January 12, 2016 at 13:21Acer at CES 2016: monitors, tablets, gaming laptops and ultra-mobile transformer
IT companies had such a tradition: to show some unusual products at large exhibitions in order to cause more noise in the press. All these unusual things were sold, as a rule, poorly, but, according to marketing theories, attracted attention to more ordinary products.
So it is, or not, but the situation in the consumer IT market in recent years is such that there are no funds or human resources for extravagant solutions. All companies need products that can be sold. It is desirable in huge runs. Because money is really needed. Perhaps that is why at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2016 there were practically no new products made specifically to attract attention. Well, perhaps with the exception of the Samsung refrigerator with a tablet integrated into one of the doors. All the rest clearly planned to delight the buyer without intermediaries, right on the store shelf. And Acer is no exception.
Acer traditionally shows new products at the Hard Rock Hotel, among rock and roll artifacts and popular culture. Passing the costumes of The Beatles, the Johnny Cash guitar and Elvis’s favorite robe, you’ll arrive in the secret room a little excited. Which, of course, is in the hands of the organizers of the show.
True, this time there were relatively few new products. More recently, the next batch was presented at the IFA, and in general the arms race slowed down somewhat, which allows us to successfully sell models announced in the past and even the year before last. The performance margin even for quite budget devices is pretty good; changing the laptop or tablet a year after purchase has long ceased to be really necessary. And this is what Acer considered necessary to add to its range.
My personal favorite is a monitor with the musical name XR342Ck (his portrait is in the post splash screen). I myself have long switched to a model with an aspect ratio of 21x9. At first it was very unusual, but now you can’t lure me to the standard 16x9. It is very convenient to work on such a monitor - for example, it breaks in three pages of Word in full size. And in 21x9 games they are simply incomparable. The wide panorama not only pleases the eye and enhances the presence effect, but also gives real advantages in the game.
So the XR342Ck has not only an IPS screen of excellent quality with a diagonal of 34 inches and a resolution of 3440x1440 pixels, so it is also concave. From a close distance it is much more useful than from a couple of meters from which we usually watch TV. It’s even nicer to work with text. There’s nothing to even say about games and movies - after such a monitor, you look at ordinary ones as something archaic. Like old CRT models.
Honestly, I did not expect that I would like it that way. And if not for the price in the region of $ 1,190, I would seriously think about buying a home. That is, of course, I’m still thinking now, but I understand with my head: for my tasks, an existing instance is still enough, even if it is much simpler. Acer XR342Ck is designed for fairly wealthy users who use the monitor professionally. And it doesn’t matter whether it is about working with video, multi-window applications, or even gaming for the sake of earning. In March of this year, the XR342Ck will arrive in Moscow.
At the same time as the curved miracle, Acer showed two simpler monitors. R1 is a thin (7 mm) and relatively inexpensive model with good color rendering and a USB-C port. The diagonal of the screen can be 21.5, 23.8, 25 and 27 inches. All have the same resolution, Full HD. The price starts at around $ 150.
For those who need something more serious, there is Acer H7. It has a more refined design, a diagonal of 25 or 27 inches, the resolution of IPS-matrices is 2560x1440 pixels. There is also a USB-C port, without it, in 2016, it seems, almost nothing will be released. A good model in all respects, but for the good, as usual, you have to pay. It costs H7 from 500 dollars. Honestly, it’s pretty hard to get used to that Acer does more than just budget monitors. But they turn out well.
The development of the Aspire Switch hybrid tablet line continues. At CES brought the model Switch 12 S with a screen diagonal of 12.5 inches. By default, the resolution of the latter is 1920 × 1080 pixels, but you can also choose a model with a 4K screen equipped with Gorilla Glass 4 coating. Why I need a 4K on a 12-inch screen is not very clear to me personally, but wealthy people with eagle eyesight will probably explain.
