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Acer Aspire S3 ultrabook unboxed, first impressions

We got this Acer Aspire S3 ultrabook this morning. It was a prize from last week’s raffle by Acer Philippines during the launch event of the Aspire S3, one of the first ultrabook to be released in the country.

The Aspire S3 took some design pointers from the Macbook Air with its brushed aluminum finish, curved corners, tapered edges and that signature chiclet-type keyboard.

It’s thin, it’s light and definitely sexy. It’s not as thin as the 13-inch MBA but within range. And unlike the Air’s tear-drop design, the Aspire S3 is flat from tip to base.

Except for the SD card reader on the right and the 3.5mm audio port on the left side, all the other ports are found at the back — 2 USB 2.0 ports and a full HDMI port aligned neatly at the back end.

Back in Singapore, I saw all of the PC stores in Sim Lim had this unit on display and came with 3 configurations — a Core i3, i5 and i7.

In the Philippines, I am told this is the only configuration available at the moment:

Acer Aspire S3 specs:
13.3″ LCD display @ 1366×768 pixels
Intel Core i5 2467M 1.6Ghz dual-core
4GB DDR3 RAM
320GB SATA HDD + 20GB SSD
Intel HD Graphics 3000 w/ 128MB RAM
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
1.3MP webcam
2-in-1 card reader
USB 2.0 port
HDMI port
Windows 7 Home Premium

This is almost the same configuration as the Php60+k Macbook Air, sans the HDD. In a way, if you just look at the specs and form factor, you’d say the S3 is cheaper than the MBA by about 25%.

The trackpad is smooth and easy to use, multi-touch works great, and the full-sized keyboard is comfortable to use. It’s just been a day so far so we can’t really make any solid conclusions.

So far, the Windows Experience Index shows really good numbers. Give me a week for the full review.

Suggested retail price of the Aspire S3 is Php44,900.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

24 Responses

  1. Avatar for review center review center says:

    This is really nice! I’ve got one for myself and am so satisfied with its features.

  2. Avatar for Jazz Jazz says:

    It seems that as laptops got thinner, the space for creativity in designs got narrower. :P It’s always nice to finally have competition for what used to be a niche product category, but it’s everyone trailing Apple all over again.

  3. Avatar for Danny Danny says:

    Here’s a review of the Zenbook, no performance benchmarks though.

    http://easonfandom.blogspot.com/2011/10/review-asus-zenbook-real-ultrabook.html

    I got to see the Acer S3 in their roadshow in SM north and the feel is really plastic all over.

    Plus if I would buy an Ultrabook I would make sure its a true SSD since acer is just using smart cache technology.

  4. Avatar for Niches Niches says:

    I thought this one could really amaze me. I am planning to buy one Acer laptop but upon reading all the comments here, I am quite confused now whether to pursue on buying it or not. I am right now here in the Philippines and I don’t want my money to go to waste.

  5. Avatar for jakerazog jakerazog says:

    I just bought one recently and it frequently crashes. Wifi connection is also selective. Very poor product. looking forward to yugatech’s review; i want to know if he had the same experience.

    • Avatar for Danny Danny says:

      In reading reviews the main complaint is the battery life.

      how’s the battery life?

      Less than 5 hours? or even worse?

    • Avatar for jakerazog jakerazog says:

      wifi off, at low battery consumption setting – 6 hours

      wifi on, at low battery consumption, – 4 to 4 1/2 hours

      wife on, at balanced battery consumption – 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

      My unit was defective. I am not sure if this is the standard. I am waiting for the replacement.

    • Avatar for Danny Danny says:

      What! Its just out in the market and its already defective? O_o

  6. Avatar for jumperman jumperman says:

    I just got a hands-on with this laptop and I’m disappointed to tell you that this does not have a unibody metal construction. The only part that’s attractive in this ultrabook is the lid…the rest is just cheap plastic that’s made to look like a metal. Not to mention, someone at laptopmag.com criticized the cheap plastic feel of the Acer Aspire S3.

    If you want the best ultrabook in town, just get the Asus Zenbook UX31 because everything else in that ultrabook is made of metal…even the keyboard is made from metal too.

  7. Avatar for SpiderWak SpiderWak says:

    Nice.. for some reason this doesn’t attract me like Asus’ and Toshiba’s ultrabooks.

    @Abe, will you do a review for Toshiba z830 once it’s available?

  8. Avatar for ako pinoy ako pinoy says:

    wow..amazing..i love it..more…i have some collection like this but i need more…please more..

  9. Avatar for Name: Ariane Name: Ariane says:

    Saw a unit of this earlier today at Octagon and got VERY interested! It’s way cheaper than the MBA and the Samsung Series 9. I’m definitely looking forward to more contenders for my next laptop upgrade. ^_^

  10. Avatar for jojo jojo says:

    Asus also has a similar product

  11. Avatar for jego207 jego207 says:

    Not bad though, the price is reasonable. But please, another iCopied design. I hope manufacturers come up with something orignal that will set them apart from Apple.

  12. Avatar for tiffany@home theater tiffany@home theater says:

    Nice. I love the specs and the fact that it looks like Apple. The price is high though but it’s worth it. I wanna have one. ;)

  13. Avatar for jcruze057 jcruze057 says:

    they had a lot of give-aways last week like a digital camera, dvd reader and free wireless mouse. i almost bought one but so sad, i was not able to bring my atm with me

  14. Avatar for Stu Stu says:

    Hi Iyan… Maybe this trackpad works like Mac’s. The trackpad itself is the the button (press-able). Just guessing. :)

  15. Avatar for garz garz says:

    I smell a lawsuit from Cupertino.

  16. Avatar for daddyjoey daddyjoey says:

    MBA with white keyboards. :D

  17. Avatar for Ehdanne Ehdanne says:

    This is a good chance for the Filipinos especially those who are Apple enthusiasts. A model that resembles that of Apple will definitely boosts the confidence of its owners.

  18. Avatar for Jay Jay says:

    hi yuga, hope you would be able to review the new lenovo e120. just got mine. good for everyday use. i am curious on your views about it.

  19. Avatar for Iyan Sommerset Iyan Sommerset says:

    Nice, except for the fact that I really hate chiclet keyboards. I like my keys as big as possible, with little-to-no space in-between them. How does that trackpad work? I don’t see any buttons.

  20. Avatar for Soul Annihilator Soul Annihilator says:

    For some reason, I’m always attracted to Acer and Asus laptop designs. I hope the price will get lower soon (though the price is pretty reasonable at this point)

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