Acer R7 Review: Something Different
by Jarred Walton on August 15, 2013 12:45 AM ESTWe’re definitely late to the party when it comes to reviewing the Aspire R7, but it’s still an interesting design and we thought it was at least worth a look before we move on. And moving on we are: part of the reason why I wanted to look at the Aspire R7 is that we’ve also got the Aspire V7 in hand, and the review is nearly finished. The Aspire V7 is a far more traditional design, in that there’s no Ezel hinge and the keyboard and touchpad are in the usual places. The general aesthetic and industrial design however is very similar to the Aspire R7. What’s particularly impressive is that the V7 manages to pack more performance into a smaller chassis. But I’m getting ahead of myself; let’s first wrap up the review of the R7.
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Acer's V7: Smaller and faster, and no Ezel hinge
I think over the last year we’ve definitely seen Acer begin to turn over a new leaf. Yes, we’ll still see budget-oriented value offerings out of the company, and the Acer Chromebook continues to be one of the best-selling laptops around – mostly because of its incredibly low price. However, the industrial design and willingness to take some risks with both the S7 and R7 give us renewed hope for the future. A continued focus on high quality displays and improved build quality coupled with a more traditional design is pretty much all we want. (And as we’ll see in the next few days, the Aspire V7 delivers exactly that.)
The other part of my conclusion is that I’m becoming increasingly convinced that Windows 8 is a serious misstep for Microsoft. I suppose we could say some of what they’ve done was almost required in order to try and compete in an increasingly crowded market, but when I look at the simplicity offered by Android and iOS and then look at the Jekyll and Hyde interface from Windows 8, I just don’t see this ending well. I feel that Windows RT needs to be its own platform, and forget about backwards compatibility. Meanwhile, Windows 8 takes the Windows RT interface and forces that on many desktop and notebook users that don’t want it, and while it’s backwards compatible with existing Windows applications, most existing Windows applications don’t play well with a touchscreen.
The good news is that with Windows 8 on desktops and notebooks, all I have to do is disable the Start Screen and ignore touchscreen interfaces and I get a similar experience overall to Windows 7, typically with faster boot times. And even if you do open or use a Metro app on occasion, it's not too difficult to do so with a mouse or touchpad (though it might be less than optimal). Going the other way isn't so easy, though, as desktop apps often don't work well at all without a mouse or touchpad. This is the problem that the Acer R7 faces, and unless/until Microsoft can fix things, at least personally I find the touchscreen to be mostly a gimmick that I don’t need – just like most of the Windows 8 apps. At least with the R7, the gigantic hybrid tablet functionality provides a use case for Windows 8 apps on a notebook, and you can continue to use the keyboard and touchpad for desktop apps.
If you’ve always wanted a 15.6-inch convertible tablet thingy, the Acer Aspire R7 might be exactly what you need. I can’t immediately think of any other competing systems, though perhaps I just haven’t looked hard enough. It’s a combination laptop/tablet/all-in-one, depending on how you want to use it, and if you’re willing to give it a bit of a chance it can function in any of those ways reasonably well. There are definitely better tablets, better laptops, and better all-in-ones, but the R7 is pretty much unique in the marketplace right now. I’d still say it’s not for me, even though I’ve enjoyed poking around at it off and on over the past month and a half, but the only real failures are the companies that refuse to innovate. I’ll definitely keep an eye on Acer to see what other interesting ideas they have to offer in the coming years.