Assembled Switch 12 S is very similar to a small ultrabook. And, in general, it is. The power reserve of the new generation of processors of the Core M family is more than enough for work and games (the models used in the Switch 12 S have a 6xxx index, which confused some media that called them representatives of the sixth generation. In fact, for Core M this is the second incarnation). You can choose the amount of RAM 4 or 8 GB, as well as the capacity of the SSD 128 or 256 GB.
All the main components are located in the tablet part, which weighs 800 grams and is fully autonomous. So, having unfastened the keyboard, you get a real tablet. A little ... special, on Windows 10. But he taught everything necessary. The thickness of the tablet portion is 7.85 mm.
The keyboard, in addition to 600 grams of weight, adds two USB 3.0 ports. Also, despite its compactness, the new “Switch” found a place for the Intel RealSense R200 3D-camera and Thunderbolt 3 port. And - of course - it could not do without USB 3.1 Type-C.
We were pleased with the massive gold contacts at the junction of the tablet with the keyboard. Here you can see right away - done solidly, the data will go back and forth quickly, reliably, and nothing will be oxidized.
It is not written about the battery life in press releases, it should be checked already on the serial model when it gets to Russia. Most likely, everything is normal with autonomy, Core M eats a little.
The price of the tablet is quite reasonable, from $ 1,000 for the basic configuration (4/128 / FullHD). Like Microsoft's Surface Pro 4. For Russia, this, however, means at least 80,000 rubles, but it’s not Acer like that, life like that.
For those who like to save money, Acer offers the new Iconia One 8 Android tablet. Here everything is cute and modest: a gigabyte of RAM, 16 GB of on-board flash plus a microSD card up to 128 GB, an 8-inch screen with HD resolution and an unnamed 4-core Mediatek processor. Simple, but it works. And even the IPS matrix. For a hundred dollars, it’s quite an option for tearing to children, mother-in-law and other people ruthless to gadgets.
Chromebooks in Russia take root with difficulty, but in the States and Europe they are quite popular because of the very affordable price. Perhaps our computers on the Google platform will go into fashion for the same reason. Acer was one of the first to start making products on Chrome OS, and has continued successfully so far. Acer Chromebook 11 came to CES with an 11.6-inch screen (matte!), Weighing a little more than a kilogram and running on battery for 9 hours.
The resolution of the matrix, however, is not very, very much - 1366x768, but with such a diagonal it is normal. In general, a chromebook is an excellent working machine, and its only weak point is the constant need for high-quality Internet. Otherwise, I’ll use quite a bit. Therefore, I would not take a Chromebook on a trip. And for the house - very much.
I wonder how different the price of Acer Chromebook 11 for the States and Europe: 180 dollars and 329 euros. In the home market, Google is steeply subsidizing. I wonder how much it will cost in Russia (they tell me here that the American version will be more simplified, and the right European version will be brought to us. With the right price).
And for dessert - about the new Aspire V Nitro Black Edition gaming laptops. There will be two versions - with 15- and 17-inch screens. They are almost identical in hardware, the question is only in usage models. You can still carry a 15-inch with you, but I'm not sure about the older one.
As befits a gaming laptop, the hardware in it is stolen up serious. 6th generation Intel Core processors, Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M graphics with its own 4GB GDDR5 memory, fast SSDs with NVMe PCIe interface. The highlight of laptops is the Intel RealSense camera, suitable in this case not only for authentication in Windows 10 or gesture control, but also for creating 3D models of your own physiognomy for further use as a game avatar. Of course, it is pampering, but since a laptop for games is bought, let everything be in it as it should.
By the way, the press release says that the laptop has a particularly powerful Wi-Fi antenna that provides minimal ping even in places where the signal breaks through with difficulty. But for real gamers who despise everything wireless, there is an Ethernet port, which has long been quite successful in laptops.
Despite the power, the Aspire V Nitro Black Edition will cost from $ 1,099, just a little more than the Switch 12 S. That's what a lot of space means, and there is no need to put everything together too tightly. Immediate savings for both the manufacturer and the user.
I repeat: Acer has a few new products this year. Of course, against the background of some other manufacturers who announced new colors and names at CES, this is just some kind of abundance. But compared to previous years, modestly. On the other hand, last year there were enough announcements - both at exhibitions and between them. There are many different products. Good.
