Acer’s Aspire R13 is a notebook that believes that bendier is better, catering to those who like to fill in spreadsheets and play Project Cars while standing on their head.
The Taiwanese firm’s latest ultrabook competes alongside other supple devices from the likes of Lenovo’s Yoga range and HP’s Spectre x360 machines, offering users a powerful computing experience with displays that offer a wide range of viewing angles.
In the R13’s case, this is achieved by an “Ezel Aero Hinge” – users can swivel or rotate the 13.4-inch display into six distinct positions, two more than Lenovo’s Yoga Pro 3.
These positions range from “notepad” (the standard position of less bendy devices), “pad” (where the display folds against the keyboard to form a thick tablet) and “display” (like a notebook, but with the display pointing in the other direction).
While contortion artists may find ways to use all six positions on a regular basis, most of us will probably only ever use two or three at most. But thankfully the R13’s hinge mechanism feels smooth, solid and well engineered.
Aside from its easy-to-swivel screen, the R13, which comes pre-installed with Windows 10, ticks most of the standard ultrabook boxes with specifications that are solid if not spectacular.
At 1.5 kilograms, it weighs slightly more than some of its competitors and takes up a little more desktop space. But it will meet the needs of all but the fussiest of customers.
The R13’s 13.4-inch IPS display is as good as you would expect on a high-end ultrabook, its smooth rendering and deep colours making movie-watching a pleasurable experience.
The illuminated keyboard feels fine, although given the size of the body it would have been better to have a dedicated row of function keys at the top.
The R13 retails from around Dh4,000, rising to Dh5,000 for those who want a faster processor and more RAM.
There’s plenty of choice in this price range, but with its well-designed and flexible screen and solid specifications, the R13 is well worth considering.
q&a growing demand for mobility
John Everington offers more insights into Acer’s new Aspire R13:
Why will I need six different positions for my laptop screen?
“Needing” six positions is a bit of a stretch. One or two are jolly useful though.
For when I want to edit documents in the middle of a Pilates class?
Well, yes. But the “display” and “tent” positions are great for watching movies, and the “tablet” functionality is pretty useful as well.
But wouldn’t it be a better alternative to get a tablet with a keyboard?
That is certainly an option. Microsoft’s Surface has experienced an uptick in sales over the past two quarters, and Apple has introduced the iPad Pro with a foldable keyboard.
Faced with such choices, how are ultrabook sales doing?
The PC market has been in decline as we spend more time on our tablets and mobiles. Global PC shipments fell 10 to 12 per cent in the second quarter, according to the industry analysts Gartner and IDC. But in the portable space ultrabooks are gaining in popularity, forecast to account for 42.7 per cent of global notebooks in 2015, up from just 1.8 per cent in 2011, according to Statista, with Apple’s Macbook Air leading the way.
Interesting. Anything else I need to know about the R13?
The entry level model comes with 4GB of RAM, which rises to 8GB on the higher-priced version. Both iterations come with an HDMI port, 3 USBs (two 3.0 and one 2.0), an SD card reader and a headphone/microphone jack.
jeverington@thenational.ae
Follow The National's Business section on Twitter