AspireR14
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Acer makes its new all-in-one portable by adding a battery
With the PC market dwindling and Microsoft itself now providing some of the best Windows 10 models (like the powerful Surface Book convertible), third-party OEMs have to do something to stand out. That's perhaps why Acer has decided to put an internal battery in its 17.3-inch Aspire Z3-700 all-in-one (AIO) to make it more roadworthy. It's not the first AIO to do this trick -- Dell's hybrid XPS 18 did it a couple years ago, and Lenovo's 27-inch Horizon 2 takes the idea to the extreme. The Z3-700 is one of the lightest and longest lasting we've seen at 2-kilograms (4.4 pounds), though. That suggests it's more a big tablet than an AIO, but Acer says the dual kickstand and 1080p, 10-point multi-touch screen also make it a worthy desktop PC.
Acer realized that 'touchpad above the keyboard' thing was a bad idea
It takes a big company to admit it made a mistake. It also takes a big company to admit it copied its rival's design. Sure enough, Acer has done both of those things today, which makes the Taiwanese firm, we don't know, extra bold, or something. Here at IFA in Berlin, the company is showing off a redesigned version of its R-series convertible laptop, whose touchpad used to sit above the keyboard, but has now returned to a more normal spot. Meanwhile, Acer also announced the Aspire R14, a notebook with a 360-degree hinge that even Acer admits is similar to Lenovo's Yoga series.
