Hasta La Gadget!

Until now, Windows fans have had precious few alternatives to the MacBook Air. Sure, there’s Samsung’s Series 9, but just like the original Air, it’s far from cheap. Since then, of course, Apple has cut the Air’s starting price to $999, while the Windows options — now marketed as Ultrabooks — are about to mushroom in number. And so far, they’re all starting in the (more reasonable) neighborhood of a thousand bucks, making these pinch-thin, long-lasting laptops accessible to the budget-conscious masses.

Acer’s Aspire S3 was the first to hit the market here in the States, and with an entry price of $899, it’s currently the least expensive. That it’s skinny (just 13mm thick, to be exact), should be a given, but it also claims to wake from sleep in two seconds flat and reconnect to known networks in two and a half. But, as the least pricey Ultrabook on the shelf, it also forgoes some specs you might have liked to see — namely, all-flash storage and USB 3.0. But does that matter much when you’re potentially saving hundreds of dollars? Let’s find out.

Continue reading Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook review

Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And the Ultrabooks have arrived! We just got word that the Acer Aspire S3 will go on sale in the US and Canada this week for $899 — making it the first pinch-thin, MacBook Air competitor to hit the market, landing ahead of competing models from Toshiba, Lenovo and ASUS. To recap, this 2.98-pound aluminum beaut has a 13.3-inch (1366 x 768) panel, is rated for six hours (or 50 standby days!) of battery life and promises to wake from sleep in a mere two seconds. For the money, you’ll get an ultra low voltage Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 20GB of solid-state storage combined with a 320GB HDD. No word yet on how many additional configs will be available, though Acer did confirm that this $899 version will be followed by models with Core i3 and i7 processors and beefier storage capacity. Intrigued? Have a gander at our hands-on preview if you missed it the first time around, and find some fancy press shots below.

Continue reading Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook hits the US and Canada this week, rings in at $899

Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook hits the US and Canada this week, rings in at $899 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Of all the “TV-like” all-in-one PCs we’ve seen, this Toshiba is perhaps the most convincing. Something about its glossy black, consumer electronic packaging and Onkyo soundbar just screams (tiny) HDTV. But, behind that 23-inch 1080p, multitouch panel is a Windows 7 PC powered by a Core i5 or i7 and 4GB of RAM. You also get a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, a 1TB hard drive, a DVD drive and a lone USB 3.0 port. There’s also an HDMI in jack for use with a game console or cable box — not bad for the oddly specific starting price of $957. When the DX735 starts shipping exclusively from Best Buy on October 2nd you’ll also have the option of adding on a TV tuner for a truly all-in-one entertainment solution. Check out the gallery below, as well as the PR after the break.

Continue reading Toshiba adds 23-inch DX735 to its multitouch all-in-one family

Toshiba adds 23-inch DX735 to its multitouch all-in-one family originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 03:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Do you despise thick bezels, yet harbor an unnatural aversion to portables from LG and Samsung? We’re not here to psychoanalyze, but ASUS’ U46SV-DH51 might be more to your liking. The “Brushed Champagne” notebook is notable for its diminutive bezel, which, like Sammy’s smaller Series 7, allows for a 14-inch display to exist in a 13-inch chassis. It’s got some punch too, packing a Core i5-2410M, 4GB of RAM, NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 540M and a DVD burner (remember those?). Not bad for a 4.85-pound laptop that’ll supposedly go 10 hours between charges and set you back $879. You’ll find a pre-order page at the source below, but before you go, why not hop past the break and indulge in a video?

[Thanks, Danijel]

Continue reading ASUS’ U46SV-DH51 goes up for pre-order, ships to bezel haters on October 1st (video)

ASUS’ U46SV-DH51 goes up for pre-order, ships to bezel haters on October 1st (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel reps just can’t resist whispering about their 2012 Core i-series. AnandTech is reporting a claimed 60 percent boost in 3DMark Vantage scores from the next-gen integrated graphics compared to Sandy Bridge, which could well put an end to Intel’s frame-rate humiliation at the hands of AMD’s A-series APUs. The bragging also extended to Quick Sync, which is “privately” said to deliver video encoding at twice the current speed. However, these claims only relate to the top tier of the Ivy Bridge range and they skirt around the key battlegrounds of raw CPU power and pricing — which is precisely where we suspect AMD’s FX series will bring the ruckus.

Intel hypes Ivy Bridge, leaves poor old Sandy in its wake originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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