Customer Reviews

Acer Aspire S3-951-6646 13.3-Inch Ultrabook

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I'm an IT professional and VERY picky when it comes to my laptop. I read the reviews on this and was mixed between the good and bad on here, so I decided to visit a Microsoft Store and check it out on my own. I immediately was amazed how thin and light this was just like a MacBook Air (which I used and had before). I compared this to the Samsung series 9 laptop and although yes I wish it had a non-glossy screen it still beats it in price tag and performance.

Pros:
-Laptop does not show any traces of fingerprints (which annoyed me with other laptops)
-Screen is very crisp and clear. Yes, its glossy but its a "comfortable glossy" like the macbook air
-Keys are very responsive and comfortable. You do have to press a bit more but I easily got used to it.
-The touchpad is the best I've ever used on any Windows laptop. Very smooth and responsive like a macbook.
-Great performance as it has the i5 processor
-Super fast bootup and screen on/off time
-Simple and basic in terms of ports (2) USB and HDMI which are positioned perfectly in the back. I see no need for laptops to have tons of ports on the sides and back adding bulk to it.
-For this price its a steal compared to what other manufacturers are charging.

Cons:
-The up/down/left/right keys are tiny, but eventually you get used to it
-Battery life is not as long as MacBook Air but its still descent for an ultrabook.
-Yes, its true that the click button below the touchpad you have to press very hard (mostly for a right click), however if you go into mouse settings and just enable "single tap" and set up "double tap" as a pop up menu, you will have no need to press down on pad at all. This has such amazing trackpad drivers that I can glide through pages and screens with no effort.

Overall, don't let the Acer name or price fool you, this laptop is a gem and best design, performance and feel I have ever seen outside of Apple. I bought mine from a Microsoft Store which has the Microsoft Signature service (basically they re-load the OS with no bloatware). If your in the market for a Windows 7 thin, fast and on the go laptop, this is the one for you!

So, I won this thing on the Acer A Day Give Away. (So - I might be a little biased, cause they just gave me a free computer.)

I was sort of in the market for a new laptop, and I really was not looking for a ultrabook. I'm more of a big clunky machine with a big screen and all the bells and whistles type of guy.
Imagine my surprise when I got this thing and have found that I really, really like it. I don't have an issue with the noise, nor do I mind the lack of CD drive. I think the start up time is fast, and the laptop overall is a great little machine. It feels really sturdy to me, despite the light weight. I really like that it does not get hot... like, at all. I had it running on battery power for nearly 4 hours the other day, shut it off, and felt the underside. It was tepid.
I read reviews before I got the laptop that the keys were an issue. Some people complained about the keys not having the right amount of heft, which caused them to miss keys, or were unable to hit the arrow keys. Again, I like big things. Big keyboards included. That said. I don't have an issue, at all with the keyboard. I've not had any problems with the arrow keys. In fact, my only issue so far is that there are no dedicated function keys. There are function keys, but they're not dedicated (That is - I'd like to have a volume control, playback controls for video, etc.)
I'm a big fan of the multitouch trackpad. I love that I can use gestures to make stuff happen. Took me a while to figure out how to use them correctly, but now that I have, I'm enjoying it. My only complaint is that you cannot create your own gestures, and can only use a predefined list of finger motions to trigger a predefined list of actions -- at least, using the stock software (I do not know of alternate software at the moment).
Beyond that, it came with a lot of bloatware. Easily fixed, but a minor annoyance.

I had this ultrabook for a week now and I can say it's amazing so far. It's thin, light, fast and comfortable. It looks good, it's quiet and cool (I mean temperature). Before I bought this I read all the reviews available online. I completely understand the reviewers have to criticize something but for me this computer works perfectly well. For example, many people say that the keys are too short. In my opinion the keys are comfy. The screen is not the best, but it's very good. This is not a gamer computer; it's for the ones that need to carry it from one place to the other. Taking into account its size and weight, I couldn't expect more from this machine. I come from a ThinkPad that is a heavy duty. I can see this computer is not as strong as the ThinkPad, but it's on a different league if you take into account the price you pay for one of the smallest computers available.
The Core i5 it's powerful enough for the tasks I perform (Web, Excel, Word, some Photoshop). The SSD for "instant on" works as magic. You open the computer and its right there asking for your password (if you setup one). Battery life seems to be good although I can imagine it will suffer in the long term as I'm not able to remove the battery when it's plugged in. On normal use (internet, mail, and few YouTube videos) you get between 4 and 5 hours. I haven't tried playing a movie yet, but I guess you'll get enough power to watch it all the way.

