Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook hits the US and Canada this week, rings in at $899

And the Ultrabooks have arrived! We just got word that the Acer Aspire S3 will go on sale in the US and Canada this week for $899 — making it the first pinch-thin, MacBook Air competitor to hit the market, landing ahead of competing models from Toshiba, Lenovo and ASUS.

To recap, this 2.98-pound aluminum beaut has a 13.3-inch (1366 x 768) panel, is rated for six hours (or 50 standby days!) of battery life and promises to wake from sleep in a mere two seconds. For the money, you’ll get an ultra low voltage Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM and 20GB of solid-state storage combined with a 320GB HDD. No word yet on how many additional configs will be available, though Acer did confirm that this $899 version will be followed by models with Core i3 and i7 processors and beefier storage capacity. Intrigued? Have a gander at our hands-on preview if you missed it the first time around, and find some fancy press shots below.

Acer Aspire 3951 new Ultrabooks to launch in September

We don’t mind eyeballing a few impossibly clean renders when we get wind of a new toy, but there’s nothing like the real McCoy. Today’s bones slipped out of a (now pulled) HDblog hands-on of the Acer Aspire 3951 Ultrabook, possibly leaked ahead of an IFA 2011 embargo. The genuine article looks nearly identical to its rendered counterpart, albeit a bit thicker and more plasticky. The unveiled 13.3-inchMacBook Air competitor reportedly sports a second generation Intel Core processor, boots from sleep in under two seconds, and is only 13mm thick. The price? While there is no official word on this exactmodel, Acer head-honcho JT Wang mentioned last week that the outfit was prepping to launch a new Ultrabook in September for about $800. Lines up nicely with the Acer 3951′s rumored $770-960 price range, doesn’t it?

Via –  engadget

Acer Aspire 3951 Ultrabook Leaked

It looks like Acer is getting ready to launch a new Ultrabook notebook in an attempt to take on Apple’s MacBook Air, the Acer Aspire 3951, which shares a similar size and dimensions to Apple’s MacBook Air.

The Acer Aspire 3951 Ultrabook is expected to launch in October, and it will measure 13mm thick and weigh in at just 1.4 KG, as you can see from the photos is features an aluminum casing and an ultra thin design.

Other specifications include a second generation Intel Core processor, an optional 160GB SSD, up to six hours of battery life,it is expected to go on sale in October and will cost somewhere between $770 and $960.

Source  Engadget

2011 MacBook Air Announced, Full Specifications

Apple has updated its MacBook Air ultraportable, bringing the notebook range up to date with Intel’s 2011 Sandy Bridge processors, as well as the high-speed Thunderbolt connectivity already seen on the MacBook Pro and iMac. Running OS X Lion, the new 11.6- and 13.3-inch Airs keep the slick unibody styling of their predecessors but throws in a backlit keyboard.

Two standard configurations of 11.6-inch MacBook Air are on offer, firstly at $999 with a 1.6GHz Core i5 processor, 2 GB of RAM and a 64 GB SSD drive, and then the $1,199 performance version with a 1.6GHz Core i5 processor, 4 GB of RAM and a 128 GB SSD drive. The display runs at 1366 x 768. Options include a 1.8GHz Core i7 processor, 4GB of RAM and larger SSDs.

Similarly, there are two standard configs of the 13.3-inch MacBook Air, beginning with the $1,299 with a 1.7GHz Core i5 processor, 4 GB of RAM and a 128 GB SSD drive, and then the $1,599 top-end version with the same processor, 4 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD drive. Its display runs at 1440 x 900, while options include a 1.8GHz Core i7 CPU.

Graphics are from Intel’s HD Graphics 3000. Otherwise connectivity is the same as before, which means WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth as standard, along with a pair of USB 2.0 ports and a headphone port. There’s a built-in microphone and a webcam. Battery life for the 11.6-inch Air is up to 5 hours, while the 13.3-inch Air increases that to 7 hours.

Source Apple

ThinkPad X1: Lenovo 21.5mm Thick Laptop

X1 is a ThinkPad, Lenovo 21.5 mm thick with Intel’s core 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5-2520M Foundation to build a bridge of sand, the Intel integrated graphics and high definition of a solid 13, Gorilla, 3-inch LCD display, 160 GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 3 MB cache, the ratio of 16:9 and a resolution 1366×768 resolution.

Other features such as WiFi 802.11b / g, Bluetooth 3.0, Ethernet compatible with 3G mobile broadband, gigabit, water resistant keyboard, touchpad, fingerprint reader and high-definition camera. In the case of audio, Dolby Home Theater HD v4 and up to 5 hours of battery technology, lithium-ion battery offers speed 38.4Wh 1000 charging cycles, you will receive 80 percent by weight of just 30 minutes. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 is a size 231 x 337x 16.5 to 21.5 mm (W), weight 1.36 ~ 1.72 kg. These devices are high-definition stereo speakers, wireless LAN antenna, cellular antennas and integrated four SIM card reader (can read SD, SDHC, MMC, and poor).

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 goes for Windows 7 Professional Edition 64-bit, and confirmed that the X1 has the Lenovo Energy Star and U.S. Army standards for testing of low pressure will pass 15,000 feet, humidity, vibration, temperature and dust tests ruggidity. You can also add your favorite OS in German, English, French, Italian or Swiss. Lenovo offers a generous three years (in place), the battery warranty is 1 year. Wait, what Lenovo X1 see May 20 at this point say .

Price: CHF2,585 [ approx. USD2,920.- ]

[ Source: Engadget ]