Early Verdict Students getting ready for the new school year will want to check out Acer's newly spruced up, 14-inch Aspire E series laptop. Pros +3D printed finish+Colorful screen+Chromebook-level starting price Cons -Display prone to glare-Sluggish performance Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test. In the world of affordable laptops, Chromebooks reign supreme over most Windows laptops and has been a wake-up call for manufacturers to step up their game. Cheap notebooks are getting better and better, with the HP Pavilion x360 as one major stand out 2-in-1 laptop on the cheap. Now, in the traditional notebook space, Acer is hoping to catch some eyes with its uniquely crafted Aspire first time you touch this 14-inch laptop, you'll immediately notice it is uniquely textured to feel like a piece of fabric. Unlike most other laptops, the Acer Aspire E14 features a 3D printed lid and bottom panel that give it a distinct look and feel of a thousand layered reality, though, the laptop's sides are just made of finely extruded plastic that helps make the laptop feel more premium than the usual glossy finish on an affordable notebook. Even better, during all my manhandling with the sample units, it seems the 3D printed material is adept at avoiding greasy exterior of the Aspire E14 isn't the only part that's been given a textured finish. The palm rest also features a tiny, diamond cut pattern that felt nice and rippled against my palms. Overall, this isn't a cheap feeling laptop and that comes at a surprise considering it's very low starting price point of $379 about £250, AU$485.Standard fareAside from the laptop's distinct exterior, pretty much everything else about the Aspire E14 is standard fare. It has a 1,366 x 768 resolution display, though you can upgrade to a higher-resolution 1,080p panel. Acer is also offering up the same display choices for a 15-inch model of its E-series. Meanwhile, users can also pick up a 17-inch variant with either a 1,600 x 900 panel or a full HD the laptop I was able to play with came packing a Intel Core i5-5200U processor with 16GB of RAM. The Acer Aspire E14 can also be configured with lower spec processors from Intel's Celeron or Pentium lineups. There's the option to also go with an AMD CPU, from its A4 to A10 ready for schoolDespite the high-end configuration of my hands-on unit, the Aspire E14 still felt a bit sluggish while tabbing between applications. However, one Acer spokesperson was quick to note the units at the New York event were pre-production models, chalking the performance hitches up to the units being on for several inescapable shortcoming is it has an incredibly glossy screen that reflects light with a very unattractive sheen. The real shame is the screen's reflectiveness prevents you from fully appreciating how colorful it for handling, the touchpad feels great and clicky with accurate tracking, thanks to Microsoft's hand in developing Precision Touch for all Windows systems. Similarly, the keyboard is more than up to task without the slightest hint of flex, which should help it survive any marathon essay writing verdictThe Acer Aspire E14 is a compelling package for $379 about £250, AU$485, but those in the US won't be able to get their hands on it until July. That's a long lead time, and the competition in the affordable laptop space is only mounting with amazing Chromebooks - including the Chromebook 15, which Acer itself in Europe, the Middle East and Africa are a bit luckier with Acer's E series arriving this May. China will get first dibs Acer Aspire E14 and the rest of the E-Series this month. For now, I'm fairly pleased with the Aspire E14, but I'm skeptical as how well it will perform against equally-excellent Chrome OS options and other affordable notebooks running Windows, such as the 15-inch HP Acer Aspire E14 is a step in the right direction, but it will have to be even more than that come July to survive a season ripe for cheaper, snappier Chromebooks. Kevin Lee was a former computing reporter at TechRadar. Kevin is now the SEO Updates Editor at IGN based in New York. He handles all of the best of tech buying guides while also dipping his hand in the entertainment and games evergreen content. Kevin has over eight years of experience in the tech and games publications with previous bylines at Polygon, PC World, and more. Outside of work, Kevin is major movie buff of cult and bad films. He also regularly plays flight & space sim and racing games. IRL he's a fan of archery, axe throwing, and board games. What is a hands on review? Hands on reviews' are a journalist's first impressions of a piece of kit based on spending some time with it. It may be just a few moments, or a few hours. The important thing is we have been able to play with it ourselves and can give you some sense of what it's like to use, even if it's only an embryonic view. For more information, see TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee. Most Popular