Review of the updated Ultrabook Acer Aspire S7-392
We rarely test ultrabooks, the problem is that a lot of them, and have little, and the whole edition is almost entirely occupied by their specialized areas (smartphones, tablets, accessories). However, periodically we will tell you about the most interesting models.
Options
- Notebook
- Charger
- Case-envelope
- Adapter with Thunderbolt to VGA / DVI
In Acer traditsionnno pack their ultrabooks in large boxes, which are very good for gifts. Availability cover envelope I was very pleased, I think, as potential buyers.
Appearance, materials, controls, assembly
In a review of Acer Liquid S2 I scolded the company for poor design in the segment of smartphones and tablets. And the reason for this criticism is largely associated with the design of Acer Aspire S7. Look at this wonderful ultrabook: a great combination of aluminum and glass (in the best traditions of the iPhone 4s, but we’re not in on it), strict appearance and stunning design. I can in good conscience say that the design of this ultrabook is at line MacBook Pro / Air. I sincerely hope that the designer who worked on the appearance of this laptop will always be asked to help in the segment of smartphones and tablets.
On the left side there is a connector for the charger, power button, a USB 3.0 port and a slot for SD-cards.
Right you can see the connectors USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, HDMI and 3.5mm headphone / microphone.
At the top of the notebook are indicators that inform about running laptop.
Behind the hole can be seen the output of hot air. Personally, I like this solution more than the location of the side.
The bottom part of the laptop is made of frosted white plastic. Of elements on it can be seen only two stereo speakers. Acer has long boasted that use for their mobile technology Dolby Digital. Frankly, smartphones I do not hear the difference with it or without it, but in laptops and monoblocks difference in sound is very noticeable. On my humble ears, sounds just fine Aspire S7 (for mobile devices).
Dimensions and opening angle
Dimensions and weight – a key difference from their usual ultrabook “brothers.” I propose to begin to look at the table with dimensions of Acer Aspire S7 and its nearest competitors.
| Model name | Length (mm) | Width (mm) | Height (mm) | Weight (kg) |
| Acer Aspire S7 (new) | 323 | 223 | 12.9 | 1.3 |
| Asus Zenbook UX301LA | 325 | 226 | 15.5 | 1.4 |
| Lenovo Yoga Pro 2 | 330 | 220 | 15.15 | 1.39 |
| MacBook Pro 13 Retina Late 2013 | 314 | 219 | 18 | 1.57 |
As you can see, Aspire S7 has similar dimensions to the competitors and only slightly outperforms them in thickness and weight. As for everyday use, here I can only heap praise on the size of this ultrabook. He is thin and lightweight, does not feel in a backpack or bag.
With regard to the opening angle, it is substantially 180 degrees. You can easily choose the most convenient for you tilt the screen.
Screen
You know, I can not help wondering how Apple has obtained “kick” stagnant market over and over again. At the moment, we are talking about race-resolution display. First we saw a Retina-display in the new iPhone, then they moved to iPad and finally reached the line and MacBook. After the appearance of Retina-display all other notebook manufacturers began to move sharply and began to establish a high-resolution screen on their ultrabooks.
That’s just the problem crept up from the software. In Microsoft has not learned how to make a normal scaling, so that when you use the native resolution displays all the elements look small. Situation even overshadows the fact that application developers are also not in a hurry to optimize your programs for high resolution. As a result, the end user is faced with the fact that on the one hand such a display insanely happy, but on the other – for he has almost no software. A simple example: a test on Acer Aspire S7 when running Chrome fonts became hazy and indistinct. The problem was solved by installing Firefox or using the latest version of IE (she, by the way, is quite good).
And now let’s go straight to the description of the display Aspire S7. In my sample, a display with a diagonal of 13.3 inches, a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels, type of matrix – TFT-IPS, screen covered with protective glass Gorilla Glass 3, has an oleophobic coating, support touch input.
Screen Aspire S7 very good sharpness and fonts is simply amazing. Sergey Kuzmin metaphor of “fonts, if drawn with a thin marker” will be very relevant in the description of this display. If you often work in Word or other text editors, this display is uniquely you enjoy.
As for the “sensory” I would note that it very quickly get used to. That’s, like, you recently used the touchpad, and now click on links, icons and other controls. And I was very pleased with the presence oleophobic coating – you can easily scrub Ultrabook prints in just a few seconds.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Keyboard compared to the previous model remained virtually unchanged (except that the buttons become a little wider). Uses the same keys from the plastic, stylized metal. They have a short tight turn and a click from pressing is almost inaudible. Present lights light green color.
Personally, I used the keyboard did not like. If the backlight is turned on in the bright place, the characters can not be parsed, and even in the dark to use it is not very convenient, since because of the light from the screen button “blinded.” In addition, the manufacturer decided to save on the number of buttons and combined “efki” digital series. It looks awful and totally impractical.