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mooncancook - Thursday, August 15, 2013 - link
I tend to agree with you. I had been interested in convertible notebook and tried them out in store before, the experience was lacking. Then came Win8 and I tried the Sony Duo 11, I was intrigued, but I was turned off by the short battery life. Finally Haswell arrived, and I tried the new Sony Duo 13 and I was convinced and bought it. I love it so far. With traditional notebook, the only place that I use it is on a desk, but with a hybrid I start using it while lying on the couch or bed, and the touch browsing experience with IE is great. If I need more precise control I can use the Wacom-liked stylus or the built-in touchpad, and if I am seriously working on desktop mode I'd connect a BT mouse. It costs 4 times as much as a good tablet but it can be 10 times as useful. It is not for everyone but it opens new doors and new opportunities. On the other hand, I don't think a 15" hybrid that weighs over 5 lb is appealing. Overall I like what MS did to put serious touch capability into their new OS. Without Win8 and Haswell I would not have purchased a new hybrid notebook at all.Samus - Thursday, August 15, 2013 - link
This is obviously an opinion, but the Ezel hinge is a ridiculously stupid idea. Having the touchpad ABOVE the keyboard makes it basically useless (you are guaranteed to nudge keys with your wrists) and the ability to lay the open screen completely flat with the body of the machine doesn't exist. This is for a market that doesn't want a tablet, notebook, convertible, ultraportable, or DTR/powerhouse.frozentundra123456 - Thursday, August 15, 2013 - link
I agree. I see the only really useful hybrid formfactor to be a totally detachable tablet. Maybe something like the HP Split, I think it is. Even some of the cool hinged designs, like the dell (I cant remember the name) or the Lenovo Yoga are still basically laptops, and you are stuck with hauling around the keyboard all the time, and they are too heavy and bulky to easily be used as a tablet, even when folded into tablet form.So ultimately, the only convertible option I would choose would either be a tablet with a dock, or a laptop with a totally detachable tablet portion. Actually, I suppose those two are basically the same thing.
nerd1 - Thursday, August 15, 2013 - link
Actually the ezel hinge is the best option out there for convertible tablet, as it can be made quite sturdy, and can house the main logicboard (ativ Q does so). Vaio duo 13 uses the same architecture and managed to fit a small touchpad BELOW the keyboard to make it actually useful as a laptop.Samus - Thursday, August 15, 2013 - link
If they were going to put the logic board in there, then why not go all the way and make the screen detachable? Ohh, right, the battery. The whole implementation is poor. You get no real benefit over a laptop for double the price and a virtually unusable track pad.sheh - Thursday, August 15, 2013 - link
It seems the screen is 6-bit, without even FRC? Is there obvious dithering?JarredWalton - Thursday, August 15, 2013 - link
The only places that say it's 6-bit are not really reliable sources. I'm guessing most assume 6-bit since that's what all TN panels use, but this isn't TN. Sadly, AUO's page doesn't say anything: http://www.auo.com/?sn=149&lang=en-US&c=34...AHVA is a high-end technology, though, basically in the same category as IPS, so I'd be surprised if it was actually only 6-bit. In fact, other sources say AHVA can do 10-bit, but they're no more reliable than the places saying 6-bit. In use, I didn't see any signs of dithering, but then even dithering on TN panels has become good enough that I don't notice.
ZeDestructor - Thursday, August 15, 2013 - link
Just thought you should know: You can also get IPS panels with 6-bit (the well-known, much-liked Dell U2412M comes to mind, source: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/dell_u2412m.ht... ).On that note, if you spend the money, you can get a damn good TN panel as well, as the 1920x1200 panel in my Dell E6500 shows. First time I powered it on, I mistook it for an MVA panel because it had rather good colour gamut (compared to my dual U2410 setup), with negligible colour shifting, little washout at 120° (60° each side).
ViperV990 - Thursday, August 15, 2013 - link
I can't stand the fused enter/backslash key design Acer has been employing.althaz - Thursday, August 15, 2013 - link
Because the Start Menu is actually complete rubbish. It's worthless, with only one redeeming feature (arriving in the much-maligned Windows Vista): Search.
The Start Screen is an order of magnitude better at everything except search. For search it can either be much better or a bit worse. The things that actually do need criticism in Windows 8 are the (entirely optional) swipe-ins (on the desktop accessed by the hot corners) and metro apps (which suck on a desktop and should not be the default apps for anything). On tablets those things are actually pretty great (Windows 8 on a tablet is a very long way ahead of Android/OS in terms of user experience, despite being somewhat unfinished). On touchscreen notebooks they are somewhat useful, but still slower than keyboard shortcuts.