So let’s raise our glasses so that in the new year we always have enough money for everything that we like.
So it is, or not, but the situation in the consumer IT market in recent years is such that there are no funds or human resources for extravagant solutions. All companies need products that can be sold. It is desirable in huge runs. Because money is really needed. Perhaps that is why at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2016 there were practically no new products made specifically to attract attention. Well, perhaps with the exception of the Samsung refrigerator with a tablet integrated into one of the doors. All the rest clearly planned to delight the buyer without intermediaries, right on the store shelf. And Acer is no exception.
Acer traditionally shows new products at the Hard Rock Hotel, among rock and roll artifacts and popular culture. Passing the costumes of The Beatles, the Johnny Cash guitar and Elvis’s favorite robe, you’ll arrive in the secret room a little excited. Which, of course, is in the hands of the organizers of the show.
True, this time there were relatively few new products. More recently, the next batch was presented at the IFA, and in general the arms race slowed down somewhat, which allows us to successfully sell models announced in the past and even the year before last. The performance margin even for quite budget devices is pretty good; changing the laptop or tablet a year after purchase has long ceased to be really necessary. And this is what Acer considered necessary to add to its range.
My personal favorite is a monitor with the musical name XR342Ck (his portrait is in the post splash screen). I myself have long switched to a model with an aspect ratio of 21x9. At first it was very unusual, but now you can’t lure me to the standard 16x9. It is very convenient to work on such a monitor - for example, it breaks in three pages of Word in full size. And in 21x9 games they are simply incomparable. The wide panorama not only pleases the eye and enhances the presence effect, but also gives real advantages in the game.
So the XR342Ck has not only an IPS screen of excellent quality with a diagonal of 34 inches and a resolution of 3440x1440 pixels, so it is also concave. From a close distance it is much more useful than from a couple of meters from which we usually watch TV. It’s even nicer to work with text. There’s nothing to even say about games and movies - after such a monitor, you look at ordinary ones as something archaic. Like old CRT models.
Honestly, I did not expect that I would like it that way. And if not for the price in the region of $ 1,190, I would seriously think about buying a home. That is, of course, I’m still thinking now, but I understand with my head: for my tasks, an existing instance is still enough, even if it is much simpler. Acer XR342Ck is designed for fairly wealthy users who use the monitor professionally. And it doesn’t matter whether it is about working with video, multi-window applications, or even gaming for the sake of earning. In March of this year, the XR342Ck will arrive in Moscow.
At the same time as the curved miracle, Acer showed two simpler monitors. R1 is a thin (7 mm) and relatively inexpensive model with good color rendering and a USB-C port. The diagonal of the screen can be 21.5, 23.8, 25 and 27 inches. All have the same resolution, Full HD. The price starts at around $ 150.
For those who need something more serious, there is Acer H7. It has a more refined design, a diagonal of 25 or 27 inches, the resolution of IPS-matrices is 2560x1440 pixels. There is also a USB-C port, without it, in 2016, it seems, almost nothing will be released. A good model in all respects, but for the good, as usual, you have to pay. It costs H7 from 500 dollars. Honestly, it’s pretty hard to get used to that Acer does more than just budget monitors. But they turn out well.
The development of the Aspire Switch hybrid tablet line continues. At CES brought the model Switch 12 S with a screen diagonal of 12.5 inches. By default, the resolution of the latter is 1920 × 1080 pixels, but you can also choose a model with a 4K screen equipped with Gorilla Glass 4 coating. Why I need a 4K on a 12-inch screen is not very clear to me personally, but wealthy people with eagle eyesight will probably explain.
Assembled Switch 12 S is very similar to a small ultrabook. And, in general, it is. The power reserve of the new generation of processors of the Core M family is more than enough for work and games (the models used in the Switch 12 S have a 6xxx index, which confused some media that called them representatives of the sixth generation. In fact, for Core M this is the second incarnation). You can choose the amount of RAM 4 or 8 GB, as well as the capacity of the SSD 128 or 256 GB.
