This is interesting. I'm not sure I care for the 15.6in form factor for this, but this hinge design is novel and presents some unique opportunities.
I could see myself being seriously interested in something like it if it were to be scaled down to 11-12in FF (with a high quality 1080p screen still) and the processor inside was more power efficient (AMD's Kabini or Haswell depending on the price point targeted.)
"Now, instead of having the touchpad in front of the keyboard, it’s located above the keyboard"
I'm not 100% sure since I haven't used it, but I think that right there is enough to make the device a failure as a laptop, which I would imagine was supposed to be half its purpose. If this touchpad was useless in this position, a person would have to have a mouse with them at all times if they wanted to do anything useful. Although, I'm not sure that carrying a mouse is a burden.
It's unique and good for them to be trying new things. We'll see if it has any success.
I don't want to be a dick, but personally I think a company deserves congratulation for doing something new when that something new is demonstrably valuable. The "throw random crap against the wall and see what sticks" attitude to consumer electronics is not one that appeals to me --- I'm rather more of a "few, but ready"guy. I'm not against innovation, but a company that expects the public to pay for the privilege of beta-testing their ideas deserves some scorn.
I've seen plenty of people saying "well, somebody else might like this". I've so far seen no-one saying "*I* not only like this but am buying one". I predict failure, in the sense that it won't sell well (not that Acer will ever release the numbers) and will not result in follow-up models or copy-cat models.
In particular, (a) I agree that the trackpad location is killer, totally useless and (b) I understand the conceptual appeal of being able to flip the thing to make it tablet-like, but you then still have a very thick, very heavy tablet. Laptops and tablets are cheap enough (and getting cheaper all the time) that it just makes much more sense to save $300 buying a normal laptop, and use the money you saved to buy a separate tablet.
name99, oh so full of wisdom. Unfortunately your desire not to be a dick has failed.
Where to start? "not against innovation" do you really know what innovation is? your comments suggests not. And who is suggesting that the public are being expected to pay for being beta-testers? Is your argument one where new products should only be launched if everyone is going to like and buy them? Foolish on a biblical level. It seems those techno-sheep and geek-illiterate (of which I class you as) who proliferate these comment sections have all worked themselves up to believe that any product should be for the mass market and if it isn't bought by (insert huge number) million people, then it's a failure. Open your eyes and take a sip of reality, products can and should exist to fulfill niche requirements.
Your comments are nonsense: - trackpad location a killer, really why, explain yourself! who cares where the trackpad is. if you could reach your keyboard on an existing laptop then you can reach the trackpad on the R7. - you understand the appeal of being able to flip the 'thing' to make it tablet like but then have a heavy tablet. No you have a 15" laptop screen which you can manipulate, touch and use in a variety of different scenarios. A 10" tablet is not going to run your graphics software very well nor is it going to be as comfortable to type at length, nor will it have as big a screen to maybe present with or watch movies on. If you want a 10" tablet to mess with and be so so productive, buy one. If you want a medium sized laptop which offers the benefit of high power computer use, stylus input, touch screen and surface style touch interface then buy an R7. And if you want both, BUY BOTH!
Get back in your box Luddite.
It looks amazing, it seems to be very well built, has a high spec and its estimated price is low. I predict SUCCESS.
have you ever looked at how the millions of people use their ipads/tablets with a keyboard? the screen goes right where the keys end. no trackpad in sight. this is how windows 8 "laptops" probably should look to make the screen that much closer to your hands. i think they deserve lots of kudos for the novel, yet not too disruptive design. we'll see how it plays in the real world, but this is a bold and sensible effort in my opinion.
Finally a trackpad placed behind the keyboard! I have been hoping for this for years. I hate cramming my wrists to use them. This will be so much more comfortable for all those traveling situations where I can't use my mouse. Although with W8 it could be left out completely.
It's a very interesting design. The choice of display positions is great and I even think the inclusion of the trackpad is a plus.
