Computer makers are having to reconsider laptops design to coincide with the new features of Windows 8. Acer has just shown off its new offering, and it is clear that the company had the Windows 8 philosophy in mind when it designed the Aspire V5 laptop. The V5 features a 10-point touch display and a larger trackpad, both of which are designed for better interaction with the features Windows 8 has to offer.
Why a 10-point touch display? Well we have ten fingers, so with this screen technology, all ten of them can be touching something different and the screen will be able to read the inputs of each one. This technology offers great flexibility for interacting with a computer.
Acer is putting a great emphasis on making the V5 as thin and light as it possibly could without losing features. Generally, when a company makes a laptop thin, the first thing to be cut is the optical drive. Acer managed to keep the DVD drive in both sizes of the V5 and still retain a thin profile The 14” model is .83” (21 mm) thick and the 15.6” model is 0.90” (23 mm) thick.
In terms of weight, the 14” display comes in at 4.63 lbs (2.1 kg). The larger 15.6” model weighs in at 5.3 lbs (2.4 kg). While not the lightest laptop on the market, these are certainly on the lighter side.
Making a thin, light laptop does not do anyone much good if it is not packing a punch in terms of speed and performance. The new Windows 8 V5 comes equipped with Intel Core family processors and NVIDIA GeForce GT series graphics. Acer did not release the exact specs, but we can only assume that it will vary depending on the price point and model chosen. The screen is also ready for HD. That, plus the NVIDIA graphics cards could make this a viable laptop for gamers as well as casual computer users.
The V5 features a LAN/VGA combo port. Of course, the new laptop also includes USB 3.0 ports, which is quickly becoming the standard for high-speed data transfer between devices.
