Acer Aspire S3 ultrabook review

Keyboard is great and trackpad basic
One of the major issues that has plagued many ultrabooks has been the poor input. We were pleased to find that S3 has one of the better keyboards and it is easy to use for long periods.

Acer has gone with the popular chiclet layout, but it is the extra depth in the keys compared to other ultrabooks that makes all the difference. The only niggle we have is that the 'Enter' key has been split to include the backslash symbol. We found ourselves hitting the latter on a few occasions, but soon got used to it.

Acer has kept the trackpad pretty simple. The surface area is smaller than we would have liked, but responsiveness is good. Acer has embedded the mouse keys into the design, which doesn't always make for the best user experience. However, we found it easy to initiate right and left clicks.

Battery is reasonable
Acer claims the device will provide six hours of battery life, so it will need a recharge during the day if you are going to be using it constantly. The S3 managed just one hour and 18 minutes in the Battery Eater Pro Classic test, which simulates high-intensity activity.

In the Reader test, which simulates reading a text document, the ultrabook lasted five hours and 35 minutes. Users can expect the device to last somewhere between these figures when brightness is turned up to full. It is possible to get to the six hour mark, but only by turning down the brightness and performance settings.

When using the ultrabook non-stop with the screen on full brightness and running commonly used applications such as Skype, Microsoft Word and multiple internet tabs, we found the device lasted just over the four hour mark.

Overall
The Aspire S3 isn't the most attractive ultrabook on the market, but does offer excellent value for money. Standout features include the very usable keyboard, fast resume times and reasonable battery life.

For business users who can do without features such as a fingerprint scanner and a Trusted Platform Module, the S3 represents a good option. Our review unit retails for £869, making it well over £250 cheaper than the Toshiba Portégé Z830, which is still the best choice for business users.