NOTEBOOKS, despite their more powerful processors and storage, could never beat tablet computers in terms of responsiveness, energy efficiency, portability and power management — until recently. These machines have been given new life that allows them to be as nimble, fast and portable as tablets.
This new breed of notebooks, called ultrabooks, features design and performance aimed at attracting users of Internet services, a category that has seen many migrating to tablets in recent years.
The new Acer Aspire S3 is one such ultrabook. The review unit is equipped with an Intel Core i5 processor.
First impression
At first glance, you may mistake the Aspire S3 for the Macbook Air. But both are totally different machines.
The Aspire S3, despite being super-thin (16mm at its thickest point), feels solid in the hand, thanks to its magnesium alloy chassis. Its grey, brushed aluminum body gives it a classy, elegant look. This should win the approval of its targeted users — social networking enthusiasts and young executives. And though the machine has a rather large 13-inch screen, its thin design and light weight (1.35kg) make it easy to lug around.
Performance
At the product launch, Acer claimed that the Aspire S3 will perform like a tablet in terms of start-up and shutdown times and Net connectivity speed. As a longtime notebook user, I’ve always had an issue with the machine’s long start-up and shutdown times. That’s no longer the case with the Aspire S3 as it does act like a tablet, thanks to its Instant On capability.
It takes only 50 seconds from the time I hit the Start button to boot up, and in sleep mode it’s 11/2 seconds to resume. In deep sleep mode, the resumption time is 8 seconds. Shutting down the machine, meanwhile, takes 12 seconds. That’s not all. The fast start-up time and improved shutdown time of the Aspire S3 are complemented by its ability to be on standby mode for 50 days. This means you don’t need to shut down the machine when not in use since its battery standby time is one of the best around. During the review period, I never once shut down the Aspire S3, leaving it instead in sleep mode, and there were no problems with the battery going flat.
Inside the chassis
The review unit is powered by the second-generation Intel Core i5 processor. This clearly shows that the Aspire S3 is designed not just for looks, but also for performance. The more powerful Intel Core i7 processor version is also available. The review model features Windows 7 Home Premium, a 320GB hard disk drive and 4GB DDR3 RAM, enough for serious multi-tasking work. Running YouTube, Facebook and surfing a few Web pages at the same time, is a smooth experience.
The screen is not the brightest nor has the best resolution for an ultrabook, but it’s bright enough for regular viewing. Looking at its slender frame, I didn’t expect the Aspire S3 to excel in the sound department. But its Dolby Home Theatre sound system did well, delivering good sound quality from its tiny speakers. It’s not unusual for a notebook to heat up after long use, but the Aspire S3, with its metal body, seems to manage heat pretty well. It does feel a little warm to the touch after a couple of hours of use, but not to an uncomfortable stage.
As a machine with such a long standby time, the Aspire S3’s continuous usage time is rather disappointing. It can last only about four hours before the three-cell battery goes flat, despite the company’s claim of six hours. If Acer could come up with a six-cell version that could last up to 10 hours of continuous usage time, this would make the Aspire S3 a truly sleek mobile warrior. Also, whenever I charged the machine, I could feel the electric vibration throughout its body. I hope this is just a technical problem with the review unit. For connection to external storage or devices, the Aspire S3 has limited ports, all at the back of the machine. There are two USB 2.0 slots and one HDMI port, plus a power slot. Both sides of the ultrabook are free of ports, except for the card reader and an earphone slot.
Conclusion
The Aspire S3 is the first of its kind in the ultrabook market and I’m sure it won’t be long before more similar devices are introduced by rivals. For now, at RM2,599, this is a good buy.