Acer unveils liquid-cooled 2-in-1 laptop, Switch Alpha 12

Laptop industry leader Acer yesterday unveiled the world's first liquid-cooled 2-in-1 laptop, named Switch Alpha 12. In the Switch Alpha 12 design, Acer has dispensed with the conventional cooling fan and instead deployed its LiquidLoop cooling technology.

According to Acer's press release, the Switch Alpha 12 was the first fanless 2-in-1 notebook powered by 6th generation Intel Core processors in the market, with the device capable of delivering exceptional performance and a battery life of eight hours.

With the 2-in-1 notebook, users get support for 12-inch 2,160 x 1,440 display; ports for HDMI, USB Type-C, USB 3.0, USB A and DisplayPort connections; 8 GB of RAM; and up to 512 GB of storage.

The star draws of the device are however, its efficiency and its cooling capabilities. Thanks to the fanless design and the LiquidLoop technology, the heat the device generates, is used to power its cooling system, which keeps the notebook's temperature down. It also ensures that the Switch Alpha 12, works silently. 

According to news website Laptop, which 'test drove' the Switch Alpha 12, the display and the snappy keyboard, impressed the most. The keyboard, which was said to offer a feel similar to that of the Surface Pro 4, connected to the slate through a powerful magnet.

The Switch Alpha 12 which also offers support for Acer's Active Pen stylus, has a kickstand incorporated in its design.

According to commentators, the Switch Alpha 12 competed well with Microsoft's Surface Pro 4 and offerings from other Windows OEMs, including the HP Spectre x2, Lenovo MIIX 700, and the Dell XPS 12.

Users would be able to attach any peripheral they wanted due to a plethora of ports, including USB Type-C, HDMI, USB 3.0, USB A, and a DisplayPort.

The Switch Alpha 12 could be ordered with a choice of Intel's Core i3, i5, or i7 processors, coupled with 4GB or 8GB of RAM and up to 512GB of onboard SSD storage.

The Switch Alpha 12 would be available in the US in June, at $599 for the Core i3, 4GB RAM, and 128GB SSD configuration. The optional Acer Active Pen would cost $49.99.