In my opinion, the keyboard of this ultrabook is its major drawback.
But on the contrary I liked the touchpad. He has a large area, it is made of a nice, curdling fingers aluminum. Supported “multach” you can zumirovat page in a browser, or flipping documents simultaneously conducting two fingers up or down.
Operating system
Laptop is running an operating system Windows 8.1 Pro. LATEST VERSION “OSes” from Microsoft acquired tiled interface optimized for the touch screen, and several other equally important innovations. Talk about Windows itself makes no sense, you know perfectly well that this is an OS, so focus on the salient features related directly to your notebook.
Because high-resolution screen in the desktop all the icons and fonts are very small. Scaling helps, but only partially. But most of all I was surprised by the work of Chrome. Apparently, this does not optimized for high resolutions, fonts look blurry on it, best seen if you open the same page in both Chrome and IE / Mozilla.
As you can see, Chrome fonts murky, does not have the smoothness inherent in the high-resolution screen.
Other features of the “eight” on Acer Aspire S7 I note uncomfortable system reset to factory settings. Laptop CD-drive requests to drop, with most CD-ROM drive is not there.
Performance and noise
In addition to the display, the updated Aspire S7 replaced by up-and processor Intel Core i5 4200U Haswell, clocked at 1.6 GHz, as the video card uses an integrated solution Intel HD 4400 (and sorry, and could put Iris Pro), RAM – 4 GB of internal storage capacity – 256 GB. Used RAID0 array of two SSDs to 128 GB, thanks to the laptop excellent performance on writing / reading speeds.
It also allows the device to quickly get out of sleep, awakening takes 3-4 seconds. Integrated Graphics says that the laptop is positioned as a working machine, rather than a tool for toys. Indeed, with such characteristics all everyday tasks (email, web surfing, twitter, work in MS Office, simple photo and video editing) run pretty fast.
Owners of the previous generation have complained about noise coolers working laptop, I note that this problem in the updated version decided – ultrabook runs almost silently.
Autonomy
Capacity Built-in lithium polymer battery is 6280 mAh. Let me remind you that the mediocre battery life was one of the drawbacks of the previous model. With daily use last year’s Aspire S7 was discharged 3 hours. Agree that it is not the good performance for ultrabook.
Given that the size of the updated S7 has not changed, and a display resolution has increased, one would expect decreasing battery life, but it is not. And the cause is the new processors Intel Haswell. Apparently, they have a positive impact on the battery life is not only “makbukov”, but other laptops. I did not carry out synthetic tests like video playback, since they do not reflect the real picture.
The essence of the following: average load mode (typing, surfing the web and work with e-mail) ultrabook discharged for 5 hours. It is important to note that I used the maximum brightness of the display, as due to artificial light in public areas (restaurants, offices, cafe) lower brightness level is not enough.
Separately, I note a near-zero power consumption in sleep mode. If earlier only MacBook owners could boast this advantage, now they have to ultrabooks and Windows, and it is a great merit of the new chipsets Intel.
Wireless interfaces
The device supports networks of Wi-Fi (b / g / n), and there is support dual-band Wi-Fi. In addition, the laptop is installed and Bluetooth-module version of the fourth. You can connect to it using the headset, mouse and other accessories.
Front-facing camera and microphone
The front camera supports video calls to Skype, the image quality is no different from most embedded “frontalok.” To work the microphone I also have no complaints.
Conclusion
Recommended price considered ultrabook – 47 000 rubles. For the money you get a beautiful thin ultrabook with an excellent screen, decent battery life, cool body materials and mediocre keyboard.
To tell you the truth, I liked the S7 from the last generation. It can rightly be called one of the most beautiful ultrabook. And the only major drawback for me is just a keyboard. Why, why was it necessary to combine a number of digital and “efki” together? Is the place was a little? No, it is still very much.
As for the rest, it’s a great ultrabook that can almost equal act with MacBook Pro 13 Retina, while more and costs less. But let’s talk a little more about your competitors.
Competitors
Retina MacBook Pro 13 . The brainchild of Apple, a wonderful laptop, whose ideas became the prototype for a series of Ultrabooks from Intel. If you put aside the ongoing debate on the topic of «Windows 8 vs OS X», it can be noted that the screens and design models have parity, but the keyboard on MBPr differently 13 comfortably, this applies to both the keys and their illumination. Another plus laptop from Apple – Graphics Iris Pro, winning at HD4400 performance. On the side of S7 thickness and weight, as well as price. After configuration MBPr 13 with 4 GB of RAM and 256 GB SSD costs an average of 53-54 thousand rubles.
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 2. Outstanding convertible laptop from Lenovo. Has one of the most comfortable keyboards and interesting “chip” in the form of transformation of the plate. S7 loses in appearance and price. A similar configuration will cost 50 thousand rubles.
