Back a few months ago, I posted my thoughts on the super thin, awesomely built Aspire S7 Ultrabook. My version featured an Intel i5 CPU, 128GB SSD and a magnificent 1080P touchscreen, all stuffed in a gorgeous metal body. It’s thinner and better than my MacBook Air and frankly, I love it.
Since the time of that posting, I’ve been using the Aspire S7 as my daily driver (I do 95% of my work on it) and I have to say it’s been a joy to use. In fact, Nokia’s Chris Weber and Marco Argenti both use and adore the device too (it’s like a small club thing when we see each other).
Now with that preamble out of the way we can tell you that the Microsoft Store is offering the S7, in all three versions, for $300+ off of the normal price. There’s the 11.6” one with an i5 for $899 (reg. $1,199), the 13.3” option with an i5 and 128GB storage for $999 (reg. $1299) and the big Kahuna with an i7 and 256GB storage for $1,299 (reg. $1649).
Look, I’m not here to tell you how to spend your money, but if you’re looking for what I think is a fairly kickass Ultrabook, well the S7 is it (and I have the Lenovo Yoga too). If you order from the Microsoft Store, remember, the laptop comes with “pure” Windows 8 on it with no crapware. You also get a Bluetooth mouse, leather cover and Ethernet/HDMI adapters in the box.
Peep our hands on video above, otherwise head to the Microsoft Store to take a look yourself.
Reader comments
Deal Alert: Acer Aspire S7 1080P Ultrabook gets a $300 discount thru Microsoft
I have the S7-191 and absolutely love it. It is by far the best built and engineered Windows laptop I have ever used. The 191 is the smaller 11.6 inch version and it comes with an added external battery that greatly increases its overall run time. It's a solid little device and has worked flawlessly for me so far. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a thin and light ultrabook.
I'd love it if OEMs start making more convertible notebooks/ultrabooks. Isn't that what Microsofts vision of windows 8 was? To give you the ease of a tablet when you just want to browse the internet, play games etc. and the more work orientated style of a notebook in one device.
lol, you are stupid to buy a macbook air at these prices.
Never said i bought a MBA, it was given to me ;)
I'm looking for a new laptop. I'll have to think about it. I keep reading on websites that Acer's webcams are too easy to hack.
My GF got herself a basic V5 with touch. Build quality is so so, but after updating the drivers the notebook runs great.
I am looking for a laptop replacement in the near future and am really torn about what to go with.. I love the idea of this PC, but am rather worried about fan noise and also its ability to handle photoshop/illustrator.
I am a UX/Web Designer, so often have quite a lot going on (illustrator and photoshop open simultaneously, as well as a few other programs). Anyone have a recommendation for a good laptop for working on this? My current PC is a huge, beast of a thing, which horrendously loud fans, so I am really looking for something more portable and that is reasonably quiet. I also would like a touchscreen and a higher resolution display would be nice. Was eyeing this and the lenovo carbon touch, but both are too expensive to want to make the jump without knowing more about how they perform/what else is out there/coming soon. Any help?
This looks pretty tempting, however, what are Acer laptops now like with heat dissipation? My old Acer (i3 350M) used to overheat, so I'm slightly wary.
The i7 gets hot and the fan is loud. The Haswell refresh coming out in June should fix that and add almost twice the battery life.
You would see a numb in speed, but what do do with your computers? The processor really steps in when you are compiling/crunching data, processing video/audio, etc... No basic stud either. Thousands of records, raw video with many layers/filters, etc.
I personally use an i5 mobile, rt tablet, and one of my desktops is an i7. That is my workhorse, I will throw anything at it. My i5 will do the same, but depending on the task, I could be seconds, minutes, shoot hours slower... That is a desktop i7 vs a mobile i5 though...
I really like my xps13, but this is a great deal! If I was in the market, I would grab one up!!!
I just want one with nvidia graphics, like the Razer Blade, but smaller and cheaper.
I don't know. That Asus Taichi keeps tempting me. Still not sure about a touch screen I can't choose to lay flat.
Does it have a TPM chip? If so then that's one heck of a deal.
I love my s7!!!
I'm waiting for Haswell. Love the look of this one, though.
Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid question but... Would I be able to tell the diff between i5 and i7 processors?
I have the surface pro which I believe is a i5 and its blazing fast compared to my old surface RT which I believe was a mobile processor. But what could the i7 net me?
My recommendation: go for the i5 and save on battery life. I feel ZERO need for an i7 and I edit photos/video on this thing all day.
you probably won't be able to tell the difference in processors, but there is also the extra 128gb of ssd storage.
