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.
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."