Asus ZENBOOK UX301LA. Aluminum flagship ultrabook from Asus has a great body, good design and high price. Comparable to the S7 configuration costs about 55 thousand rubles. On the side of the Acer Ultrabook smaller size and lower price.
During testing, I ultrabooks said to myself that here when choosing a particular model is not so clear as in the smartphone segment. Each flagship ultrabook has its strengths and weaknesses, and each user will have to determine that important to him. So here I am again, I note the pros and cons Acer Aspire S7, add to them a couple of his thoughts, but the final decision on buying leave you, dear readers.
Pros:
- Remarkable appearance
- Quality, high resolution display
- Large comfortable touchpad
- Good built-in speakers
- Rapid awakening
- Virtually zero power consumption in sleep mode
- The price is lower than all competitors
Cons:
- Inconvenient keyboard combined with a variety of characters
- Smudged touch screen and cover
Appearance Acer Aspire S7 – a great indicator that Acer and have good designers, I sincerely hope that they will attract and mobile division of the company. I just stayed on the design model. The fact is that every time I took out of the ultrabook cover, he never ceased to please me with their appearance, it is a big plus for such a device.
In the updated version fixed many flaws of the previous generation, improved battery life, upgraded processor for the actual Haswell, and so raised a decent screen resolution. Only remained unresolved issue with the keyboard, I sincerely hope that Acer engineers at least reflect on its renewal, because the current version is not very suitable for a large set of texts (here I speak only for myself). Otherwise, the classy appearance and low price – these are the key advantages over competitors updated S7.
| Technical characteristics | |
| Type | notebook |
| Operating system | Win 8 64 |
| Processor | |
| Processor Type | Core i5 |
| Processor ID | 4200U |
| Processor core | Haswell |
| Processor Speed | 1600 MHz |
| Number of processor cores | 2 |
| L2 cache | 512 KB |
| The volume of L3 cache | 3 Mb |
| Memory | |
| RAM size | 4GB |
| Memory Type | DDR3L |
| Screen | |
| Screen Size | 13.3 inch |
| Screen Resolution | 2560×1440 |
| Widescreen | yes |
| Touch-sensitive screen | yes |
| Multitouch screen | yes |
| LED backlight | yes |
| Support for 3D | no |
| Video | |
| Video type | built-in |
| Video processor | Intel HD Graphics 4400 |
| Two video | no |
| Type of video memory | SMA |
| Data storage | |
| Optical drive | DVD is not |
| Storage capacity | 256GB |
| Hard Drive Type | SSD |
| Expansion Slots | |
| ExpressCard slot | no |
| Memory Cards | |
| Device for reading flash cards | yes |
| Support Compact Flash | no |
| Support Memory Stick | no |
| Support SD | yes |
| Support SDHC | no |
| SDXC support | no |
| Support for miniSD | no |
| Support for microSD | no |
| Support microSDHC | no |
| Support microSDXC | no |
| Support SmartMedia | no |
| Support xD-Picture Card | no |
| Wireless communication | |
| Wi-Fi | yes |
| Wi-Fi Standard | 802.11n |
| WiDi support | no |
| Bluetootd | no |
| LTE | no |
| WiMAX | no |
| Support for GSM / GPRS | no |
| Support for 3G (UMTS) | no |
| EDGE support | no |
| HSDPA support | no |
| Connection | |
| Built-in network card | no |
| Built-in fax modem | no |
| Number of interfaces USB 3.0 | 2 |
| The FireWire interface | no |
| FireWire 800 | no |
| The eSATA interface | no |
| IRDA (IRDA) | no |
| LPT Interface | no |
| COM-port | no |
| PS / 2 interface | no |
| Output VGA (D-Sub) | no |
| Mini VGA output | no |
| DVI Output | no |
| HDMI Output | yes |
| Micro HDMI output | no |
| DisplayPort output | no |
| Mini DisplayPort output | no |
| Log TV-in | no |
| Output TV-out | no |
| Connecting to a docking station | no |
| Audio input | no |
| Mic | no |
| Audio output / headphone | no |
| Mic / Headphone Output Combo | yes |
| Output digital audio (S / PDIF) | no |
| Food | |
| Operation time | 7 h |
| Battery capacity | 6280 mAh |
| Number of battery cells | 4 |
| Battery Type | Li-Pol |
| Input Devices | |
| Positioning devices | Touchpad |
| The keyboard backlight | no |
| Sound | |
| The presence of columns | yes |
| A subwoofer | no |
| A microphone | yes |
| Additionally | |
| GPS | no |
| GLONASS | no |
| Webcam | yes |
| Fingerprint | no |
| TV tuner | no |
| Remote Control | no |
| Kensington lock | no |
| Metal housing | no |
| Shockproof | no |
| Waterproof case | no |
| Length | 323 mm |
| Width | 223 mm |
| Thickness | 12.9 mm |
| Weight | 1.3 kg |