Nice deal. Still, I've seen enough bad experiences with Acer's stuff that I have a hell of a time ever recommending it. My brother-in-law's Acer laptop was like one of those old, junk cars that would always run like total garbage, but it wouldn't be merciful enoguh to just die so it could be replaced.
Not in Canada :(
How does the trackpad perform? I'm tired of laptops with subpar trackpad performance.
Here goes. No Microsoft store in India
Some html junk made it into the article as viewed in the app (links at the end)..
Isn't this Leo Laporte's daily driver too? I hear great things about this machine. Speaking of 'netcasters' when the hell is WPCentral going to get on a more frequent than monthly podcast schedule??!!
Yes, Leo Paorte uses this too.
Sorry about the podcast--we were supposed to have one yesterday but had some life-troubles that kept me distracted :/
I hope all is well with you, but I can only listen to so much TWIT (which IS great) in a week, and TheVerge is almost unlistenable (if that's a word).
Really? Man, The Verge is my favorite podcast. I don't always agree with everything they say, but as far as entertainment goes, they usually do the trick. As a bonus, my girlfriend (who couldn't possibly care less about tech stuff, lol) enjoys it, too.
Josh being the most important person in the world, talking overtop of EVERYONE else CONSTANTLY, is funny once - maybe five times - but not constantly. You have to be in the mood for it, Josh's overbearingness is sometimes VERY funny, but usually unappealing/condescending. TheVergeMobile is simply monotone, droning background buzzing. I respect those guys Dieter & Vlad (been reading/listening to backlon for ages) but they need to make their points faster.
We just need Daniel, Jay, & Rene(in the background) to hookup weekly, even if for only 45 minutes to keep themselves relevant...please?
Hell I'd say even only 30 minutes would do If weekly.
I bought one from ms store near launch. Came new with a broken trackpad. Swapped for tried and true Lenovo.
I love my 13.3 one! LOVE it!
Me too. I was just looking for an ultrabook. On your day to day basis, how is the battery doing?
It's fine.I'd say 4 to 5.5 hours, depending on settings. You can ramp down the CPU to save even more battery and since Win 8 runs so well on an i5, you won't notice.
The AC adapter is also super light and not an issue to carry around.
I think the Acer S7 is one of the most compelling Windows 8 pc's out there for one simple reason:
It showcases how great touch and Windows 8 are on a traditional laptop.
For all the frenzy around the new hybrid designs (and there are some great ones out there), there is something to be said for the tried-and-true form of a laptop. And the S7 is super thin and light to boot. What I think makes touch-enabled laptops such a sleeper hit is that it solves the problem of "how do I prop up my touch-screen at an angle" problem in such an obvious way. And as an added bonus, that angle is adjustable!
It certainly helps that the S7 is a great looking laptop too :o)
If only it was a 15"
Replying to myself: That's what she said.
lol and yes, a 15" would be nice too
Why are all these OEMs moving away from 14" and 15" screens on nice, touch, 1080p, high end ultrabooks? Seems like vizio is the only one still there (just trying to convince myself to spend $1500 on the i7 15" model).
My guess is an attempt to steal some of the 10"+ tablet folks away, by simply keeping it portable. That, or maybe the touch displays are too expensive at 15" and 1080p?
This device is already pretty expensive, and Vizio is selling their top 1080p i7 15" model ultrabook for just under $1500, I don't know if the price is the only issue. This trend of 13" laptops seems to follow the largest macbook air. Why (including the Toshiba Kirabook) is everyone comparing themselves to apple? I understand that you want to imitate success, but differentiate yourself in your own way. You think if Toshiba had not mentioned the macbook at all, they wouldn't have gotten the attention they got with that resolution? The interviewers and tech blog "journalists" were already there; I seriuosly doubt the macbook mention did anything but make them look like they were simply copying the idea (even though that obviously isn't the case). PC manufactureres need to make better products the norm and tell people that they're doing it as a progression to the PC market, not as a response to apple. I love the direction Toshiba is headed, with the 4k tablet (that will probably never make it to the market) and the Kirabook (minus the top model being 13"); they just need to stop mentioning Apple. My favorite one is Vizio right now because they have options and their baddest machince is right where I want a lot of OEMs' machines to be. I understand there is a market for 13" laptops, I just want options. Sorry, that was more towards the OEMs than you Keith =D
Daniel, 2 comments. 1st I'm jealous and now torn between this or a surface pro... And 2nd, in post, can you boost the audio a few db... Video I pretty quite. Otherwise great stuff, thanks for the savings info.
Meanwhile I'm loving my Asus Vivobook. Perfect size for me. Not too small, not too big.
I want
So tempting. I really want something like this that can dual screen. That would make itva slam dunk. I'll probably end up contemplating this until the discount ends