First Ultrabook Arrives from Acer October 16 for $900
The first ultrabook is slated to arrive this Sunday, October 16, for $899.99 USD, and is already listed for pre-ordering on Amazon.
Monday various reports pointed to an Amazon listing that revealed the 13.3-inch Acer Aspire S3-951 as the first ultrabook to land in the States. According to the listing, the super-slim device will officially arrive on October 16 just under Intel's sub-$1000 target price point, costing $899.99 USD. Acer later backed up the listing with an official press release on Monday, announcing the ultrabook's arrival.
"This featherweight Ultrabook powers on instantly, connects to the Web in seconds and provides up to 50 days of stand-by time, or 6 hours of continuous usage," the company said Monday. "As slim and easy to carry as a magazine, it includes a powerful Intel Core i5 Processor, speedy solid state drive for quickly booting the operating system, roomy hard drive, and essential USB and HDMI ports."
According to the specs, the device sports a 13.3-inch HD widescreen CineClear LED-backlit display with a 1366 x 768 resolution, Intel's second-generation Core i5-2467M CPU clocked at 1.6 GHz, integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 with 128 MB of dedicated system memory and 4 GB of RAM. Windows 7 Home Premium is installed on a 20 GB SSD while an additional 320 GB 5200RPM hard drive is available for media and other file storage.
As for other features, the ultrabook provides a 2-in-1 card reader, 802.11 b/g/n connectivity, Bluetooth 4.0 + HS, a 1.3MP HD webcam (1280 x 1084), two USB 2.0 ports, one HDMI port with HDCP support, and a 3-cell Lithium polymer battery promising up to 8 hours. The device measures just half-an-inch at its thinnest and weighs a mere 2.98 pounds (depending on the configuration), and its overall dimensions are 12.59 inches by 8.52-inches by .51 to.68-inches, making it "one of the thinnest notebooks available on the market."
"The Acer Aspire Ultrabook also includes numerous design elements that keep the system running cool and efficiently," the company said. "All the heat generating components have been placed away from the palm rest and touchpad area, and warm air is funneled away from the user through the back of the Ultrabook. Venting throughout the keyboard also helps the system stay cool, and its vent-free bottom allows it to be used comfortably on a lap or pillow, without fear of obstructing air flow and overheating. In addition, airflow is optimized to enhance efficiency and lower power consumption to help increase system battery life."
Acer added that future models to be announced will round out its ultrabook line up, and will include Intel Core i7 or Core i3 Processors and larger capacity solid state drives. However consumers can pre-order the world's first ultrabook at Amazon for $899.99 USD by heading here.

Lawsuit for what? Copying their design in the most vague manner, or for copying the idea of a slimmer laptop than a netbook, or for making it look like a Macbook Air by Acer's virtuous clever placement of its logo where MBAir's apple is...oh wait, I see. Never mind.
Yeah...what back_by_demand said.
Every 2 years your new laptop is an ultrabook. They get smaller for a reason.
Also, Apple tried the slim thing. I have tons of friends with macbooks, but none of them have an air. What are you going to do with a slim laptop, its not like you can fit it in your pocket.
Or are you just gonna slide it into manila envelopes?
i think you meant dedicated video (or graphics) memory? not a major mistake, but for the sake of accuracy...
Then again, there's MacBook Air and lots of people like it... so I wouldn't be surprised if that sells.
+1, I also thought it's an Air for a second
Anyhow, most of the laptops on the market nowadays are utter garbage. Keyboards suck, specs are unbalanced (saw some Vaio laptops with 3GB of RAM... 1GB stick and 2GB stick... freakin' stupid! Or how about a Core i7 and integrated graphics?) and most look like garbage. I wish we could build our own laptops like we do with desktops!
Correction: Is full.
Even if you could hold an os on there, the fuller it is the slower it becomes.
Then again, there's MacBook Air and lots of people like it... so I wouldn't be surprised if that sells.
+1, I also thought it's an Air for a second
Anyhow, most of the laptops on the market nowadays are utter garbage. Keyboards suck, specs are unbalanced (saw some Vaio laptops with 3GB of RAM... 1GB stick and 2GB stick... freakin' stupid! Or how about a Core i7 and integrated graphics?) and most look like garbage. I wish we could build our own laptops like we do with desktops!
Well, these ultrabooks don't seem like they're meant for gaming or marketed to the gaming enthusiast (THG's general population). Intel realized that the MacBook Air is selling really well and came up with copied this design idea. This example should be a peppy machine for Widows 7 & 8 for general MS Office-type work, web-use, and even a little Photoshop-type activity. ...just like the MacBook Air. If you've used a 2010/2011 MacBook Air you'll know its a pretty peppy machine given its specs. The 2008/2009 Airs were really underpowered for an enthusiast as far as I'm concerned...too slow...too many compromises...but my wife loves hers. So, if these non-Apple ultrabooks perform in the same class as the recent MacBook Airs they'd make a great 2nd machine or something for the executive that travels a lot. I have executives at my job that think 4lbs. is too much to carry...but 3lbs is okay (can't say I agree
For those that hate the MacBook Air simply because its by Apple, these ultrabooks are an alternative.
Every 2 years your new laptop is an ultrabook. They get smaller for a reason.
Also, Apple tried the slim thing. I have tons of friends with macbooks, but none of them have an air. What are you going to do with a slim laptop, its not like you can fit it in your pocket.
Or are you just gonna slide it into manila envelopes?
There's people like me who have a self build monster of a desktop, watercooled and all, and yet I need something portable to take to college classes. The MacBook Air is sufficient, it can run AutoCAD, Inventor, and Altium Designer pretty well which are the most demanding college apps I'll ever need.
Not everyone needs to game in their laptops you know. From my experience, no matter what laptop it is, it always ends up being a choppy, hot mess. I would rather game in my desktop and have the thinnest lightest laptop to move around and work.
For those that hate the MacBook Air simply because its by Apple, these ultrabooks are an alternative.
Nah, I don't like any ultrabooks so far; let's see whaT Asus comes up with.
I used a 2010 MB Air. Slow as hell; I wrote about it in our home thread. Well... not slow, but just as fast as any other mid-range laptop. SSD doesn't really show.
I noticed that and thought it was just me.
Aren't Apple suing Samsung for copying their iphone & ipad yet still buying chips from them to make the same devices?
Yes. And? Gotta love those contracts.
Already reported that to the feedback section of the forums. Some glitch in the site engine, I suppose.
Well, seeing as the SSD drives in 2.5" format are the same size regardless of 16gb or 500gb capacity then stripping off its casing and attaching just the PCB to the inside of an Ultrabook should at least allow a user to define how much drive space he has, same goes for RAM and CPU.