These Are Acer's 2 New Unconventional Windows 10 Computers: Aspire R 14 & Aspire Z3-700
In the wake of Microsoft's announcement last week of two new Windows 10 laptop hybrids, Acer announced on Monday its own two hybrid PCs that will launch running the new Windows operating system.
At a press conference in Taipei, Acer unveiled a new convertible notebook and an unconventional portable all-in-one PC: the Acer Aspire R 14 and Acer Aspire Z3-700, respectively.
"Acer has a heritage of delivering the best user experience through innovation in technology and design," said CEO of Acer, Jason Chen in the company's release. "With Windows 10, we can now deliver a unique and consistent experience across our comprehensive product portfolio, be it notebooks, desktops, tablets or smartphones, and empower users to do great things with more personal and human technology."
As Microsoft promises Windows 10 to be an operating system designed to work on any sized screen and in any format, Acer has followed up that drive with two pieces of hardware that span across the traditional PC, laptop, and tablet formats.
"We worked closely with Acer to help ensure their devices would make the most of Windows 10," said Terry Myerson, executive VP of Microsoft's Windows and Devices group, in the release. "With Cortana, the personal assistant that helps you get things done, Continuum, which enables Windows Phones to act like a PC when paired with a larger display... we are excited to welcome these Acer devices to the Windows 10 family."
For its part, Acer has designed both computers with dual-digital microphones featuring a proprietary digital signal processing (DSP) technology called Acer Purified, which should enhance Windows 10's built-in Cortana assistance by canceling background noise and improving speech recognition accuracy.
Acer Aspire R 14
The Acer Aspire R 14 looks like a traditional laptop but is actually a convertible notebook, where the screen can turn 360 degrees, fold over and hold several positions.
Using Windows 10's new Continuum feature, the notebook promises to automatically turn into Tablet mode when the screen is flipped over 180 degrees and laid flat on the keyboard, essentially turning into a Windows 10 touchscreen.
The Aspire R 14 is 18.5 mm thin and weighs 3.5 pounds, and runs 6th Generation Intel Core processors with up to 8GB of RAM. It comes with SSD storage and integrated MU-MIMO wireless, allowing faster downloads, even on crowded networks. Its release date in the U.S. is in late October, starting at about $700.
Acer Aspire Z3-700
The Aspire Z3-700 is a relatively strange evolution of the all-in-one PC.
It has a 17.3-inch 1080p HD touchscreen and weights only 4.4 pounds. And it has a built in battery that's supposed to last about 5 hours on a charge, along with a dedicated stylus.
So while the Aspire Z3-700 is a desktop PC, pictured with a traditional keyboard and mouse, it's also like an enormous Windows 10 tablet when you retract the two kickstands and carry it around.
The all-in-one desktop/tablet hybrid runs either Intel Pentium or Celeron processors, with up to 8GB of RAM, and either a SSD or HDD storage option, depending on which tier you purchase.
Its release date window is hazier than the Aspire R 14, but Windows' blog promised it would be available by the end of 2015, which likely puts its launch in the holiday shopping season. Prices will vary by region, but expect it to start around $700.