The optical drive is located underneath the right half of the keyboard and spirited typing resulted in some flex in this area. The display also teeters a bit back and forth when the notebook is subjected to vibrations. At this point it doesn't stop firmly but rather in a somewhat spongy fashion. The hinges feel secure and allow the display to be opened to a maximum angle of 170 degrees. With a little bit of patience and the aid of a Phillips screwdriver, even the end user should be able to perform this task easily enough. To access the hard drive or to clean the dust from the cooling fan, the entire bottom plate needs to be removed. Since we are evaluating a loaner system, we decided not to proceed. The bottom is completely flat and only features a small cover for the RAM modules (two slots). The slim notebook boasts a constant thickness of 23 millimeters (0.90 inches) - that's not including the rubber feet, which are 2 millimeters (0.08 inches) thick. All other features are identical, however. The 14-inch version we are reviewing here is just a tad smaller - which also means that there was no room for a dedicated number block. The similarity is uncanny and obviously intended: the 15.6-inch Aspire V5-531 features the same aesthetics, identical surfaces, and the same quality of construction. So how much Ultrabook flair does one get for comparatively little money? Can the Celeron CPU achieve decent run times despite a battery with only 37 Wh? Is the chassis appealing and sturdy or boring and flimsy? We already reviewed the 15-inch V5-571G, which features that particular processor and GPU. For about 100 Euros (~$130) more, Acer offers a Sandy Bridge model with a Core i3-2367M and an Nvidia GeForce GT 620M graphics card (Aspire V5-471G). For tasks like surfing the internet, the model equipped with the Celeron processor (our review unit) ought to be sufficiently powerful. Its thickness of 23 millimeters (0.90 inches) means that it just barely misses Intel's specification for an Ultrabook. Is a subnotebook sporting less than 21 millimeters (0.83 inches) thickness just not appealing enough? Well, it probably is - but potential customers might wonder why they need to spend 700 Euros (~$900) or more for a slim and trim notebook.Įnter Acer's Aspire V5-431 - a 14-inch, very portable subnotebook which retails for about 400 Euros (~$520). Intel's Ultrabook standard is not doing too well and sales figures lag far behind initial predictions.
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