Acer Aspire S7-391-9886 Pro Reviews

As I said in the introduction, I’d love to see a reversal of this gradual downward trend in laptop quality all in the name of chasing lower prices. The S7 costs a lot, but at the same time it’s a step in the right direction for quality and innovation. For that reason if nothing else, I want the S7 to sell well and get some followers, but to do that it probably needs to be priced at least $300 lower. Whatever happens with the S7, Acer is big enough that they’re not going anywhere. Hopefully when we see Haswell based Ultrabooks, Acer will take all the good elements of the S3, S5, and S7 and improve once more. If they can keep doing that, another year or two could very well see them with some of the most compelling Ultrabooks on the block.

The Acer Aspire S7 has great quality and a refreshing exterior design scheme. The touch display is beautiful; its unique hinge design keeps it from wobbling too much. The keyboard is good; overall system performance is excellent. Our gripe with this Ultrabook is its overly loud cooling system. Other cons include an annoying power button location and a 4GB RAM limitation (most Ultrabooks are 8GB).

We can debate whether hybrids and tablet convertibles are better showpieces for Windows 8, but we haven't seen a better example of a touch-screen, Windows 8-optimized conventional or clamshell laptop than the Acer Aspire S7-391-9886. Actually, we haven't seen a thinner or prettier laptop, regardless of operating system. Its price throws a little cold water on the sex appeal ($1,649 is a lot for any laptop, with the possible exception of a loaded gaming rig), as does its battery life. But its performance is more than satisfactory, and its profile shoots it to the top of the executive class.

So many of the Windows 8 laptops to date have been either painfully similar, shamelessly cloning each other, or else overly complicated convertible tablets that twist, flip, or swivel. The Acer Aspire S7 is priced out of the range of most laptop shoppers, but it looks great, runs well, and, most importantly, serves as an excellent proof of concept for both Windows 8 and touch-screen laptops.

This machine is Acer’s best effort yet. It’s an Ultrabook that makes the Windows 8 experience an enjoyable one – and on a personal note, it’s the first in many moons that’s made certain Apple-exclusive family members of mine think about trying a switch (having seen it at Thanksgiving, of course). You’ll certainly have to weigh the benefits of having this top-class machine in your position against the amount of cash you’re going to have to dish out since it’s certainly not the most budget-minded beast on the market, but after that, it’s all smooth sailing. As with all of our reviews of products large and small, this is not the end of the review – let us know if there’s anything else you’d like to know about the machine and we’ll do our best to let you know what we know! We’ll continue to test this machine into the future and will let you know if anything ground-shattering changes our experience in any grand way – meanwhile feel free ask any and all questions you may have and make requests to your heart’s content!

The S7-391 travels at a mere 3.5 pounds with AC adapter, and an ounce or two heavier with the two USB adapters. The laptop itself is a mere 2.8 pounds. Battery life might be a concern for some at only 3 hours and 54 minutes, but for a laptop this thin and light with high-performance components, you're not going to do much better. All in all, the S7-391 is a nice laptop to use and show off. It would be nice to have an 8GB option and better battery life, but neither is essential for the vast majority of users. The design and overall usability are top notch. And it's an eye-catching system, sure to draw attention whenever you pull it out.

Though the Acer Aspire S7-391-9886 is a very good choice for the "money is no object" buyer, some quirks and a brief battery life keep this ultrabook from earning our highest honors.