Acer R7 Review: Something Different
by Jarred Walton on August 15, 2013 12:45 AM ESTAcer’s marketing material mentions that they rethought everything about the notebook when designing the R7, and I’m definitely not going to dispute that. Yes, this is still a laptop at its core, but things have been moved around in some surprising and perhaps interesting ways. The Ezel hinge and touchscreen are the primary discussion here, and the R7 comes with supposedly five different operating modes: regular laptop, laptop with the screen shifted forward, tablet, floating table, and presentation mode (flip screen laptop). The question most people will have is whether or not the changes made to accommodate the Ezel hinge are actually worthwhile.
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Realistically, the floating table mode is pretty much useless as far as I’m concerned, and the presentation mode is only marginally interesting. Still, some people might occasionally use those modes. It’s the other three modes that are going to pull the lion's share of the duty, so let’s look at each of those.
First, you can just open up the display and use the R7 as a regular laptop. What you’ll immediately notice however is that the touchpad isn’t where it’s supposed to be, and in fact there are no palm rests. Some people might hold their hands above the keyboard while typing, but I tend to rest my wrists on whatever surface is in front of the keyboard – be that palm rests, desk, or something else. I can type reasonably well on the R7, and I have no real complaints about the keyboard layout – in fact I actually like it – but the missing palm rests definitely detract from the overall typing experience. The good news is that if you’re the type that has issues with inadvertently activating the touchpad while typing, that won’t happen with the R7. The bad news is that the touchpad is in a weird location, and I should also note that the notebook feels quite back heavy due to the weight of the touchscreen and cover.
The second mode, and the one that I’m most likely to use with the R7, is as a laptop with the screen pulled forward. You still have the issues associated with the missing palm rests, but the idea is that the touchscreen is easier to reach this way. I should mention that the touchpad works okay, and it uses Elan Tech hardware, but it can still be a little bit choppy. The touchscreen on the other hand works well as an input device, providing a smooth scrolling experience and all of the other usual gestures. Except, not all applications fully recognize the touchscreen gestures, so for example swiping with a single finger to scroll doesn’t always work. This is mostly a problem with third-party apps that haven’t been updated to recognize Windows 8 gestures, but it still happens more than I’d like. Also, grabbing smaller elements like scrollbars for the edge of a window to resize can be difficult with a touchscreen – there’s just not enough precision to pull it off properly.
On the whole, this is certainly an interesting idea, and for people that really like touchscreens it might actually be preferable to a standard laptop design. However, I do think there needs to be a bit of tweaking to the current design to get it right. Mostly, the laptop just feels a lot heavier than you would expect, and being heavy means you are less likely to carry it around which means you’re not using it as a laptop. In a sense, the R7 is like a smaller, portable all-in-one that happens to have the ability to function as a laptop if you need it.
Finally, we have tablet mode, where you lay the top panel flat against the keyboard (or at least almost flat). I’m not sure most people are interested in a 15.6-inch tablet, and when you add on the bulk of the keyboard and hinge it becomes an even more difficult prospect to carry around. This is definitely the heaviest, largest tablet that I’ve ever tried to use, and while it can work as a tablet, it’s not something I found necessary on a regular basis. Showing friends or family pictures on a 1.5 pound tablet is one thing; passing around a 5.3 pound tablet is another!
Of course, any time you use the touchscreen you also run into the usual touchscreen problem: fingerprints. On a laptop with a 15.6-inch screen, I find this is an even bigger issue. It’s pretty easy to wipe off the touchscreen on a smartphone, but even a 10-inch tablet usually requires that you have a microfiber cloth on hand. With something the size of the R7, fingerprints run wild! And even when you’re careful, there’s always the chance that a stray spec of grit will leave a scratch instead of just wiping off. I also feel like the LCD backlight needs to be brighter; I measured maximum white levels of just shy of 300 nits, where most smartphones and tablets are more likely to hit 400+ nits. Obviously, having a large display running at higher backlight levels can easily chew up a lot of battery life, and as we’ll see in a moment battery life isn’t one of the strong points of the R7.
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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.