As the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) gears up to get under way in Las Vegas tomorrow, a number of players are hitting the ground running by unveiling some new products ahead of time.
One of the early birds, Acer, has already unveiled what it calls the “world's thinnest” ultrabook, the 13.3-inch Aspire S5. The ultra-portable notebook is 15mm thick and weighs three pounds.
The ultrabook also features Acer's Green Instant On, allowing it get out of sleep mode in under 1.5 seconds. The Aspire S5 can also be woken up via smartphone.
The new gadget has an unnamed Intel Core processor, HDMI and USB 3.0 ports, as well as a Thunderbolt port. The Aspire S5 is expected to become available in the second quarter, and Acer is yet to release any pricing information.
Acer has also announced the Aspire Timeline Ultra, which it says features eight hours of battery life, high-performance and a two-spindle design in an ultrabook.
“Since Acer rolled out the first ultrabook in September 2011, the company has extended the product's unique features across its mainstream line of notebooks with 14-inch and 15-inch models,” says the company.
“The new Aspire Timeline Ultra [models] are slimmer and lighter than earlier generations of the Timeline series.”
iCloud clone
Apart from the new ultrabook offerings, Acer also yesterday unveiled its own version of Apple's iCloud, named AcerCloud.
According to Acer, the cloud service securely connects all personal smart devices, allowing for the cross-device retrieval of media and data files.
AcerCloud will be bundled on all Acer consumer PCs starting Q2 2012. It will support all Android devices, while future support is planned for Windows-based devices. Acer, however, adds that the service will only be available in America, Europe, Asia and China.
Mashable notes AcerCloud automatically shares photos and documents between devices, but only for 30 days. Files are permanently backed up on PC rather than the cloud - which many commentators have highlighted as a serious limitation.
Acer has also been slammed by analysts for being too late with its cloud offering and for simply offering a cloned version of iCloud.
ZDNet argues that Acer doesn't have the brand to compete with Amazon, Apple and Google.
Get Excite(d)
Another early release at CES has come from Toshiba, with its latest tablet offering, the 10-inch Excite.
The Excite is (for now at least) the thinnest 10-inch tablet in the world, measuring 7.7mm and weighing 1.2 pounds - 0.4 pounds lighter than the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
The new tablet marks a significant change in design ethos by Toshiba, doing away with the full-size ports and removable battery of its predecessor the Thrive 10.
The Excite X10 does, however, have a micro-HDMI, micro-USB 2.0, and a microSD card slot. It also has a 2MP front-facing camera and a 5MP rear-facing camera.
According to Toshiba, the Android-tablet will be available in the first quarter and pricing reportedly starts at about $530 for the 16GB version and about $600 for the 32GB version. The pricing has been called into question by analysts, who note the new tablet will struggle to win over consumers in the iPad dominated market.
Looking ahead, Reuters reports ultrabooks are set to dominate the hardware displays at CES, with tablets taking a backseat “as hardware makers lick their wounds after failure to match Apple's all-conquering iPad”.
Reuters also notes that experts have been speculating that tablet makers are not fully committing to Google's Android as a tablet platform, knowing that Microsoft's tablet-friendly Windows 8 system is due to become available this year.
Share