During an intimate press event in New York, Acer pulled back the curtain on the Aspire Aspire Switch 10. Unsurprisingly, it's a mid-range, 10-inch, detachable laptop-tablet hybrid with four use modes.
What makes the Aspire Switch 10 mainstream is an IPS display. On the inside, the device runs on an Intel Atom (Bay Trail) chip, so mainstream specs for a middle-priced device. That said, the device is coated in a flashy aluminum finish.
That hardware inside the Switch 10 powers a Windows 8.1 install, with 64GB worth of storage space. Being a hybrid, the device screen rotates nearly 360 degrees, much like the Dell XPS 11 and Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro, save for the detachable display.
Handcrafted for Windows 8
With the magnetic, Acer Snap hinge, the device can be used in four ways. Those start with the standard, stand-alone tablet mode and laptop modes. Then, users can detach the screen and flip it around for a display mode, in which the device rests on its keyboard base face down. Finally, the standard tent mode is possible as well.
This is nothing new, but in line with the multi-mode laptop-tablet hybrid trend that has been ramping up for a few years now. At the very least, this device allows for all kinds of use modes, being a detachable device with a widely rotatable hinge.
The best of the rest
Acer also announced a refresh and expansion to its Aspire E series of standard, mainstream laptops in 11, 14 and 15-inch varieties. The devices will be available in several vibrant colors, with a clear focus on students or for use in the home.
The company claims to have boosted battery life across the 14 and 15-inch Aspire E series to up to 7 hours. Finally, the touchpads across the line have received an upgrade that Acer calls its Precision Touchpad. (But we'll be the judge of that.)
As for the 11-inch variant, the Aspire E 11, Acer is positioning it as a thin, lightweight Windows device with a focus on style and cool, quiet computing. Basically, Acer has built a Windows alternative to its Chromebook line with a fanless design.
The final and perhaps most interesting announcement beside the Aspire Switch 10, Acer teased the release of the world's first Chromebook packing an Intel Core i series processor. Housed in the same chassis as the Acer C720P Chromebook, this version is simply designed to boost the device's video conferencing capabilities.
Acer was mum on pricing and release timing for all of the announced devices, unfortunately. Stay tuned for our hands on impressions of the Acer Aspire Switch 10, Aspire E 11 and larger Aspire E series laptops later today.
- Looking for a more premium laptop? Read our Acer Aspire S7 review
