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Photos: Acer unwraps 'world's thinnest' laptop at CES

Acer Aspire S5 ultrabook shaves 2mm off even the MacBook Air's svelte lines...
By Natasha Lomas, Contributor
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1 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Acer Aspire S5

Acer Aspire S5 ultrabook shaves 2mm off even the MacBook Air's svelte lines...

CES, the annual Vegas-based gadget-fest, kicks off today and kit-maker Acer has unwrapped what it describes as the world's thinnest laptop - thinner even than Apple's MacBook Air.

The Acer Aspire S5, pictured above, is one of a new category of laptops branded ultrabooks by Intel whose chips power the size-zero laptops. With their uber-portable form, ultrabooks aim to marry tablet-style fast boot features, performance and price, with a slender laptop form-factor.

CES is likely to see a deluge of ultrabooks, according to analyst Canalys, which predicts up to 50 Ultrabook devices will be announced at the show.

"Ultrabooks show some much needed, and long overdue, innovation in the notebook market and will pose a new threat to premium pads [tablets]," said Canalys analyst Tim Coulling in a statement. "With increased battery life and portability, the continued development of the ultrabook will bring some of the features that consumers love about pads to the notebook space."

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2 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Acer Aspire S5

Here's the Aspire S5's flagship feature: its svelte form factor - just 15mm thick at its beefiest point, a whole 2mm thinner than Apple's MacBook Air.

The S5 is also a bit of a lightweight - weighing in at less than 1.35kg.

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3 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Acer Aspire S5

It may be slender but the Acer Aspire S5 is no netbook - packing a 13.3-inch LCD screen and a chiclet keyboard.

There's an Intel Core chip inside, plus SSD storage - for speed and increased shock resistance.

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4 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Acer Aspire S5

The Aspire S5 has a magnesium-aluminum alloy cover and palm-rest, with metallic brushed detailing.

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5 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Acer Aspire S5

At the back of the Aspire S5, just below the hinge, is a panel that conceals a range of ports: HDMI, USB and 20 Gbps Thunderbolt.

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6 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Acer Aspire S5

The Aspire S5 also packs Acer's Green Instant On technology which provides instant-resume functionality in 1.5 seconds, while its Always Connect feature provides fast connectivity.

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7 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Acer Aspire S5

Battery life is extended thanks to Acer's PowerSmart battery pack which the company claims offers a lifecycle that is three times longer than traditional batteries.

Acer's Green Instant On tech also boosts battery life thanks to power-saving features which ensure battery life can last several weeks, according to the company.

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8 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Acer Aspire S5

The Aspire S5 will start shipping in the second quarter of 2012, according to Acer.

Speaking last May at the Computex conference, Intel's exec VP Sean Maloney predicted that by the end of 2012, ultrabooks will make up 40 per cent of the consumer laptop market.

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