Acer Aspire R11 bends over backwards to take on Lenovo’s Yoga

I really do like my Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro but it looks like the new Acer Aspire R11 will have similar skills, possibly at a better price.

The Aspire R11 is a budget laptop, and Acer are aiming at those looking for a convertible laptop/tablet but are a bit more careful with their cash.

The new notebook is said to have a good touchpad, decent keyboard, as well as being loaded with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports, and full-sized HDMI, SD card, and Ethernet ports.

Under the hood is Intel’s latest low-power Celeron or Pentium chips which should offer decent performance while operating at low temperatures – this means that the Acer Aspire R11 is able to keep cool without the need of a fan. Those holes in the bottom of the case are solely for the speakers as there’s no need for extra ventilation.

Keeping the keyboard and screen sections together is a sturdy hinge, described as a “reinforced, dual torque” job which has the strength to hold the screen position wherever it sits throughout that 360-degree circle and keep everything wobble free.

The Aspire R11 may be as lithe as the Yoga 2 Pro but it fails to match it in the screen spec. This is where the R11 shows its cost cutting. The 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 resolution LED-backlit panel isn’t going to wow the number counters but it promises decent viewing angles and minimal reflection.

The R11 notebook is encased in plastic with a ‘fabric’ textured finish. Again, you have to keep in mind that this hybrid is penciled in to have a £300 starting price which puts it squarely in budget laptop territory – that should put a whole different spin on things.

Of course you can start adding RAM and storage which will start to bump up the price. The R11 can support up to 8GB RAM and 500GB or 1TB hard disk options, there will also be two Intel Pentium options (unspecified at present) available.

The Acer Aspire R11 will be available from July, just in time come loaded with Windows 10 with any luck.