Acer releases Aspire Ethos laptops
(Credit: Acer)
Laptop news keeps coming this week, and Acer's latest is a funky one indeed. The newly-announced Acer Aspire Ethos is a new laptop line that's aimed squarely at the high-end over-US$1,000 market, with a very unique twist: Its touchpad detaches and becomes a wireless remote.
That's right: A remote. The design's enough to mildly surprise even the most jaded laptop expert. While the rest of the Ethos chassis is downright staid, that wide multitouch pad's transformation into a separately functioning wireless remote complete with LED-backlit controls might qualify as one of the most innovative ideas in laptops this year.
Basically, the use case for the touchpad remote would be when the Ethos is plugged into an HDTV as a home media device. We've used our home laptops this way before, but not recently thanks to wireless video tech like Intel Wireless Display. Still, it's a clever if unnecessary gimmick. It actually partially fulfills a fantasy we've privately been dreaming up for years: Having a laptop that uses a touchscreen smartphone as its removable touchpad. The Ethos comes close to that concept.
The rest of the Ethos line is decidedly upscale and very well configured: Two models will be available in the U.S., a 15-inch AS5951G and 18.4-inch AS8951G, starting at US$1,399 and US$1,599, respectively. At those prices, both will include quad-core second-gen 2GHz Intel Core i7-2630QM CPUs, Nvidia GeForce GT 555M graphics with 2GB of memory, edge-to-edge Gorilla Glass-covered displays, a 750GB, 5,400rpm hard drive, and a 4x Blu-ray drive, as well as Dolby-tuned stereo speakers and a bottom subwoofer. The 18-inch version will have a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel display and 8GB of RAM, while the 15-incher has a 1,366 x 768-pixel display and 6GB of RAM.
Both the Ethos AS8951G and AS5951G are available starting today. Regardless how you feel about the Ethos' quirky touchpad, its specs alone bear consideration. We've certainly seen our fair share of Acer laptop oddities, but the Ethos looks to have an honest core.
There's no word on the availability in Asia. We'll update this page when we get more information.
Via CNET
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