I can't believe that there are no reviews for this item and I was a little hesitant to buy it since it did not have any reviews. I was also looking at the Zenbook but the reviews were mixed and the price was high, I decided I could wait a few more years for them to work out the glitches. I have tried all major brands out there and they were just ok to absolutely horrible, and I really can do without a disk drive as I never really used them in my other lap tops and why bother paying for something you won't use.
This is lightweight, the screen is great, the touch pad is large and all the connections are on the back which is a personal preference for myself. I bought this mainly to take with me on road trips and for dedicated use for personal stuff. My favorite feature is the bluetooth, I connected a stereo headset and found the sound quality to be crisp and clear, perfect for those times when I may want to listen to something without disturbing others.
I got an awesome deal with a amazon promotion so for the 550.00 I paid for this I found it to be an exceptional value given the size, weight and features!! A great item and price for students!!!
I've had this ultrabook for about 2 months now, and it's performed quite decently so far. I'm not a very picky consumer, and I don't gripe about small inconveniences, especially when considering that the price for this ultrabook is rather reasonable when compared to others in the same tech/spec range.
Pros: it really is ultra-light, the sleek design is similar to the 13-inch version of the MacBook Air (though the material & build are likely not as sturdy or well put-together, hence the immense price difference), and it has a sleek outer shell that doesn't retain fingerprints or stains so easily (which is something that netbook/notebook users seem to care about). Most importantly, it is immensely portable. The i3 processor is quite capable when it comes to intensive web use (which is what I mainly do with it), and it does start up quickly from its "sleep" or "hibernation" modes. Some consumers have mentioned that the speed slows down considerably when having too many windows/programs open, but I can't verify if this is the case with my own machine since I'm not the kind of user who likes to have more than 8 Word documents open while using a tab-heavy Google Chrome open as well. If you expect to execute intensive business-related activities on your notebook, I definitely would recommend stepping up to an i5 or i7 processor; I own an Acer laptop with an i5 on it, and it's able to handle larger-order tasks like that. My advice: use an i3 ultrabook for basic to intensive web use (especially cloud use), and since this machine has a 500 GB harddrive, you'll be able to save quite a lot of material on it.
Cons: the 5.5 hour battery life is something of a fabrication. You get 2.5 to 3 hours MAX if you use it for that long without break, but if you intersperse your sessions with occasional use (closing and re-opening it from time to time) the battery will drag itself out through a good part of the day. I suppose this kind of intermittent use was what Acer meant by "5.5 hour battery life". One user has accurately recognized that the screen is liable to shake too often if the notebook is moving too much; so long as you have a sturdy table or desk that doesn't budge or shake, the screen won't shake at all, even if you're clacking away at the keys with any degree of intensity. I imagine that, in general, the keys might not be responsive...at first. In the case of this notebook, the key for letter "C" was not loose enough (as if it were semi-stuck into the groove of the body), but after 2 months that particular key became loosened and now is about as responsive as the others. I had (and continue to have) a similar problem with the larger i5 Acer notebook I own: the blue "Fn" key still does not work in conjunction with the Fn controls (such as turning the volume down or up, increasing or decreasing the brightness, etc.), but since that key and its related controls are not absolutely crucial to the basic performativity of the notebook, I don't give it much mind. I still get the performance that I need from the machine. In any case, I think that Acer machines generally seem to have a slight looseness or vulnerability to their build--which is why their prices are what they are. So I can't complain.
All in all, I'm satisfied with what the notebook gives me: portability, sleekness, lightness, connectivity. I've been a consistent Acer user for a few years now (I own 3 machines by them), and I can't say they've disappointed me thus far. Even though the Cons seem to outnumber the Pros in terms of quantity, they are actually quite minor quibbles in relation to the fantastic price the notebook's offered at, and quite minor too in relation to the overall quality the notebook gives you; which is to say, it functions just as it is marketed to you (except for that fib concerning the battery life). And it really does hold up in style when placed next to the implacable army of MacBooks that you inevitably meet each time you walk into a cafe or library to work on something.
