glass to be a joy to use – and to look at. When you open it and feel the unique edges around the touchscreen as well as the Gorilla Glass top, you’ll find yourself dually impressed. This machine is an Acer triumph without a doubt in its hardware build – the aesthetics alone make this easily one of the most beautifully full-looking notebooks on the market – and not just in the Windows 8 category.

The machine folds down to a thinness that’s straight up surprising, making it opening it for the first time an experience that may very well have you skipping the pleasantries and kicking your pocketbook out immediately. But you’ll want to take heed: there are some drawbacks to such a thin beast with a display that’s both touch-capable and incredible sharp, not to mention bright as you could possible want it to be. Battery life – as I’m sure you’re wondering about – will betray you if you’re expecting to go more than 4 hours at full-blast high-action video streaming and interactive touchscreen gaming.

But if you’re a realist and never go anywhere with your notebook computer without a power cord anyway, you’re going to have a bit more difficult a time finding reasons not to want this machine. Of course the price is always going to be a factor here in our present when it’s above $1,600 USD. That’s a massive price for a computer, especially if you only plan on using it to impress your friends and surf the web. That’s not what this computer is made for.

Instead you’re going to want to focus on what you get for the price. Acer has created a masterpiece for the Windows 8 generation. This is the computer Steve Ballmer should be carrying around to show off what Windows 8 can do – it’s that slick.

Peruse the rest of the reviews of this machine as they appear popping up across the web over the next few weeks and see where the low points are – you’ll find many folks saying the price is prohibitive while the rest suggest that the battery life in any notebook should be 6 hours or more. First you should know that we’ve gotten 5+ hours out of the device on multiple heavy-use occasions – great by your average user’s standards. Next you’ll be glad to hear that standby time for this notebook is undeniably great – Acer assures that with “Acer Hybrid Standby Technology” you’ll be able to get 80 days of standby power: that’s intense, and we’ve not seen any evidence yet to suggest they’re telling us anything less than the truth there with months of up-time. These “low points” are completely forgivable for what Acer is presenting here in the Autumn of 2012.

Software

The 10-finger touchscreen you’re working with here includes some software enhancements – most of them aesthetic – that make your Windows 8 experience the best we’ve seen thus far. You get tiny momentarily-visible transparent dots wherever you tap the screen, and as you move your fingers around, you get ghostly trails from your fingertips, allowing you to instantly understand how your tips are touching and moving. Having used several touchscreen PCs before the dawn of Windows 8, we can safely say that this is a major leap forward in real-world usability, without a doubt.

Have a peek also at our full Windows 8 review to see exactly what we’re dealing with here, with a few additions that include mostly new apps and security measures from Acer. You’ve got Acer Theft Shield, Acer Cloud, Acer Backup Manager, ePower Management, and eRecovery Management, and a whole lot more. For the most part, Acer’s additions to the basic Windows 8 build include connections to their own ecosystem – most of which are entirely positive and worth the effort you’ll be using to attach yourself.

You’ll be using your touchpad here in combination with the touch screen, but you’ll be able to use one or the other exclusively if you’re up for it. There’s an on-screen touch keyboard you can use if for some reason you want to move your hands up 4 inches above your perfectly capable physical keyboard, and the touchscreen isn’t necessarily required, so to speak, for anything if you don’t want to. You also get a Bluetooth mouse with the package if you’re feeling like some standard plastic mouse action – it’s standard, and certainly usable, but not a whole lot more than that. The physical keyboard also uses the computer’s light sensing abilities to keep your eyes happy, with backlighting activating as the atmosphere dims.

If you have trouble with “setting up” your computer, you can refer to the included “Setup Poster” included in the box, or you can use your Wireless Setup Card too – Acer has made the process simpler than ever before here – strange since the process includes no more than a few button taps and maybe even a connection with password to your wireless network. Important point here is that it’s simple enough for your parents to do themselves – really!

Have a peek at our standard benchmarking results here with Geekbench and feel the power – it’s a top of the line experience whether you’re cruising through your newest massively power-hungry game or viewing your favorite HD feature film.

