CES 2018 is in full swing in Las Vegas.
The world’s largest consumer electronics showcase is frequented by some of the biggest names in technology who use the exhibition to showcase their latest devices.
Acer is one of the many companies showcasing products at CES and have unveiled a range of new devices namely : the new Nitro 5 gaming laptop, new Swift 7 laptop, Chromebook 11, a massive 65-inch big format gaming display and the fact that the company will be bringing Amazon’s Alexa to their PCs.
Nitro 5 gaming laptop
The Acer Nitro 5 packs in the latest-generation AMD Radeon RX560 graphics for faster rendering, improved lighting and texture details. Nitro 5 also includes the latest AMD Ryzen mobile processors for amazing performance, whether it be for gaming, content creation or multi-tasking applications. You can get up to a 512GB solid state drive and of course lightning-fast speeds of DDR4 RAM.
Acer has also included the NitroSense utility which allows the monitoring of the CPU/GPU, and adjustment of cooling fan speeds via Acer CoolBoost to keep them in optimal operation.
“With performance to effortlessly power mainstream titles, the Acer Nitro 5 houses essential technologies that casual gamers value most,” said Jerry Hou, General Manager, Consumer Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. “We’ve developed the Nitro 5 knowing that gamers want powerful specs to enable great experiences on the go. The new Nitro 5 is designed to tackle these needs and features a striking exterior for added uniqueness.”
Acer’s Nitro 5 features finely-tuned, high-quality speakers with Dolby Audio Premium and Acer TrueHarmony technology. The Nitro 5 features all of the supporting technologies and connections a casual gamer will need: fast and reliable dual-stream 802.11ac wireless technology, a plethora of ports, including hyper-fast USB Type-C, HDMI 2.0, and Gigabit Ethernet to enable users to enter any arena prepared to execute every mission at the highest level.
Swift 7
Acer’s new Swift 7 is only 8.98 mm thin. Despite it’s slim design, it manages to pack in an Intel Core i7 processor, a nano SIM card slot, eSIM technology, 256 GB of PCIe SSD storage, 8 GB of LPDDR3 memory, all-day battery life and a 14-inch Full HD IPS display.
“We’re extremely proud to make the world’s thinnest laptop even thinner with the new Swift 7,” said Jerry Kao, President of IT Products Business of Acer Inc. “Building on the engineering breakthroughs from the previous generation, the new Swift 7 steps up the game with an even slimmer chassis, powerful performance and always-on 4G LTE connectivity for professionals on the go.”
Chromebook 11 (2018)
Acer’s new Chromebook 11 offers an 11.6-inch display – in either touchscreen or non-touchscreen variants – in a portable and fanless design which measures only 18.15mm and weighs only 1.1kg.
“The new Acer Chromebook 11 continues Acer’s tradition of delivering strong performance with all the benefits of Chrome OS at an excellent value,” said James Lin, General Manager, Commercial & Detachable Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. “Chromebooks are widely known as a fast, easy and secure way to work and play both online and offline. Customers can play games, stay productive, enjoy content and do even more with the new Acer Chromebook 11 thanks to its support of Google Play.”
According to Acer, the new Chromebook 11 can provide up to 10 hours battery life on a single charge, comes with 4GB memory and either 16GB or 32GB eMMC storage. It also has two USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1 ports, which can be used to charge the device as well as other products, a MicroSD card reader, two USB 3.0 ports and Bluetooth 4.2.
65-inch Predator Big Screen Format Display 
The supersized Predator gaming display builds on the same top-of-the-line specifications that its smaller cousins boast, and integrates NVIDIA SHIELD streaming capabilities to play movies and TV shows in stunning 4K HDR.
It sports NVIDIA G-SYNC Variable Refresh Rate technology as well as ultra-low latency at 4K 120Hz. A full-array direct backlight delivers up to 1,000 nits peak luminance, and local dimming provides higher contrast, deeper blacks and brighter whites.
The Predator BFGD features integrated NVIDIA SHIELD capabilities, which means that you can easily switch between gaming and other forms of entertainment. A bundled remote and game controller allows easy navigation and access to movies and TV shows from the most popular streaming apps. The entire experience can be controlled by voice, thanks to support for Google Assistant, which also allows smart home control.
G-SYNC variable refresh rate technology matches the screen’s refresh rate to the video source’s actual frame rate so video content is presented as directors originally intended it to be seen.
Amazon Alexa
Amazon Alexa will be coming to select Aspire, Spin, Switch and Swift notebooks, as well as Aspire all-in-one PCs starting from Q1 2018. Amazon Alexa will initially be available in the US via an update through Acer Care Center, while wider support is expected to be rolled out mid-2018.
With Amazon Alexa, owners of compatible Acer notebooks and desktops can get more done by asking Alexa to check their calendar, create lists and answer questions; be entertained by asking Alexa to play their favourite music, podcasts or audiobooks; and manage smart home devices by controlling lights, thermostats and home appliances through voice commands to Alexa.
“Acer is excited to be among the first brands to bring Alexa to PCs,” said Jerry Kao, President of IT Products Business of Acer Inc. “With industry-leading audio technology across our portfolio, we’re providing consumers the possibility to interact with multiple voice services on their notebook or desktop. Alexa lets users do thousands of things and we’re now bringing those capabilities natively to PCs.”
“We’re delighted that Acer will bring Alexa to PC customers,” said Steve Rabuchin, Vice President, Amazon Alexa. “Hands-free access to Alexa on PCs can be helpful to customers in many ways, like making it simple to interact with your smart home, get news or weather, set timers, and more. This is a big step toward making Alexa available wherever customers might need her.”
Enabled by Intel Smart Sound Technology, an integrated audio DSP (Digital Signal Processor) built to handle audio, voice, and speech interactions, many of Acer’s latest notebooks and desktops will support Amazon Alexa and respond to voice commands quickly while offering high fidelity audio without impacting system performance.
“The PC is the ultimate device to bring all your digital experiences together,” said Anand Srivatsa, General Manager of Intel’s Desktop, Channel and Systems Group. “By introducing voice services like Alexa paired with Intel Smart Sound Technology, we anticipate that the PC will serve an even more important role in maximising your productivity, getting the most from your entertainment, and managing the smart home or office.”