I usually do not write reviews, but felt what I read was not correct. This computer is great. The keyboard which some have said is bad is not the case. I had an Apple laptop and found it similar. The screen is great and I've got Slingbox which is TV internet and it looks great. The small buttons on the right - get real!! no big deal. This things starts up before i blink!! The speed and connection are great!! I did a lot of research before buying and when I clicked send in the buying cart, I initiallly had remorse as I was wishing that I was being too cheap and a few hundred would have made my life complete. When i got the computer. What a great surprise. The top is great. As for plastic, it does not feel cheap, but smart in cost. Also, my Mac was hot on the bottom, this computer is cool on bottom. Not sure why but it is. The layout is great. The hinge is fine, no problem that I see that some reported. Love the keyboard, which the experts said was lacking. Still not sure what they are talking about. I can buy almost two of these computers for what the others are charging. No Brainer!! Buy it!! P.S. They came out with a new one that is $1400 with SDD and i7. Get the i5 not that big a difference to pay $700 extra.

Strength
1. Amazingly fast performance; 2. Very thin and ultraportable for travel and even in the class rooms; 3. Simplicity in design and feature configuration; 4. Accessories are available including the connection line for "plug-in" internect in hotels.5. Really affordabe price as compared to Apple equivalents; 6. Feature a solid state drive for system programs, that makes Acer S3 unique and upfront among its competitors.
Weakness
1. No other colors available; 2. Can't use backup batteries (but 6 hrs of battery life may be good enough).

I have owned this laptop for about a month now and it does all that it said it would do. I would like to see more USB ports on the computer. (There are only two) I did have to purchase a CD DVD unit. That is the easiest way to load software etc. The Wi-Fi works just fine. I bought a Wi-Fi booster so I can use it out back by the pool. I really like how light it is. I carry it in a tablet case. Battery time is good.

The size is great. The only problem I had is with the reconnection of the wifi using the new "smart" Wifi adapter that is supposed to lock on to wifi faster on resume from standby. When you resume, it sometimes locks on and sometimes will just not. When it does not, the wifi won't even see the network manually. The solution is to shut the lid, wait until it sleeps, open the lid to resume and try again to find the hotspot. I think this is a problem with the firmware on the wifi adapter and expect a fix. I wish I could just turn the advanced wifi feature off.
The Graphics are excellent. The procesessor is adequate. The power supply is the standard one, so you can use any standard aspire 3.42 volt adapter. The keyboard is not perfect, but better than the iconia touchscreen. The best bang for your buck if you need a second laptop or like to travel light.
Battery life is not 6 hours - more like 3.5 on power saver - which is adequate.

My story might be able to bring you an answer if you have concern with reviews about the keyboard.

In Dec, 2011, I bought this Acer S3 from Costco because it fits all my needs perfectly and it turns out to be a perfect laptop except one issue - the keyboard. The keyboard looks very nice, like the Mac keyboard, however, it seems I had to press it very hard and right in the middle, otherwise, I will miss keys. It seems the issue is the key only works when you press the center part and hard enough. If you accidentely pressed the corner, you will miss the key @ 80% of the time, especially on keys: 'N', 'M', 'Dot', 'A'... because you had to reach out your finger to those keys and very likely you will miss them. I liked this laptop so much that I was trying to force myself to get use to the keyboard, however after 1 month , I gave up and had to return it...

I researched the market extensively after that trying to find a similiar laptop... and eventually I had to come back to Acer S3 since it's simply the best deal in the market. I also read tons of reviews online, some of them complain about the keyboard issue liked me and some claim the keyboard works perfectly, which made me wonder, maybe I got a defect one, so I decided to give Acer S3 one more try.

Thanks to Costco, I got a new Acer S3 right away. I drove back home, unpacked it, turned it on and opened a notepad and started tying.... WHAT A HUGE SURPRISE, THE KEYBOARD WORKS GREAT for me this time! It is indeed like most of other reviews said, it's very comfy to type on, I still need to press a little bit harder than usual, but it's very easy to get used to and the most important thing is, I don't miss key this time, even when I pressed at the very corner of the keys. Note, I type super fast and that's why the keyboard is very important to me, and I can tell you this, this keyboard works GREAT!

All I want to say is both the good and bad reviews of the Acer S3 keyboard are true, depending on which one you get. Don't be stopped by the bad review and if you did get one with keyboard issue, I would recommend you to exchange one, and you will be happy with what you get. :)

This computer is great.

Pros: Very lightweight
Great battery life
HDMI port
Feels pretty well built

Cons: bloat... but it's expected.
Nothing else really comes to mind.

There was someone complaining about the lack of an ethernet port, but it's really to save space. The MacBook Air also doesn't have one. You can also buy a usb adapter for it if you really need it.

Overall, it's a great computer!

I bought this ultrabook for my wife to use in her school. After having used it for couple of weeks, she is so happy to own it while putting away her previous heavy ThinkPad laptop. I plan to buy one for myself too.

It will be great if one USB port is added to the right or left-hand side. Currently two USB ports are both located at the back and you need to be careful when you take up your laptop from a table: you have to take up your whole laptop levelly, otherwise, if you take up its front side first with the USB stick plugged into the USB port at the back, you will possbily damage either (or both) your USB stick and USB port.