I've been hoping for 15.6" convertible for years (and with a dGPU), but unfortunately this doesn't have an AD (not that is Acer's fault as I don't think anyone makes them above 14").
It does seem odd that their using a ULV part though.
I really like the hinge and the way the screen can be positioned. I think the touchpad could be quite usable in this position and maybe even better than in the usual place in front of the keyboard. However, my main concern is that there is no place to rest your palms when typing.
It's amazing that this laptop doesn't have a powerful quad-core i7 and the option for 16GB RAM. I would also want to option in a 500GB SSD. Haswell is almost upon us and I don't think it could come too soon.
This is exactly what I have been looking for. I do a lot of accounts on my laptop and prefer the high res screen. My current 17" laptop is on the way out and I need to replace. The fact that the keyboard is at the front is great. I have often wished I didn't have to sit with my arms stretched and resting on the laptop in order to reach the key pad. To get something that will operate as a proper laptop AND have the touch screen/tablet possibilities is brilliant. As for the position of the touch pad - I foresee no problems. If you are typng you will have to reach only to the same extent as you now have to for the keyboard on all the current laptops. As soon as the i7 version comes out with the more powerful graphics card, I will be out to buy. Does anyone know if it has a DVD? Well done Acer.
This is a very cool and innovative concept. I must confess that I am biased to this design because I came up with a similar one two years ago: http://goo.gl/1IJW2 In another design I also put a touchpad above the keyboard, and I don't think this will render the design a failure, as some reader commented.
I have been looking for a tablet/notebook hybrid to handle work when I need a tablet for stylus input and a keyboard for Word Processing. The Surface Pro was too small, as was the Asus TaiChi 11 dual screen ultrabook. I am looking forward to seeing this one, and hope it does work out.
Saw this laptop in person in Best Buy yesterday. The only thing that stopped me from immediately buying was the imminent release of Haswell. When this baby comes out with Haswell I'll be the first to buy.
The screen is just the right size 15.6". It is 1080p, wide color gamut. It looks laminated: I haven't noticed any air gap between the front glass and the panel.
Possibly one thing the may work on is the keyboard: it looks like it was taken from one of an older Acre's 14" laptops. It is not bad: there is a column of home/end, etc keys and the arrow keys are sufficiently large and separated. However the keys on the left hand side are cut too small, most likely to fit older 14" designs. This laptop deserves truly full sized keyboard. If Acer could manage to put the tenkeyless keyboard layout there (like Filco tenkeyless), I'd buy two of them. Just don't put cramped num pad or make different keyboard layouts an option.
Apart from tiny keyboard layout issue, everything else looks extremely well designer and solidly built. The body is magnesium alloy and the hinge is forged aluminum.
I do like the fact that the track pad is out of the way. Most of the time I use a mouse anyway. The ability to mov the screen forward must be handy on an airplane.
Did I mention I loved the gorgeous full color 15.6" IPS screen? Acer did extremely well with this laptop!
I really liked the positioning of this laptop. We can now position it near us to put it to better use. Its 180-degree turn makes it more desirable, this feature can be used for meetings so that everyone around the can see the content clearly. Moreover, this feature is topped-up with a 1080p display, a big thumbs up for that. for any info or query, please call https://www.acersupportnumber.com/acer-customer-su...
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frogger4 - Friday, May 3, 2013 - link
That's a very interesting hinge concept for sure. I don't think it's for me, but I can imagine it fun / useful on occasion.Seems odd to me that the base best buy model will come with a free game, since that doesn't sound like the model with dedicated graphics.
