TechCrunch announced the Acer Aspire S3 “ultrabook” which apparently packs a big punch in a small package. It was the first product announcement I had read for the ultrabook form factor, so I wanted to take a look at what Acer is doing with it.

1. My first impression:
The Acer Ultrabook (NOT Netbook,
NOT Tablet, NOT Laptop)
October, 2011
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2. The Setup:
TechCrunch announced the Acer Aspire S3
“ultrabook” which apparently packs a big punch in a
small package. It was the first product announcement
I had read for the ultrabook form factor, so I wanted
to take a look at what Acer is doing with it.
http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/10/acer-announces-the-core-i5-aspire-s3-ultrabook-available-this-week-
for-the-ultra-bargain-of-899/
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3. First, what is an
ultrabook?
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4. According to Wikipedia:
“An Ultrabook is a computer in a category of
thin and lightweight ultraportable laptops,
defined by a specification from Intel
corporation. “
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrabook
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5. In other words…
It allows Intel to lay claim to a form factor that
Apple defined with the Air.
Intel has some smart product people.
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6. Let’s see how Acer is
promoting the platform
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7. Our trip starts at
acer.com
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8. Acer Home: A region selection page
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9. A region selection page
should NOT be the first
page a consumer sees
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10. Hello Acer Homepage…
At least it saves
your
preference…
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11. After you select a region,
you see the other
homepage
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12. Hello Acer other-homepage…
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13. The S series is front and center
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14. I stared at the glamour
shot too long and the slide
changed, so I hit Products
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15. Selecting Products yields this menu
Where are the Ultrabooks? I see every other “book”
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16. A consumer might look
at this and think
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17. Did I get to a library or a computer manufacturer?
I want the ultrabook!
Notebooks =
Laptops, ok
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18. Did I get to a library or a computer manufacturer?
I want the ultrabook!
My friend got a
Netbook. It was small,
kind of cute. It’s like a
small laptop?
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19. Did I get to a library or a computer manufacturer?
I want the ultrabook!
Doesn’t Google have
something Chrome? It was a
book?
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20. Did I get to a library or a computer manufacturer?
I want the ultrabook!
Does anyone still buy these?
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21. This is not the “ultra”
experience I thought I
would get
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22. I took a shot and clicked on Notebooks
Can you find the ultrabook?
I have no idea what the
defining features are of the
Aspire or the TravelMate
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23. It’s a good thing I knew to look for “S”
There it is!
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24. The page is super long… or should I say, ultra long?
Someone in the Acer
marketing department thinks
he is ultra clever
But he doesn’t realize that no
one scrolls that far down a
page
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25. Summary of the product page:
It’s a thin laptop with every feature you
would expect (like wireless – aka “ultra
seamless connectivity”)
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26. Stray Observations
 Acer creates many different products aimed at
different markets, but makes no attempt to direct
their audience
 The Acer website doesn’t drive the user to buy,
discover more information, or sign up for a
newsletter
 S3-951-6646 is a very bad product name
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27. Conclusions:
Acer can say, “me too.” They created a decently-priced
ultrabook with solid specs. It looks good, but is that due
to the ultrabook definition or Acer?
Intel can say, “there is another manufacturer outside
Apple making an ultrabook, and we made that possible.”
Consumers have no idea why they should get this over a
netbook, “thin and light” laptop, or tablet
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28. Want more?
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@EverybdysCritic