Dark clouds are hovering above MacBook Air and soon the air is going to be filled with hail stones of Intel-inspired Ultrabook laptops. In fact, we are already feeling drops of the $900 Acer Aspire S3-951.
Fully loaded Core i7 processor, the Acer Aspire S3-951 features 13.3-inch screen, a 320GB hard drive, 4GB of RAM, and a 20GB concrete state drive that runs Windows 7 Home Premium. Acer stated its new Ultrabook is ready and will be available at "leading retail and online stores." Although there's a product page for the S3-951 at Amazon, but its only taking pre-orders at the moment.
Of course the first of many Ultrabooks expected from Acer. Acer's manufacturers allege future models will house Intel Core i3 and Core i7
processors onboard including larger-capacity solid state drives. Since the S3-951 had to employ a hard drive to maintain it's pricing under $1000, it's a good gamble that second round of Acer Ultrabooks will fetch at a price more than $1000. That's exactly the price point Intel anticipated Ultrabooks would maintain when it publicized the new laptop category in May.
On the contrary, Acer isn't the only company unveiling its Ultrabooks this week. According to the company's UX series site, Asus could also be announcing its UX21 and UX31 laptops today at an event in New York City.
Though, finalized specs sheet for Asus' UX Series laptops is yet to be unveiled. In the meantime, while we hang around for Asus' today's announcement, take look at how Acer's new Ultrabook weighs up against the Apple MacBook Air:
If you are a pocket conscious consumer, then the Aspire S3-951 is hands down – a far better option at an attractive cost of $900 compared to the 13-inch MacBook Air's $1,300. However, you could get a MacBook Air that's a bit cheaper and close to the S3 one at $1,000. Although to get that, means to go down in inches at an 11.6-inch screen and reduced storage.
Storage
The new S3 comprises of a solid state drive; regrettably, the SSD included its only sole purpose is to house Windows 7. Now, where to keep all your files, Acer let its 320GB hard drive to do the job. In the meantime, the MacBook Air houses 128GB SSD – and such solid state drives are regularly accepted for their ability to considerably boost a PC's performance speed than a device that runs on traditional spinning drive.
Weight and bulkiness
If you have issues carrying often weight and bulky staff, both the Air and the Aspire S3 are solid choices and you could actually sleek to slide into your backpack. Weight concerns leaves the Air to some extent lighter at 2.96 pounds compared to the Aspire S3′s 2.98 pounds.
Battery life
Part of Intel's expectations for Ultrabooks is that they would provide instant-on
functionality comparable to the MacBook Air. Acer claims the S3-951 can take up again from sleep in about 2sec and 6sec dubbed the "deep sleep mode," which could just be a fancy phrase to mean hibernation. Apple doesn't give benchmarks for its dubbed "instant-on" technology.
Each Pc maker is also alleging extensive standby battery life for their laptops. Acer claims the Aspire could last up to 6hrs of normal use, while Apple agues their Air could take you 7hrs during a wireless Web browsing time. But it's essential to note that manufacturer claims frequently contrast from third-party battery life assessments. So it's advisable not to rely on manufacture's claims until both devices have been comprehensively tested by relative sources.
At least now you get the picture of what's best suits your needs.
Source: PC World
Showdown: 13.3-inch MacBook Air vs. Acer Aspire S3-951 Ultrabook is a post from: Eee PC
Link to post: Showdown: 13.3-inch MacBook Air vs. Acer Aspire S3-951 Ultrabook - from: Eee PC | No comments | © Admarket, 2011.
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