The sea of Windows 8 laptops is a rough one, full of confusing twists and turns. Do you buy a touch-screen laptop, or a regular one? Do you pick a clamshell, a convertible, or a hybrid? Sometimes it's best to play it safe.
Acer Aspire M5 481PT
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
That's exactly what the Acer Aspire M5 481PT-6488 is: a safe bet. At $729, this Best Buy-exclusive laptop configuration isn't too expensive. It's not too large. It still has classic, "old-school" features such as a DVD drive and a large-capacity 500GB hard drive -- both of which ultrabooks often don't have. It has a touch screen, too, but still operates like a regular old laptop if you want it to. Even the battery life is strong.
It's not particularly stellar in any one area, but as a total package, this feels flat-out reliable. And when you compare with the similarly configured and priced Acer Aspire V5 CNET recently reviewed, you get the same processor, hard drive, and screen resolution, but gain better battery life and 2GB more RAM in a smaller and lighter 14-inch-class aluminum body. And it's far more affordable than the thinner, sexier Acer Aspire S7; in fact, it's less than half the price.
Much like the Windows 7 version of the Acer Aspire M5 I previously reviewed, the touch-enabled Aspire M5 481PT with Windows 8 is a very good all-around laptop, even if it lacks the Nvidia dedicated graphics included in the last model. It's definitely worth a look for the risk-averse and budget-conscious Windows 8 laptop shopper who doesn't want to pay through the nose for touch.