Event: Aspiring New Heights – Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook Unveiled

Acer Aspire S3 Launched

An Afternoon of Style and Innovation

Driven by its aim of reinventing the mobile computing arena, Acer Philippines today celebrated the arrival of its first ultrabook, the Aspire S3, in the country by staging an afternoon event of dance and fashion at the Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila in Quezon City.

Dressed up in an ultrathin (less than 21mm) magnesium-aluminium chassis, the Aspire S3 is packed with a 1.6GHz Intel Core i5-2467M processor, 13.3-inch LED-backlit display with 1366 x 768 resolution, and a combination of 20GB SSD and 320GB HDD for internal storage, for the price of PhP 44,900 with an external hard drive bundle. Intel’s Core i5-2467M is an ultra-low voltage processor that supports Turbo Boost technology and has a maximum thermal design power (TDP) of 17W. The energy-efficient Aspire S3 can last up to six hours and, in addition to its eco-friendly characteristics, is made up of recyclable materials.

The Aspire S3 is noteworthy for a number of firsts, according to Acer. It is Acer’s first ultrabook, the first to market Dolby Home Theater in the class, and the only ultrabook that has both SSD and HDD for internal storage.

In line with Intel’s vision of an ultrabook, the Aspire S3 promises to deliver no-compromise performance in a sexy profile at a thickness not more than 20mm by harnessing 2nd generation Core processors. Mr. Ricky Banaag, Country Manager of Intel Philippines, dubbed ultrabooks as today’s ultimate got-to-have device. Intel aims 40% of the market to shift to ultrabooks by the end of 2012.

Leveraging on Intel’s platform, the Aspire S3 highlights Intel-exclusive technologies which include: Smart Response which enables SSD-like performance on HDD; Smart Connect which continuously updates content (like emails) even if the notebook is asleep; and Rapid Start which shortens the notebook’s wakeup time to less than 7 seconds (less than 2 seconds in the case of the Aspire S3).

In addition to these, security-related technologies that were previously limited to Intel vPro-certified platforms are now available on the Aspire S3. The first of this is Identity Protection, an authentication system for accessing confidential online content like banking or financing websites. The second is Anti-Theft, a “poison pill-like” mechanism that allows you to lock up the hard drive and kill the BIOS of a stolen laptop.

The creation of ultrabooks is driven by the tremendous increase in consumers’ creation and consumption of digital multimedia content. Based on calculations, 247,000,000,000 emails are sent every day and there are more than two billion Internet users globally. Pictures, particularly moving pictures or videos, are now considered as the most popular language of the world.

Intel’s history of revolutionizing the PC industry started way in 1995 when the company introduced Pentium MMX processors. This was followed by the launch of the Centrino platform in 2003, wherein Intel focused on enhancing the mobile computing experience with notebooks and Wi-Fi technology. Today, ultrabooks, such as the Aspire S3, are the continuation of Intel’s legacy. Seeing the pool of three billion people out there who are still unable to use a PC, Intel has invested USD 300 million to spur the development of ultrabooks and its related technologies.

In light of the introduction of ultrabooks, Mr. Jermyn “Wowie” Wong, Intel Philippines’ Market Development Manager, clarified that these will emerge not as a replacement of netbooks or any other computing platform. Since there is no single product that can address all the needs of consumers, ultrabooks will rise as an additional computing segment or option for consumers.

For more information on the features and specifications of the Acer Aspire S3, visit www.acer.com.ph or check out this news release and full review (Core i7 version).