Bull Dog - Friday, May 3, 2013 - link
This is interesting. I'm not sure I care for the 15.6in form factor for this, but this hinge design is novel and presents some unique opportunities.I could see myself being seriously interested in something like it if it were to be scaled down to 11-12in FF (with a high quality 1080p screen still) and the processor inside was more power efficient (AMD's Kabini or Haswell depending on the price point targeted.)
whisp3r - Saturday, May 4, 2013 - link
Have you had a look at the Lenovo Yoga series?http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Sub...
tytung - Sunday, May 19, 2013 - link
The Yoga design is stupid. In one mode the keyboard is facing downwards, which makes it easier to get dirty or spoiled.redchar - Saturday, May 4, 2013 - link
"Now, instead of having the touchpad in front of the keyboard, it’s located above the keyboard"I'm not 100% sure since I haven't used it, but I think that right there is enough to make the device a failure as a laptop, which I would imagine was supposed to be half its purpose. If this touchpad was useless in this position, a person would have to have a mouse with them at all times if they wanted to do anything useful. Although, I'm not sure that carrying a mouse is a burden.
It's unique and good for them to be trying new things. We'll see if it has any success.
JarredWalton - Saturday, May 4, 2013 - link
The idea is to use the touchscreen instead of the touchpad. Honestly, with the location of the touchpad, I'm not sure why they even include it.name99 - Saturday, May 4, 2013 - link
I don't want to be a dick, but personally I think a company deserves congratulation for doing something new when that something new is demonstrably valuable. The "throw random crap against the wall and see what sticks" attitude to consumer electronics is not one that appeals to me --- I'm rather more of a "few, but ready"guy.I'm not against innovation, but a company that expects the public to pay for the privilege of beta-testing their ideas deserves some scorn.
I've seen plenty of people saying "well, somebody else might like this". I've so far seen no-one saying "*I* not only like this but am buying one".
I predict failure, in the sense that it won't sell well (not that Acer will ever release the numbers) and will not result in follow-up models or copy-cat models.
In particular,
(a) I agree that the trackpad location is killer, totally useless and
(b) I understand the conceptual appeal of being able to flip the thing to make it tablet-like, but you then still have a very thick, very heavy tablet. Laptops and tablets are cheap enough (and getting cheaper all the time) that it just makes much more sense to save $300 buying a normal laptop, and use the money you saved to buy a separate tablet.
ark2 - Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - link
name99, oh so full of wisdom. Unfortunately your desire not to be a dick has failed.Where to start? "not against innovation" do you really know what innovation is? your comments suggests not. And who is suggesting that the public are being expected to pay for being beta-testers? Is your argument one where new products should only be launched if everyone is going to like and buy them? Foolish on a biblical level.
It seems those techno-sheep and geek-illiterate (of which I class you as) who proliferate these comment sections have all worked themselves up to believe that any product should be for the mass market and if it isn't bought by (insert huge number) million people, then it's a failure. Open your eyes and take a sip of reality, products can and should exist to fulfill niche requirements.
Your comments are nonsense:
- trackpad location a killer, really why, explain yourself! who cares where the trackpad is. if you could reach your keyboard on an existing laptop then you can reach the trackpad on the R7.
- you understand the appeal of being able to flip the 'thing' to make it tablet like but then have a heavy tablet. No you have a 15" laptop screen which you can manipulate, touch and use in a variety of different scenarios. A 10" tablet is not going to run your graphics software very well nor is it going to be as comfortable to type at length, nor will it have as big a screen to maybe present with or watch movies on.
If you want a 10" tablet to mess with and be so so productive, buy one. If you want a medium sized laptop which offers the benefit of high power computer use, stylus input, touch screen and surface style touch interface then buy an R7. And if you want both, BUY BOTH!
Get back in your box Luddite.
It looks amazing, it seems to be very well built, has a high spec and its estimated price is low. I predict SUCCESS.
plcn - Monday, May 6, 2013 - link
have you ever looked at how the millions of people use their ipads/tablets with a keyboard? the screen goes right where the keys end. no trackpad in sight. this is how windows 8 "laptops" probably should look to make the screen that much closer to your hands. i think they deserve lots of kudos for the novel, yet not too disruptive design. we'll see how it plays in the real world, but this is a bold and sensible effort in my opinion.DroidTomTom - Monday, May 6, 2013 - link
Finally a trackpad placed behind the keyboard! I have been hoping for this for years. I hate cramming my wrists to use them. This will be so much more comfortable for all those traveling situations where I can't use my mouse. Although with W8 it could be left out completely.Tams80 - Saturday, May 4, 2013 - link
It's a very interesting design. The choice of display positions is great and I even think the inclusion of the trackpad is a plus.I've been hoping for 15.6" convertible for years (and with a dGPU), but unfortunately this doesn't have an AD (not that is Acer's fault as I don't think anyone makes them above 14").