Buy Acer Aspire S3-391-6899 13.3-Inch Ultrabook (Champagne) Now
I bought this to use for my work, which did not involve heavy graphics or such things, but just a simple process of having multiple Microsoft Word windows open together with a couple of Internet tabs open in Google Chrome, one or two Excel files, and one or two more text programs (e.g. Evernote).
And this computer is slow with that amount of load. It freezes more often than I would like -about three to four times DAILY -which is a wonder because it's not like I'm running heavy games on it. Is having about six to seven Word documents open together with two or three Internet tabs on Chrome too much for a new laptop to handle? I certainly did not think the i3 processor would be so slow as to be inadequate for my simple tasks.
UPDATE: Had this laptop for about four months now. Of the aforementioned problem, I contacted Acer service center and the man there told me to try reinstalling some drivers (he sent me links). He told me that if that didn't work, to try factory-resetting the laptop. Fortunately, reinstalling the drivers fixed the problem -for three months. After that, the same problem reoccurred -freezing, disability to click, etc., etc. I reinstalled those same drivers again, and the problem has been fixed. I suppose I'll keep doing this every time the problem reoccurs. Other than this, though, the laptop is usually moderately fast and functional.
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2 Months Update
So I have had the ultrabook for about two months now. For the most part it is still pretty good, but some issues have come up. Firstly, the screen does kinda shake a bit when you move it around and a little when you type. It actually shakes more than you would want a screen to shake. Secondly, my laptop has just started randomly turning off for some reason every few days. I know it is not a virus for sure, so I will look into that. Lastly, at times the fan can get annoyingly loud. Like a little too lound, and there is only one vent on the entire laptop. So that is why this goes from 5 stars to 3 stars.
Original Purchase Review
I had been shopping for an ultrabook for about 2 months for college. I had my eyes set on an acer S3 for a while, but this laptop on Amazon sealed the deal. I got it for 550 dollars at the time of my purchase (That Promo has now expired). But even at its current price. I would highly recommend the purchase. It is a very classy looking ultrabook. The new Champagne Color is really good to look at. I have gotten tons of compliments from friends and Family alike.
As for the performance aspects. The computer runs just as it should. It has instant boot up. Although I would venture to say that the Speed of the ultrabook is nothing to scream about. However, it does assure that I will never buy another computer that is not at least have a partial SSD. The Screen is decent. You get what you pay for, and then some.
If nothing else, the computer is worth buying for its aesthetics.
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I've only had my new ultrabook for a month. So far, it's been problem free. I thought it would be difficult to adapt to the very flat keyboard, but it's great. I type VERY fast (over 140 wpm), and it hasn't hampered my speed in the least. Someone commented that the screen shakes when you're typing. I've found that if the laptop is on a stable surface (i.e., table), the screen stays rock steady. The other user might have the lid open too far, causing an instability. I'd recommend adjusting the screen angle, and then it's good. Another negative comment I read was about the touchpad. I can't really comment on that, since I don't care for touchpads, and am using an external mouse. So far, it's fast and reliable, without any problems.
My only reason for 4 stars, instead of 5, is that I wish the laptop had more USB ports and the USB port placement. It only has 2 USB ports, and if I need to get something off a flash drive, I have to unplug something else, since I'm often charging my iPad, while using a USB mounted IR mouse. Also, the USB ports are on the back of the laptop -not a great placement. But given the thickness of this laptop, that's about the only place with room to mount the USB's.
Overall, I'm glad I purchased this laptop, and I can recommend it.
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I bought this for my 9 year old who wanted it to play games on the net. I wanted something small and cheap for him and the price was right. It looked nice enough, but it was tough just getting on the net, wouldn't stay connected and was so slow it wouldn't load any of the games, videos, etc he wanted to play. I couldn't even access facebook on it. I could google on it well, so if you just want to be able to seach for this, maybe it's useable, but I doubt it since once you try to click on the links, it will probably lock up from lack of speed and memory. I got frustrated and sent it back. I think it's time to retire this model!