All the main components are located in the tablet part, which weighs 800 grams and is fully autonomous. So, having unfastened the keyboard, you get a real tablet. A little ... special, on Windows 10. But he taught everything necessary. The thickness of the tablet portion is 7.85 mm.
The keyboard, in addition to 600 grams of weight, adds two USB 3.0 ports. Also, despite its compactness, the new “Switch” found a place for the Intel RealSense R200 3D-camera and Thunderbolt 3 port. And - of course - it could not do without USB 3.1 Type-C.
We were pleased with the massive gold contacts at the junction of the tablet with the keyboard. Here you can see right away - done solidly, the data will go back and forth quickly, reliably, and nothing will be oxidized.
It is not written about the battery life in press releases, it should be checked already on the serial model when it gets to Russia. Most likely, everything is normal with autonomy, Core M eats a little.
The price of the tablet is quite reasonable, from $ 1,000 for the basic configuration (4/128 / FullHD). Like Microsoft's Surface Pro 4. For Russia, this, however, means at least 80,000 rubles, but it’s not Acer like that, life like that.
For those who like to save money, Acer offers the new Iconia One 8 Android tablet. Here everything is cute and modest: a gigabyte of RAM, 16 GB of on-board flash plus a microSD card up to 128 GB, an 8-inch screen with HD resolution and an unnamed 4-core Mediatek processor. Simple, but it works. And even the IPS matrix. For a hundred dollars, it’s quite an option for tearing to children, mother-in-law and other people ruthless to gadgets.
Chromebooks in Russia take root with difficulty, but in the States and Europe they are quite popular because of the very affordable price. Perhaps our computers on the Google platform will go into fashion for the same reason. Acer was one of the first to start making products on Chrome OS, and has continued successfully so far. Acer Chromebook 11 came to CES with an 11.6-inch screen (matte!), Weighing a little more than a kilogram and running on battery for 9 hours.
The resolution of the matrix, however, is not very, very much - 1366x768, but with such a diagonal it is normal. In general, a chromebook is an excellent working machine, and its only weak point is the constant need for high-quality Internet. Otherwise, I’ll use quite a bit. Therefore, I would not take a Chromebook on a trip. And for the house - very much.
I wonder how different the price of Acer Chromebook 11 for the States and Europe: 180 dollars and 329 euros. In the home market, Google is steeply subsidizing. I wonder how much it will cost in Russia (they tell me here that the American version will be more simplified, and the right European version will be brought to us. With the right price).
And for dessert - about the new Aspire V Nitro Black Edition gaming laptops. There will be two versions - with 15- and 17-inch screens. They are almost identical in hardware, the question is only in usage models. You can still carry a 15-inch with you, but I'm not sure about the older one.
As befits a gaming laptop, the hardware in it is stolen up serious. 6th generation Intel Core processors, Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M graphics with its own 4GB GDDR5 memory, fast SSDs with NVMe PCIe interface. The highlight of laptops is the Intel RealSense camera, suitable in this case not only for authentication in Windows 10 or gesture control, but also for creating 3D models of your own physiognomy for further use as a game avatar. Of course, it is pampering, but since a laptop for games is bought, let everything be in it as it should.
By the way, the press release says that the laptop has a particularly powerful Wi-Fi antenna that provides minimal ping even in places where the signal breaks through with difficulty. But for real gamers who despise everything wireless, there is an Ethernet port, which has long been quite successful in laptops.
Despite the power, the Aspire V Nitro Black Edition will cost from $ 1,099, just a little more than the Switch 12 S. That's what a lot of space means, and there is no need to put everything together too tightly. Immediate savings for both the manufacturer and the user.
I repeat: Acer has a few new products this year. Of course, against the background of some other manufacturers who announced new colors and names at CES, this is just some kind of abundance. But compared to previous years, modestly. On the other hand, last year there were enough announcements - both at exhibitions and between them. There are many different products. Good.
So let’s raise our glasses so that in the new year we always have enough money for everything that we like.