Notebook laptops have the least powerful and cheapest form. Usually these 10-12 inch screen sizes come in and they do not offer the best hardware. The new Acer Spin 1 is not the best in terms of performance, but there are other things in it that can be taken care of. We have spent a little time with this device and we found that its performance is not as good as our expectations, but in some aspects it is also good with hope.
BUILD AND DESIGN
Being a budget centric machine, Acer tries to make a perfect blend of spin1 specification, build and quality offers. This means that Acer Spin 1 does some compromise in this laptop built in low cost.
Our test unit is available in sea blue color. The front and back of this device has a texture like denim, which gives it a premium look. The frame on the keyboard deck and the display around the display has also been given texture but it is only given in black exterior.
Because it is only a part of the spin range, its display can rotate to full 360 degrees, making it a 11.6 inch Windows tablet. Apart from this, there are thick black color bars all around the display, which can easily be caught in the tablet mod.
Acer has put a little bit of fret in designing this machine. For example, when using the keyboard deck curves on the display, users use it in tablet mode, they get a good grip and they can be used easily. Its hinge is also strong, which is a good thing. When you use it as a normal laptop, it does not even know whether it's being or not.There are some flakes in its display and body but if its price and specifications are seen, then we think that Acer has done a good job.
DISPLAY AND IO
Acer Spin also attracts a lot in the display department. This machine has a 11.6-inch full HD display which gives a fairly crisp look. There are plain colors in it, which cover sRGB gamut 100% and NTSC 76%. Thanks to Gorilla Glass, it also feels very smoother to use.Its IPS LCD panel offers good winning angles.
Although it is not very bright and in the light of the sun you will take a little time to understand the content running on the display. There is also a small light bleed in it, but it does not spoil your vying experience, as long as you are not seeing anything in the whole dark.
Like the display, I / O selection is also not less attractive.
There is a HDMI out on the left side of the laptop, there is a USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports and a microphone and headphone jack. On the right is a micro SD card slot and barrel power pin jack. Because it is a convertible, so its power and volume keys have been placed on the right side. In addition, replacing the micro SD card slot would be better if installing proprietary SD card slots.
KEYBOARD AND TOUCH PAD
Acer Spin 1 features a chicken-style keyboard. Its keys have been slightly textured which give good control over the keyboard and can be used without voice. It feels quite soft to touch.
For keyboard layouts, we did not like dual-function top rows for quick toggles, due to which you have to hold on to use 'Fn'. Because of the space, Acer has moved Brightness Control, Volume Control and 'pg up' and 'pg dn' keys with Arrow Keys. It means you need to keep in mind while typing or moving the cursor, otherwise you will end up and go to the next page.
Moving the cursor with the "ctrl + right arrow" sometimes works the function of "fn + right arrow" which triggers brightness.
Also, the touchpad is small, but it works fine. Touchpad is quite smooth according to this budget category. Its right and left clicks are not well-known but this budget is not bad.
PERFORMANCE
Our test machine works with the Intel Pentium N4200 processor, which is a combination of 4GB RAM. This is enough for the use of everyday applications. It works well when you use pre-installed MS Office or any web in it. Its 1080p panel does not work much in terms of performance, but if you are interested in watching videos then you will not complain. This laptop can handle all the popular video codecs and audio output, its two firing speaker dents work.
BATTERY LIFE
Its performance could be improved with the Intel Core i3 processor, it seems that the N4200 was an essential compromise for battery life. In the PCMark Battery Life Work Benchmark, this laptop scored an effective time of 5 hours and 49 minutes, which is better than many laptops coming in this category.
Overall, if you are looking to purchase a laptop that comes with a 1080p touch-capable display, Windows 10 and pre-installed MS Office, then only this can be the option for you. However, you have to keep in mind that its processor is only sufficient for everyday applications.