Sound

The speakers on this machine are good enough for a personal computing experience and accurate even up to their loudest positions. Acer isn’t messing around with the external speaker sound quality here, with two Acer 3DSonic stereo speakers backed up with sound enhancements by Dolby. The fans on this machine, working with Acer TwinAir cooling technology, can get a bit louder than we’d like to hear on a regular basis. It’s not an issue unless you’re working with high-powered gaming or hours and hours of streaming video, and the trade-off is a rather pleasant lap experience – we’ve not felt anything hot going on yet.

Unique Touchscreen Experience

This machine has a hinge that allows it to fold back to 180 degrees – that means you’ll be able to go flat against a table, keyboard and touchscreen included. If you’ve used a machine that folds back further than this, you’ll find yourself feeling a bit limited by the flat-stop. If you’ve only ever used a notebook that folds back to 45 degrees, on the other hand, you’ll be surprised by how often you’ll want to push that screen back further, and further, and further. The viewing angles on the display are also near-perfect, making any angle look as great as the next (unless you count the high-gloss reflection-intense glass, of course).

This will also be a new experience for those of you used to using a tablet computer exclusively, as it really does combine the notebook and tablet experiences into one. If you’ve ever found yourself tapping your notebook screen after extensive tablet use, you’ll fall right in line with the S7′s experience. Windows 8 and the developers optimizing their applications for touchscreen action here in the first Windows 8 wave of app upgrades make this touch-and-tap combination one we’re really, truly enjoying. Working with the Aspire S7 will make you want to convert to this new universe – it’ll make you want to change and be assimilated.

Wrap-Up

This machine is Acer’s best effort yet. It’s an Ultrabook that makes the Windows 8 experience an enjoyable one – and on a personal note, it’s the first in many moons that’s made certain Apple-exclusive family members of mine think about trying a switch (having seen it at Thanksgiving, of course). You’ll certainly have to weigh the benefits of having this top-class machine in your position against the amount of cash you’re going to have to dish out since it’s certainly not the most budget-minded beast on the market, but after that, it’s all smooth sailing.

As with all of our reviews of products large and small, this is not the end of the review – let us know if there’s anything else you’d like to know about the machine and we’ll do our best to let you know what we know! We’ll continue to test this machine into the future and will let you know if anything ground-shattering changes our experience in any grand way – meanwhile feel free ask any and all questions you may have and make requests to your heart’s content!

Hardware

Like each of the three hero Chromebooks being shown by Google right this minute, you get 100GB of Google Drive storage for free for 2 years – once it runs out, you simply cannot add any more files to that extra space, but if you want, you can certainly keep your files up there forever (so they say.) Other than this, it’s a whole different ballgame. This machine has an 11.6-inch display that has generally OK viewing angles, but don’t expect to sit anywhere other than directly in front of or to the left or right of it, or you’ll start to see the light.

You’ve got a boot time that’s “under 20 seconds”, so Google says and quotes correctly, leading us to note that yes, indeed, it is a fast machine. It’s quickness should be assumed, of course, due to the very lightweight nature of Chrome OS. It’s essentially a small storage space on your device tied with the Google Chrome web browser – that’s what Chrome OS is, and that’s what it remains here with the Acer solution.

The 4 hours of battery life you’re quoted exists when you’re actively using the device for 4 hours straight, on the web. If you leave the device open and asleep, you’ll easily get several days of uptime. The processor inside this beast is extremely good at battery conservation, that’s for certain. We’ve literally had the device on for three days at a time with no more than 20 percent battery drain – fully asleep, mind you, with no power cord, either.

You can connect this device to a larger monitor via VGA or HDMI if you like, with the second monitor offering you a mirror of what your Chromebook is showing off. This is good for showing webpages to your colleagues as well as YouTube videos – or your Google Play movie collection. You can also connect to other devices with the three USB ports on this device quite easily, and the whole machine works with a dual wi-fi chip that’s able to connect anywhere in your house – with plastic being the main material used here, this machine has no trouble sending or receiving signals of any kind.

