Review: Acer and Asus ultrabooks are speedy and light
— -- With all the attention on tablets nowadays, it's hard to get fired up over laptops. But portable computers with keyboards are still in the mainstream. And chip giant Intel is fanning the flames for a new class of light and slim consumer Windows-based notebooks called ultrabooks.
Intel predicts that about 40% of consumer laptops will be ultrabooks by the end of 2012. Acer and Asus face competition in the ultrabook space from Lenovo, Toshiba and Samsung.
At a recent conference for developers, Intel executive Mooly Eden suggested that folks "don't want to wait for the computer, we want the computer to wait for us."
In other words they want a machine that is at their beck and call. The two representative Windows 7 ultrabooks I've been testing — the Acer Aspire S3-951 and the Asus Zenbook 31E — are certainly responsive; they wake up in a blink from sleep. .
My test machines have Intel's Core i5 processors inside and run Windows 7 Home Premium software. Both have 4GB of internal memory.
But while the machines are zippy enough for everyday computing tasks, heavy-duty gamers or people who engage in high-end video editing will do better with notebooks that emphasize performance. And battery performance on both machines left something to be desired, at least under my demanding Wi-Fi streaming test.
Intel is evangelizing ultrabooks and has established standards for the notebooks. But computer makers can choose their own hardware designs, and Acer and Asus appear to be worshiping at the altar of Apple. Like the MacBook Air, both are appealingly thin and light. Both ditch the optical drive. And both have large clickable gesture-driven trackpads. What they don't have is the latest Air's backlit keyboard nor the superior software you get as part of Mac OS X.
I generally liked the two computers, but preferred the Zenbook to the Acer — even though it is more expensive. The Acer S3 comes in at $899; the Asus costs $999 for the UX21E model with an 11-inch screen and starts at $1,099 for versions with 13.3-inch displays; that includes my test model. Zenbook has an attractive circular design on the silver exterior panel that refracts a halo of light. At its thinnest point near the front, the computer is just a shade over one-tenth of an inch thick, roughly equivalent to a MacBook Air with the same size 13.3 display. At that screen size, Apple's computer starts at $1,299. Zenbook weighs 2.86 pounds compared with 2.96 pounds for the Air.
Acer is right there at 2.98 pounds. It's made out of magnesium aluminum alloy. Looks-wise, the Aspire can legitimately be passed off as the Air's long-lost twin. I like how Acer tucked the power button underneath the LCD screen and above the keyboard. Speaking of the Acer keyboard, I found it easier to type on than the keyboard on the Zenbook.
•Ports. Zenbook has a single USB 2.0 port, a single USB 3.0 port (used to recharge portable devices rapidly), an SD card reader, and a micro HDMI port. It comes with an ethernet dongle adapter. For its part, Acer has a pair of USB 2.0 ports but not the newer 3.0 type. It also has an SD slot and a full-size HDMI port.
•Sights and sounds. Zenbook boasts excellent sound thanks to Bang & Olufsen speakers hidden in the hinge where you fold down the lid. By contrast, the quality of the built-in speaker system on the Acer is poor, although it carries Dolby Home Theater branding. The lower-resolution 13.3-inch display on the Acer isn't as nice as the Asus screen.
•Battery. Acer claims six hours of battery life and up to 50 days of use via "Instant On" technology. I didn't have the test computer long enough to put the latter claim to the test. But I didn't even reach three hours on a harsh test in which I streamed movies over Wi-Fi, turned off power-saving measures and kept the brightness levels just shy of the max. You ought to do better under less harsh circumstances. On the same test, the Asus got about 3¼ hours, less than half what the company claims is possible with the Zenbook. A handy onscreen gauge can clue you in on how much standby time, charge time and battery life remains on the Asus. And when the battery life drops below 5%, the computer automatically saves files you are working on to prevent data loss.
•Speed. The Aspire boots up to Windows from scratch in 43 seconds. When it's in a state of slumber, you can wake it up in less than two seconds and resume playing the video or whatever it is you were doing. If in a deeper sleep (after eight hours of inactivity) it can wake up in about six seconds. The Zenbook boots from scratch in about 25 seconds. It takes just a second or two to wake it from sleep.
Both computers have robust solid-state SSD drives, which is one way to achieve speed. Such drives are less fragile than conventional hard drives, but pricey. Acer keeps down the cost by supplying a modest 20GB SSD drive (where the operating system is stored) and complementing it with a conventional 320GB hard drive, all transparent to the user. The Zenbook comes with a 128GB SSD drive.
For now, ultrabooks cost more than your typical consumer notebook. Intel expects prices to fall as low as $699 or so by year's end. In 2012, computer makers will have to meet more exacting standards in areas of speed and security to be considered ultrabooks, Intel says. . It remains to be seen if by then people will be talking as much about them as tablets.
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The bottom line
Acer Aspire S3-951
$899, www.acer-group.com
Pro: Light and responsive. Wakes up from sleep within a second or two. Long standby time.
Con: So-so screen, battery life and sound.
The bottom line
Asus Zenbook UX31E
$1,099 (for 13.3-inch model) on up
Pro: Lovely design. Excellent sound. Light, responsive. Wakes up fast.
Con: Fair battery life. Relatively expensive. Modest storage.
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E-mail: ebaig@usatoday.com; Follow @edbaig on Twitter