{"id":3367,"date":"2013-09-04T12:30:18","date_gmt":"2013-09-04T16:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=3367"},"modified":"2013-09-04T12:30:18","modified_gmt":"2013-09-04T16:30:18","slug":"haswell-to-the-rescue-acers-refreshed-aspire-s7-ultrabook-reviewed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2013\/09\/04\/haswell-to-the-rescue-acers-refreshed-aspire-s7-ultrabook-reviewed\/","title":{"rendered":"Haswell to the rescue: Acer\u2019s refreshed Aspire S7 Ultrabook reviewed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Enlarge<\/a> \/ Acer’s refreshed Aspire S7 rights some (but not all) of the first version’s wrongs.<\/div>\n
Andrew Cunningham<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There’s nothing more frustrating than hardware that’s almost<\/em> great. Whether it’s a phone with a subpar screen, a tablet with poor battery life, or a laptop with a lackluster keyboard, there is no disappointment quite like the product that does everything right\u2014you know, if you ignore the one or two crucial things that it does poorly.
\nAcer’s Aspire S7 Ultrabook was one of those almost-great systems. For some time now, Acer has been trying to shed its image as a purveyor of bargain-basement laptops, and the well-built, attractively styled S7 was its most convincing effort yet. But two major shortcomings held the laptop back: a poor keyboard with a strange layout and shallow key travel, and a battery barely worthy of the name.
\nNow the S7 is back, and it’s packing Intel’s Haswell processors. The 2013 MacBook Air<\/a> has already shown us what those chips can do for your battery life, but can they do the same thing for Acer\u2019s Ultrabook? And does the Haswell version of the system have the same keyboard problems that the older version did?<\/p>\n

Body, build quality, and screen<\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
\n
Enlarge<\/a> \/<\/span> The Aspire S7 is the archetypal Ultrabook.<\/div>\n
Andrew Cunningham<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Specs at a glance: Acer Aspire S7 (2013)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Screen<\/th>\n1920\u00d71080 at 13.3″ (166 PPI)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
OS<\/th>\nWindows 8 64-bit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CPU<\/th>\n1.6GHz Intel Core i5-4200U (Turbo up to 2.6GHz)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RAM<\/th>\n8GB 1600MHz DDR3 (non-upgradeable)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GPU<\/th>\nIntel HD Graphics 4400 (integrated)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
HDD<\/th>\n128GB solid-state drive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Networking<\/th>\n802.11a\/b\/g\/n, Bluetooth 4.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ports<\/th>\n2x USB 3.0, HDMI, mini DisplayPort, card reader, headphones<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Size<\/th>\n12.7″ \u00d7 8.8″ \u00d7 0.51″ (322.6 mm \u00d7 223.5 mm \u00d7 12.95 mm)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weight<\/th>\n2.87 lbs (1.30 kg)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Battery<\/th>\n6280 mAh<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Warranty<\/th>\n1 year<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Starting price<\/th>\n$1,399.99<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Price as reviewed<\/th>\n$1,449.99<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Other perks<\/th>\nWebcam, backlit keyboard, stereo speakers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Haswell S7 looks and feels pretty much the same as the Ivy Bridge version. That\u2019s a good thing\u2014PC designs are often changed for the sake of change, and it can be difficult to find a design you like one year that isn\u2019t changed drastically a year or two down the road. The laptop is still very thin-and-light (2.87 pounds, compared to 2.97 pounds for Toshiba\u2019s Kirabook and 2.96 for Apple\u2019s 13-inch MacBook Air), so it\u2019s no trouble at all to sling it in a shoulder bag and carry it around all day.
\nThe computer is made primarily of three different materials: glass, which coats the screen and is used on the lid of the laptop; aluminum, which is used around the edge of the screen and for the palmrest and keyboard area; and plastic, which is used for the bottom of the computer. While it\u2019s not quite as sturdy as the aluminum unibody construction of the MacBook Air\u2014both the lid and the bottom of the laptop bend and flex under pressure\u2014it\u2019s still very good. In fact it’s good enough to make you forget about the cheap plasticky stuff that Acer (and, to be fair, every other PC OEM) put out at the low end of the market.
\nThe laptop\u2019s white glass lid is especially striking, and it\u2019s unique among the mostly metal or plastic lids used by other similar laptops. The glass on both sides of the lid is Gorilla Glass 2 so it should stand up to scratches, cracks, and chips as well as most phone and tablet screens. However, using glass for the lid still makes me just a little nervous\u2014I\u2019ve seen enough screens cracked from rough handling during air travel that a lid made of the same stuff gives me pause.
\nFull Story: ArsTechnica<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Enlarge \/ Acer’s refreshed Aspire S7 rights some (but not all) of the first version’s wrongs. Andrew Cunningham There’s nothing 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