It does seem odd that their using a ULV part though.
gxtoast - Tuesday, May 14, 2013 - link
I really like the hinge and the way the screen can be positioned. I think the touchpad could be quite usable in this position and maybe even better than in the usual place in front of the keyboard. However, my main concern is that there is no place to rest your palms when typing.It's amazing that this laptop doesn't have a powerful quad-core i7 and the option for 16GB RAM. I would also want to option in a 500GB SSD. Haswell is almost upon us and I don't think it could come too soon.
Frances Wartnaby - Friday, May 17, 2013 - link
This is exactly what I have been looking for. I do a lot of accounts on my laptop and prefer the high res screen. My current 17" laptop is on the way out and I need to replace. The fact that the keyboard is at the front is great. I have often wished I didn't have to sit with my arms stretched and resting on the laptop in order to reach the key pad. To get something that will operate as a proper laptop AND have the touch screen/tablet possibilities is brilliant. As for the position of the touch pad - I foresee no problems. If you are typng you will have to reach only to the same extent as you now have to for the keyboard on all the current laptops. As soon as the i7 version comes out with the more powerful graphics card, I will be out to buy. Does anyone know if it has a DVD? Well done Acer.tytung - Sunday, May 19, 2013 - link
This is a very cool and innovative concept. I must confess that I am biased to this design because I came up with a similar one two years ago: http://goo.gl/1IJW2In another design I also put a touchpad above the keyboard, and I don't think this will render the design a failure, as some reader commented.
Devyn - Tuesday, May 21, 2013 - link
I have been looking for a tablet/notebook hybrid to handle work when I need a tablet for stylus input and a keyboard for Word Processing. The Surface Pro was too small, as was the Asus TaiChi 11 dual screen ultrabook. I am looking forward to seeing this one, and hope it does work out.1d107 - Sunday, May 26, 2013 - link
Saw this laptop in person in Best Buy yesterday. The only thing that stopped me from immediately buying was the imminent release of Haswell. When this baby comes out with Haswell I'll be the first to buy.The screen is just the right size 15.6". It is 1080p, wide color gamut. It looks laminated: I haven't noticed any air gap between the front glass and the panel.
Possibly one thing the may work on is the keyboard: it looks like it was taken from one of an older Acre's 14" laptops. It is not bad: there is a column of home/end, etc keys and the arrow keys are sufficiently large and separated. However the keys on the left hand side are cut too small, most likely to fit older 14" designs. This laptop deserves truly full sized keyboard. If Acer could manage to put the tenkeyless keyboard layout there (like Filco tenkeyless), I'd buy two of them. Just don't put cramped num pad or make different keyboard layouts an option.
Apart from tiny keyboard layout issue, everything else looks extremely well designer and solidly built. The body is magnesium alloy and the hinge is forged aluminum.
I do like the fact that the track pad is out of the way. Most of the time I use a mouse anyway. The ability to mov the screen forward must be handy on an airplane.
Did I mention I loved the gorgeous full color 15.6" IPS screen? Acer did extremely well with this laptop!
Acerlaptopscreenreplacement - Tuesday, December 12, 2017 - link
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Stacymarkel - Tuesday, September 4, 2018 - link
I really liked the positioning of this laptop. We can now position it near us to put it to better use. Its 180-degree turn makes it more desirable, this feature can be used for meetings so that everyone around the can see the content clearly. Moreover, this feature is topped-up with a 1080p display, a big thumbs up for that. for any info or query, please call https://www.acersupportnumber.com/acer-customer-su...