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Acer S5-391-9880

Acer S5-391-9880

Dan Ackerman Editorial Director / Computers and Gaming
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Expertise I've been testing and reviewing computer and gaming hardware for over 20 years, covering every console launch since the Dreamcast and every MacBook...ever. Credentials
  • Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
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Dan Ackerman
2 min read
Last spotted at CES, this ulta-slim ultrabook is finally getting released.
Acer

One of the highlights of CES 2012 was the Acer S5 ultrabook, touted as being the world's thinnest. At the time, we only knew the system was coming later in the year, but today Acer has announced price, availability, and spec details. The Acer S5 391-9880 will be available starting the last week of June, in a fixed configuration that costs $1,399.

That specific configuration, in a sleek Onyx Black magnesium alloy chassis, is as follows:

  • 13.3-inch LED-backlit display (1366 x 768)
  • 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3517U Processor (4MB L3 cache, up to 3.0GHz) with Turbo Boost Technology
  • 4GB DDR3 dual channel RAM
  • 256GB SSD
  • 2 USB 3.0 ports
  • 1 Thunderbolt port
  • 2.65 pounds
  • 12.77 inches x 8.95 inches by 0.59 inches (tapers to 0.44 inches in the front)

Of course, if you remember the S5 from CES, you'll recall its most unique feature -- a tiny motorized door at the back of the bottom panel that opens at the touch of a button, revealing a ports-and-connections block, including HDMI and Thunderbolt (making this one of only a handful of Thunderbolt laptops). Acer calls this the MagicFlip I/O Port, and when we saw it back in January, we said:

The S5's port door is situated on the back, and flips open via a motor at the touch of a button, like a fancy sports car. We've seen port doors on ultrabooks like the Samsung Series 9, but we've never been fond of them. The S5's MagicFlip solution is clever, but we prefer side ports for sheer convenience.

For a sneak peek, check out this hands-on video of the Acer Aspire S5 and its MagicFlip in action.

Watch this: Take a First Look at the Acer Aspire S5

Also new from Acer is an updated version of the Aspire S3, which was the very first ultrabook we saw back in the Fall of 2011. That once-budget-minded model will eventually offer up to an Intel Core i7 CPU (third-gen/Ivy Bridge, of coure) and a 256GB SSD, but the initial fixed configuration Acer S3 391-6616 has an Intel Core i3 CPU, and a hybrid hard drive, combining a 320GB HDD with a small 20GB SSD. It's only $648, but note that the CPU in that low-cost version is a now-outdated second-gen (Sandy Bridge) Intel Core i3. That system will be available starting the week of June 18.