It’s as if regular laptops are not ”in” anymore. The PC market is currently all about gaming towers, gaming notebooks, Chromebooks, ultra-thins, and hybrids. There isn’t one computing device from a major tech company that I can think of being boring, or not multi-functional in some way. On an immediate visual level, the new Acer Spin 3 appears so much like other hybrids out there- a hinge rotation, sleek grayish-black exterior, basic LCD trim bezel length, and of course, a thin design. But are they enough special qualities about Acers new addition to its Spin line to make it stand out from the rest?

Well let’s see. The Acer Spin 3 hybrid is pretty typical in its mechanism, as it can be used as a fully-functioning laptop, display, tent, and even into a practical tablet thanks to its torque hinge with 360 degrees of freedom. It measures 15 x 9.9 x 0.89 inches, and that four-way flexibility is great for presentation opportunities, utilizing apps and playing games, as well as getting work done. The popularity of these machines is undeniable. They are diversified, and allow anyone, from a student to share notes with a classmate, to a business worker showing a presentation.

For a laptop to even be considered within the plethora of competition these days, much more must be be provided to investigate its worthiness. But of course, display is of utmost importance, and in this case, expect something pretty good. The Spin 3’s 15.6-inch LCD screen display features touch, boasts bright colors, and has a 1,366 x 768 full high-definition In-Plane Switching (IPS). The body itself, with a weight of 4.75 pounds, holds more hardware than one would first think, all the while made of simple black plastic, and two matte silver hinges for changing modes. Still, there’s no defying good looks here, etched with a fine pattern and Chrome Acer logo.

The backlit keyboard is spacious, good for finding your as-needed buttons quickly, such as Home, End, and Page-Up/Page-Down keys. Typing is allegedly nice, still plasticky because of the chassis build, but in a somewhat crisp manner. As for ports and connectivity- there’s 2 USB 2.0s, a Kensington lock, as well as basic power and volume buttons on the left, and one lonely USB 3.0 port on the right side, along with an HDMI port, audio and power jack, and SD card slot. This is rather disappointing, or to others, “so 2016”, considering the lack of USB Type-C, we are so reliant on these days. It’s always interesting how some hybrid PCs are perfectly functional with less I/O than others, depending on their adaptability and ease of use. However, missing out on a Type-C is pretty lame.

Overall this is machine has been built the best it can be for its price range, and with all the perks of a gorgeous exterior, plus the solidity that will bring you confidence in using it anywhere. It’s not going to perform faster than much of the competition out there, but try and remember what a low-cost portable brings. All-in-all, surely this is more of a mid-range hybrid, just to get it into the right category. This one fits into the sub $700 range, making it tempting for a fully-loaded hybrid, as well as a great opportunity for consumers in the market for the popular 15.6-inch convertible size. The Acer Spin 3 starts at $599, with its first release in the U.S. this February. This price will get you the full HD IPS screen, a 1TB hard drive, Intel’s Core i7-6500U CPU processor, clocked at 2.30GHz, integrated Intel HD Graphics 520, a mere 4GB of RAM, as well as 500GB of HDD storage.

Darn, it could’ve really used the SSD storage factor here, as they are more durable and useful when ready for anything, such as a professional presentation. However, for Acer to keep the price down, a few clippings had to be made. Also, in a world where we are becoming so quickly acclimated with long battery lives, 5-6 hours is quite low. But this isn’t the new Dell XPS 15 2-in-1, isn't it? This is a completely different level of machine. So, feel free to hit up either levels of machinery, depending on what you’re looking for.