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Acer reveals new Chromebooks and notebooks

by on01 September 2016


Swiftly spinning

Acer has been showing off its new Chromebook, Swift notebooks and Spin convertible laptops ahead of the IFA consumer electronics trade show in Berlin.

First up is the 13.3-inch Chromebook R 13 which is its follow-up to the smaller Chromebook R 11. Someone should have told them that the number 13 was unlucky, not 12 and they skipped the wrong digit. The R 13 has a 360 degree hinge that allows the touchscreen display to be flipped back and used as a tablet, or propped up to view movies.

It has an HD display with a 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution, and is powered by a MediaTek quad-core processor, and has 4GB RAM. It features USB Type-C, USB 3.0, and HDMI ports, Bluetooth 4.0, and microphone and headphone jacks. According to Acer, the notebook weighs in at 1.49kg (3.28 pounds) and has a 12-hour battery life.

The device has 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB built-in storage and goes on sale in the US and Europe in October, priced from $399. It will also eventually support installing Android apps. Also on the release list are new Windows 10 devices with Chipzilla’s seventh generation 'Kaby Lake' core processors under the bonnet.

The Windows 10 machines include the Spin convertible series and the new ultra-thin Swift series notebooks.

The 14-inch display Spin 7 notebook is the top of the range, followed by the 13.3-inch display Spin 5, the 15.6-inch display Spin 3, and the Spin 1, which is targeted at students and is available in 13.3-inch and 11.6-inch display variants.

The Spin 7 has an aluminium unibody and is powered by an Intel Core i7 processor, with up to 8GB RAM, and 256 GB solid state disk storage. It weighs 1.2 kg and a width of 10.98mm (0.43 inches). It has includes two USB 3.1 Type-C ports.

The Spin 7, 5 and three go on sale in the US and Europe in October. The seven’s prices starting at $1,199. The Spin 5 starts at $599, while the Spin 3 starts at $499. The Spin 1, arrives in the US by December starting at $249 and Europe in November.

Meanwhile Acer has released its Swift line up. These are headed up by the aluminium construction, black and gold Swift 7. It features a 13.3-inch full-HD IPS display and Intel 7th generation i5 processor, with a 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM. It boasts fast wireless and dual USB 3.1 Type-C ports.

Acer claims it can manage nine hours of battery life for the device and it weighs 1.1kg and has a height of 9.98mm. This means that it is the slimmest in the Swift series and will be available in the US and Europe in October from $999.

The Swift 5 has a slightly larger 14-inch display and is 14.58mm thick, weighing 1.36kg. It is based around Kaby Lake and has SSD storage in 256GB or 512GB variants. It ships with 8GB RAM and promises up to 13-hours battery life. The notebook will go on sale in the US and Europe in November from $749.

The lower cost Swift 3 goes on sale in the US and Europe in October starting at $499 while budget Swift 1 will be available in the US in November for $249 and October for Europe.

For gamers, Acer also launched what it says is the world's first laptop with a curved screen. The Predator 21 X is a notebook with a 21-inch curved display utilising eye-tracking technology. The Windows 10 machine features Intel's seventh generation processor, two of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1080 GPUs, and five cooling fans.

Last modified on 01 September 2016
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