Acer used the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show to release a 21” gaming notebook, a new 11” Chromebook, two performance notebooks, one expandable desktop, and three monitors including a very interesting curved, 30” monitor with eye tracking.
iTWire’s David Williams has reported on the huge 21” curved screen Predator laptop – yes a laptop and it is sure to be a big hit in the gaming community as well as those who need a large screen. To quote him, “This is no ordinary laptop. Indeed, if I can get past my CFO that a "gaming laptop" means I don't really want to play games but to run lots of business-essential virtual machines and databases (wink ;) then I'll be lining up for one.”
Acer says Chromebooks are here to stay and it has 33% of the Chromebook market. Chris Chiang, Vice President of Product Management at Acer America, said, “Chromebooks have become the de facto standard for education technology in many districts around the world. The new Acer Chromebook 11 N7 (C731) sets the bar even higher for what schools utilise for their classrooms and labs – a durable design, quiet fan-less operation and a portable form factor that makes it easy to transport for 1:1 programs, around the classroom, outside and in the lab.”
And in an interesting twist the Aspire GX series desktop “offers all that a notebook can” with the added advantage of expansion and edgy armour-inspired housing with front-facing LED lighting that emits a sinister red glow. Desktops are not dead!
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Chromebook 11 N7 (C731)
Its U.S. MIL-STD 810G military standard durability and design features ensure maximum uptime and reduced IT maintenance. It features
- Uses Google Chrome OS and Google Chrome apps
- Up to 60kg of downward force on the top cover
- A reinforced case and hinges for greater resistance to twisting and stress – important when students cram them into backpacks
- Corner-shield structure and rubber bumper keyboard to tolerate 1.22cm drops.
- Spill-resistant keyboard and gutter system provides protection against spills of up to 330ml of water
- Keyboard design with recessed keys that prevent key caps from being easily removed by students. Provides an excellent typing experience.
- A fan-less design that provides cool and quiet operation
- Up to 12 hour battery life
- Intel Celeron dual core processor
- 4GB RAM 16/32GB eMMC storage and SD card support
- 11.6”, 1366 x 768, IPS screen (touch option) and 180° hinge design (tent)
- Wi-Fi AC dual band 2x2 MIMO, Bluetooth 4.0, two USB 3.0 ports, 3.5mm audio port, one HDMI port, web camera and microphone
Aspire 17.3” V Nitro notebook
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor for performance, 4K support and longer battery
- Up to 32GB DDR4
- NVMe PCIe Gen 3 or SATA SSD1, and a HDD1 of up to 2TB
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
- 17.3-inch display. Optional 4K, 3840x2160 with integrated Tobii eye-tracking hardware that when combined with touchpad gestures, enhances productivity and makes the device more responsive through the use of eye movements.
- USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt 3 up to 40Gbps , dual 4K video output, two USB 3.0 ports (one featuring power-off USB charging), two USB 2.0 ports, and HDMI connection.
- Wi-Fi AC 2x2 MU-MIMO technology and Gigabit Ethernet port
- Fingerprint sensor
- Four speakers tuned with Dolby Audio Premium, Acer TrueHarmony Plus technology, and Skype for Business Certification
VX 15
- Large cooling vents and an edgy red chassis – gaming
- Iron red backlit keyboard
- Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics with GDDR5 VRAM (delivering up to 32GB/s bandwidth)
- 15.6-inch Full HD IPS screen.
- Up to 32GB DDR4
- 512GB SSD and 1TB HDD
- High-definition audio with Dolby Audio Premium, Acer TrueHarmony sound, and Skype for Business certification
Aspire GX desktop - customisable
- VR Ready
- 7th generation Intel Coreprocessors
- Up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM
- Up to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics – VR ready and up to four displays
- Up to a 3TB HDD and a 256GB SSD
- Wireless Charging Deck for keeping users’ mobile devices powered up and ready to go
- A striking and edgy armor-inspired housing with front-facing LED lighting that emits a sinister red glow
Acer Predator Z301CT
The world’s first, 30”, 21:9 curved monitor with eye-tracking functionality for ultimate gaming immersion.
The monitor’s integrated Tobii eye-tracking technology adds to a gamer’s arsenal of control tools, helping them to intuitively aim, shoot and explore. Intended to complement, rather than replace, traditional PC gaming inputs, Tobii eye tracking uses the gamer’s eye movement to create a new input modality. Pairing eye tracking with mouse and keyboard or gamepad controls give gamers a richer, more immersive experience as they can mimic actions that occur in real life, such as looking for cover or aiming at a target. Camera angles also automatically rotate as the gamer’s eye focuses on the edge of the screen, while characters and game environments react as the gamer looks around. Tobii eye tracking functionality can be found in over 45 titles like Elite Dangerous, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and WATCH_DOGS 2. The games’ sounds and graphics will dynamically adapt depending on where the gamers look. The ultra-wide, 200Hz, full HD (2560 X 1080) and 1800R curved screen makes gaming more attractive and powerful. It has twin 3W speakers.
24.5-inch Predator XB252Q and 27-inch Predator XB272
- NVIDIA ULMB technology, 1ms response time
- 240Hz refresh rate
- Full HD 1080p resolution and a sharp 1,000:1 contrast ratio.
- ZeroFrame design ideal for multi-monitor setups
- Ergonomically-designed stand with -5 to 20° tilt, +45° swivel, 90° clockwise pivot and height adjustment up to 115 mm. VESA wall-mounting
- Twin 2W speakers
All new models include
- GameView technology - three customisable display profiles to tweak settings in-game without having to navigate the OSD menu
- Dark boost (black level adjustment) to clearly see threats in the dark
- Aim-point assistance for hip fire accuracy
- On-screen refresh rate
- Acer EyeProtect - flicker-less, blue-light filter
- ComfyView and low-dimming blue light emissions and over-illumination
- HDMI, DisplayPort v1.2 and a USB 3.0 hub (1 up/4 down)
Comment
Sometimes we forget that Acer is one of the top five, global computer makers with an excellent commitment to, and support structure in, Australia where many of its devices are assembled to suit local needs. iTWire has a background article here.
I am seeing a resurgence in this brand with a range of innovations and designs that make it a worthy of consideration.