Acer Intros New Windows 8 Notebooks, Ultrabooks

Acer revealed its hand of Windows 8 notebooks and Ultrabooks on Thursday, promising 10-point multi-touch displays and all-day battery life on select models. There are five devices in all: 14-inch and 15.6-inch models in the Aspire M5 Ultrabook series, and 11.6-inch, 14-inch and 15.6-inch models in the Aspire V5 Notebook series.

For starters, the Acer Aspire M5 Series of Ultrabooks (shown above) will be available exclusively at Best Buy stores across the U.S. on Oct. 26. Prices for the Aspire M5-481PT featuring Windows 8 and touch support begin at $799.99, while the 15.6-inch Aspire M5-581T non-touch configurations begin at $699.99. Here are a list of features:

Aspire M5 Ultrabook Highlights
* Offered exclusively in Best Buy stores throughout the United States
* Housed in a sleek metal chassis made of aluminum alloy or magnesium alloy
* Measures less than 1-inch thin
* A PowerSmart long-life battery pack provides up to 8 hours of computing on a single charge
* Backlit keyboard
* 3rd Generation Intel Core i5 processors with Turbo Boost Technology 2.0|
* Built-in optical drive
* Acer Green Instant On resumes the session from sleep in less than 2 seconds, from deep sleep in 6 seconds
* Acer Instant Connect re-connects to the web in 2.5 seconds
* Acer AntiTheft designates a user's home Wi-Fi network as point of origin and emits a loud sound when traveling too far.
* 500 GB HDD
* 20 GB SSD
* 2x USB 3.0 Ports
* Dolby Home Theater v4 and premium speakers
* HDMI output

Aspire M5-481PT Specific Features
* Equipped with a 10 point multi-touch technology
* 14-inch HD vivid display with a frameless, edge-to-edge design
* Silver cover made of aluminum alloy
* Weighs 4.6 pounds

Aspire M5-581T Specific Features
* Non-touch configuration
* 15.6-inch HD screen
* Dark gray cover made of magnesium alloy
* Weighs around 5 pounds

"Many consumers desire the mobility of an Ultrabook, but still require the larger displays, optical drives, all-day battery life and value offered in a more mainstream notebook PC," said Scott Ledterman, vice president of retail sales, Acer America. "The Aspire M5 series delivers that perfect combination of portability and performance for mainstream consumers, and goes a step further with premium features like touch input. We are delighted that Best Buy will offer the M Series line exclusively to their customers this holiday season." 

Next we have the three Acer Aspire V5 Series notebooks, offered in touch and non-touch configurations for Windows 8. All models will be available for sale on October 26 at leading U.S. and Canadian retailers. U.S. pricing begins at $749.99 for the Aspire V5-471P with touch support, and starts at $499.99 for the Aspire V5-571 without touch.

Canadian pricing begins at $699.99 for the Aspire V5-571P with touch support, and $449.99 for the Aspire V5-171 without touch.

Aspire V5 Notebook Highlights
* Features the latest 3rd Generation Intel Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 processors
* Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 (Core i5, i7 only)
* An HD CineCrystal widescreen LED-backlit display
* Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU
* Dolby Advanced Audio v2
* HDMI output
* An advanced 1.3MP HD webcam
* Acer clear.fi for managing, storing, sharing, and playing media among any DLNA enabled device
* Acer Instant Connect re-connects to the web in 2.5 seconds
* AcerCloud provides users with remote access to their notebook via their Android tablet or smartphone.
* 1x USB 3.0 Port

Aspire V5-171 Specific Features
* 11.6-inch display
* Weighs about 3 pounds

Aspire V5-471 Specific Features
* 14-inch display
* 10-point touch edge-to-edge technology (V5-471P only)
* Weighs 4.63 pounds
* Built-in slim DVD drive
* 500 GB or 750 GB HDD

Aspire V5-571 Specific Features
* 15.6-inch display
* 10-point touch edge-to-edge technology (V5-571P only)
* Weighs around 5 pounds
* Built-in slim DVD drive
* 500 GB or 750 GB HDD

"Acer continues to deliver on its promise to bring innovative technology with a superb blend of quality, performance and portability to consumers," said Sumit Agnihotry, vice president of product marketing, Acer America. "With Windows 8, the new Aspire V5 notebook series with touch allows consumers a premium feature even at mainstream price points."

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  • But do they bend?
    Reply
  • nukemaster
    If you a big enough blender or break them in thirds :)

    EVERYTHING will blend.
    Reply
  • rebel1280
    man... the screen...it just doesn't look right to me :( it looks so off center with the icons (are they still called that?) the way they are.
    Reply
  • Since it's not noted in the highlights, I assume these have the same crappy resolution and screens most other budget notebooks do?
    Reply
  • ojas
    isn't 5 pounds too heavy for an ultrabook?

    but interesting that they threw in an optical drive too...
    Reply
  • classzero
    rebel1280man... the screen...it just doesn't look right to me it looks so off center with the icons (are they still called that?) the way they are.Microsoft calls them "Tiles" now.
    Reply
  • Do any windows laptops have Thunderbolt ports Yet? And if they do they should be at least 200 dollars cheeper than the lowest priced Apple or I will just get an Apple! Really Tom's, at this point in time I would have expected more than a few Windows laptops and all windows ultrabooks to offer thunderbolt ports!
    Where are the laptop reviews that should be saying, "yes this laptop offers so much, but still no thunderbolt ports, what is up with that OEM?, Intel?" That article on Lucid and their external GPU enclosure has me waiting for thunderbolt on windows laptops!
    Reply
  • belardo
    Thunderbolt ports are NOT cheap yet... so even with NON-MAC computers, such ports will add about $125~175+ to the price.

    Nobody is putting a gun to their heads to keep them from putting Tports.
    Reply
  • pereks
    I am also waiting for thunderbolt port on a windows laptop. I really thought they would be many makes announced by now but hardly no nice offering. I would be very happy to pay $ 200 more for such a laptop.
    Reply