You can connect with the Ethernet port on the left side of this device as well if you’re going for ultra-quick web connectivity. This works great to upload or download media to and from your 320 GB of build-in hard drive disk space as well as your full-sized SD/MMC card port that sits just under your keyboard down and to the left. The camera that sits above the monitor on this device is called “HD” but delivers just a generally acceptable web chat experience for Google+ Hangouts – and/or wherever else you plan on chatting via video.

User Experience

This device, much like the Samsung Series 3 solution, is made for web browsing and web browsing alone. If you want the most full-featured computing experience you’ve ever laid your hands on, look elsewhere. What we’ve got here is $199 worth of hardware from top to bottom. It’s not aiming to be the most fantastically simple notebook on the planet, and as its made of primarily plastic, you wont be winning any “wow this notebook feels amazing” awards.

What you will get is a perfectly legitimate web browsing device – and if your primary reasoning behind purchasing a notebook is to browse the web, you’ve got yourself a winner right here. Google has successfully created a user experience here with Chrome OS in its current state that cuts down on everything not necessary to browse the web and have a good time doing it.

The only deterrent you should have here as far as usability goes is the touchpad. It’s not a MacBook, that’s for certain, but it’s just as high quality as the Samsung model. If you’re used to a standard netbook or a low-end notebook running Windows or Linux (with some exceptions), you’ll be perfectly satisfied with this experience tapping and scrolling.

Wrap-up

Acer has succeeded in boiling out all the high-end features that make a notebook cost more than $400 and took Google’s Chrome OS to just about as standard and basically acceptable place as they possibly could, tagging it with a very suitable $199 pricetag. If you only want to browse the web with your notebook, and that’s it, this machine will serve you well.

Be sure to head to your local large-arena showroom store to check how this machine feels in your hands before you pick it up, then be glad you kept the other $300 you’d have otherwise spent on a notebook full of features you might never have used. Use it to buy a Google Nexus 7 and take your best pal out for a nice supper on top.

This machine also has a beastly 320GB hard drive, so you’ll have no worries when it comes to keeping all your media safe. The C7 Chromebook comes with an Intel Core processor for awesome power – here with an 18 second boot-up time, so says Google. This device also comes with all the lovely Google Chrome apps you love – the same as every Chromebook, as it were, since they’re all based in the Chrome web browser.

This device is 1 inch thin and weighs in at 3 pounds. It’s got dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and ethernet access for the web, and both a VGA port as well as a full-size HDMI port for video output. This machine is added to the burgeoning family of next-generation Chromebooks that also includes the Series 3 Chromebook from Samsung and the Samsung Chromebook 550. It’s also got additional bonuses such as 12 free sessions of Gogo Inflight internet – connect up high!

This device is sure to add to the madness that is next-to-free notebook devices, especially and particularly because of it’s $199 price point undercutting the already undeniable $249 of the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook. If you’re thinking about getting a device for web browsing only – this is certainly going to be one of your best bets. Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on the Chromebook universe as it ramps up to the 2012 holiday season.

[via Google]

As Acer President Jim Wong told Reuters this week, “Originally we had a very aggressive plan to come out very early next year but because of Surface, our R&D development doesn’t stop, but we are much more cautious.” He also made it clear that they’ll be delaying not just until 2013, but nearer the second quarter of the year rather than the first. This is not that much of a difference for some consumers, but certainly a change for interested investors.

“Originally our plan was Q1, but now I don’t think it will be earlier than Q2. I don’t know what’s next, what Microsoft will do. We are watching how Surface is doing … How is RT accepted by customers, how Microsoft is aggressive on RT and on Surface, we don’t know… We want to see.” – Wong

Imagine if the rest of the Microsoft partners did this with their own hardware, waiting until the Surface Pro was released before they put out any sort of touchscreen device running Windows 8. Such a thing would force Microsoft to put their own hardware out early – never a great moment for a tech company no matter how you spin it. At the moment though it does appear that Acer is the only business stopping up production in light of the Surface RT.

Wong did note that he recalled Lenovo and ASUS bringing forward Windows RT tablets at $599 USD price points before Microsoft revealed their own $499 Surface machine. Their response was, of course, to make slight changes that allowed for slightly lower price points. Now continues the war of prices, we must judge, rather than destruction of hardware amalgamations. Prepare yourself for the inexpensive quality PC!