ACER LAUNCHES NEW ASPIRE R 14 AND ASPIRE Z3 HYBRID WINDOWS 10 DEVICES

Acer has just announced two new additions to its growing family of Windows 10 devices. The Aspire R 14 laptop and Aspire Z3-700 all-in-one desktop are both designed to take full advantage of Microsoft’s latest operating system, allowing users to utilise the devices in a variety of ways.

The Aspire R 14 is Acer’s latest hybrid laptop, featuring a dual-torque hinge that allows users to use the device in four different modes: Laptop, Tablet, Display and Tent. With Acer’s commitment to focus more of its resources on mainstream and high-end devices, the Aspire R 14 is a prime example of Acer’s new focus. This 1.9kg, 18.5mm thin laptop features a metallic hairline brush finish, and a diamond-cut edge design for a premium look.

Inside, Acer has also fitted the Aspire R 14 with some impressive hardware. There is a choice of Intel’s new Skylake Core i5-6200U or Core i7-6500U processors, up to 8GB RAM, SSD storage ranging from 128, 256 or 512GB, and a 14-inch Full HD touch display. Acer also touts Acer Purified.Voice technology comprising dual-digital microphones and an enhanced digital signal processor (DSP) for speech accuracy and background noise reduction for a great experience both on Skype or when using Cortana.

In addition, the Aspire R 14 also packs three USB ports (2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0), SD card reader, HDMI-out, a 2-in-1 audio jack, and a USB Type C port.

On the other hand, the Aspire Z3-700 is an all-in-one desktop with a tablet soul. Weighing just 2.04kg, it features a 17.3-inch Full HD IPS touch display, up to 8GB RAM, up to 256GB SSD or 500GB hard disk storage options, and runs on Intel Celeron processors.

What’s interesting about the Aspire Z3 is the fact that it has an integrated battery that’s rated for five hours of use, allowing it to be unhooked from any power cables and be used as a (very large) Windows 10 tablet. This feature is made possible by the integrated kickstand located at the back of the device, which lets the device be used in two separate ways.

Connectivity ports on the Aspire Z3-700 include two USB ports, 2-in-1 audio jack, HDMI-out and a microSD card slot. There is also a Full HD webcam and stereo speakers with Dolby Audio enhancements. There’s also an optional stylus available.

The Acer Aspire R 14  will be released in North America by the end of October, with prices starting from $699 (about RM2,890) while the Aspire Z3-700 AiO will hit the EMEA markets by the end of the year from €599 (about RM2,825). Acer Notebook Business Group President Jerry Kao expects the Aspire R 14 to hit the South East Asian market by the end of the year.

Who needs Microsoft, Intel or AMD? Not Acer

Acer defied desktop computing convention this week with the U.S. roll out of two all-in-one (AIO) desktop PCs that don’t include Microsoft Windows nor processors from Intel and AMD.

As the name would indicate, Acer’s new Chromebase AIOs have shunted aside Windows instead using Google’s Chrome operating system. However, the company did not stop there. Replacing the usual Intel or AMD processors is Nvidia’s Tegra K1 quad-core processor, but Acer noted the company has been selling its Chromebook 13 with an NVIDIA Tegra K1 for quite some time.

“We leverage the Nvidia Tegra K1 quad-core processor in our Chromebase AIOs for its speed and power efficiency, which translates to speedy multitasking, so customers can easily browse websites while streaming audio or working on a spreadsheet,” the company said

Going with Chrome does require the users have a Google account which gives them access to many pre-installed apps and the ability to download more from the Chrome app store.

The Google Chromebase comes in two varieties, one with a 10-point 21.5-inch touchscreen priced at $429 and one with a standard display of the same size that will carry a $329 price tag. Both will hit retailers this month. Acer also sees these units being used in a variety of business applications, particularly where space is at a premium.

The AIOs were originally introduced on April 1, but this is the first time they will be available to U.S. customers.

“The Acer Chromebase is ideal for customers wanting to leverage the speed and simplicity of the Chrome OS,” said Simon Chen, Acer America senior business manager. “We’re confident customers will also appreciate the automatic updates and layers of security that make this platform easy to use and hassle-free and at an affordable price.”
Except for the 1080p Full HD displays the two units have identical feature sets.

Each comes with a 16GB solid state drive (SSD) for storage, but Acer makes up for the lack of on-board storage space by offering for free 100GB of capacity for two years on Google Drive. Acer claims that between the Nvidia processors and SSD the units can boot up in 10 seconds or almost instantly from sleep mode.

Other features include 4GB of DDR3 1600Mhz memory, Nvidia’s Kepler graphics two 3-watt speakers, connectivity via an HDMI out, USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports as well as 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless. The systems are bundled with a white USB keyboard and mouse.

With everyone from the Houston Astros to the Federal government getting hacked recently, Acer included several levels of security with the Chromebase. Chromebase’s TPM 1.2 chip encrypts and protects individual user’s data by generating and storing secure cryptographic keys. The protection is designed to ward off online threats, malware and viruses, the company said.