Sean Maloney, Intel executive vice president and the newly appointed head of the chip makers China business, introduced the Ultrabook idea during his keynote speech May 31 at the Computex 2011 show in Taiwan. The chip giant has trademarked the name, which it says refers to notebooks that:

• are less than 20mm (0.8 inch) thick
• use Core processors
• start up almost instantly with the aid of SSD (solid state disk) storage
• and have "mainstream price points under US$1,000"

Intel apparently had to battle considerable vendor skepticism and griping about the cost of components. But on Aug. 11, it announced a $300 million fund designed to help foster Ultrabooks, and the Taiwanese publication DigiTimes reported the next day that Acer, Asus, and Lenovo had been converted to the cause.

Both Lenovo and Toshiba announced Ultrabooks at the IFA Berlin trade show on Sept. 1. Both featured 13.3-inch displays with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, Core processors, and SSD (solid state disk) storage -- and so does the "S3" Acer announced Sept. 2.

Acer Aspire S3

Here's the literal skinny on the Acer, along with the other two Ultrabooks:

• Acer Aspire S3 -- 3 pounds; 0.68 inches thick
• Lenovo IdeaPad U300S -- 2.95 pounds; 0.6 inches thick
• Toshiba Portege Z830 -- 2.45 pounds; 0.63 inches thick

According to Acer, the S3 will be available with a choice of Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 processors. A configuration examined by Pocket-Lint came with a Core i7-2637M processor (dual cores, 1.7GHz clock speed, 17-Watt TDP), backed by 4GB of RAM, according to writer Chris Hall.

Like the other Ultrabooks, the Aspire S3 is available with SSD storage, Acer citing a maximum capacity of 240GB. But the company says it will also offer 320GB and 500GB hard disk drives, for those who need more storage.

According to Acer, the hard drive models will include an "embedded SSD" that isn't visible as a separate volume in Windows Explorer, but rather is dedicated to ensuring that the S3 wakes up quickly from sleep mode. All models are said to resume in 1.5 seconds from sleep mode and six seconds from "deep sleep."

Also promised is "Acer Instant Connect," which provides access to the Internet in just 2.5 seconds. This is "four times faster than conventional connections," according to the company.

Acer says the S3's battery -- apparently non-removable, as on the other Ultrabooks -- will provide for 50 days' standby in deep sleep mode, or seven hours of continuous operation. (The company did concede, however, that selecting a hard drive-equipped model does impact battery life, though by how much wasn't quantified.)

The Aspire 3 has a 1.3 megapixel webcam, an HDMI port, 802.11b/g/n wireless networking, and Bluetooth 4.0, according to Acer. Pocket-Lint adds that there are two rear-mounted USB ports and an SD slot.

Campbell Kan, president of personal computer global operations for Acer, stated, "As the only Ultrabook with an HDD option, the Aspire S3 offers the computing power and storage needs of a notebook, along with the mobile communication advantages of the smartphone and tablet PC. It's a major breakthrough in notebook design."

Availability

Acer said the Aspire S3 will go on sale later this month, for prices ranging between 799 and 1199 Euros (from $1136 to $1705). We except the device to be available in the U.S. at a somewhat lower cost.

Jonathan Angel can be reached at jonathan.angel@ziffdavisenterprise.com and followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense.

---

Related stories:

• Lenovo and Toshiba announce Ultrabooks -- but can they undercut Apple's MacBook Air?
• Vendors grip about Intel's CPU pricing for Ultrabooks (and tablets, too)
• Acer, Asus, Lenovo take Intel's Ultrabook bait
• Intel puts money where its Ultrabook mouth is
• Thirty years later, the personal computer's obsolete, IBM PC designer says
• Intel tips yet another Atom for tablets, and 2012 Core details leak
• Is Apple muscle squashing Intel's Ultrabook format?
• Intel touts 'ultrabooks' and 2013 'Haswell' Core processors
• Intel's three new Core processors are 'ultrabook'-bound
• Intel touts record revenue and 'ultrabook' initiative