Acer Aspire V5, 15-inch ($529 at Best Buy)
Moving up to a 15-inch touch screen but keeping the Core i3 CPU makes this a bit of a mixed bag. There are a lot of Core i5 laptops you can find for around $500, but the touch screen is rarer, and makes Windows 8 much more usable. We're testing one of these V5 laptops right now, and the design is pleasingly thin and modern-looking. More info here.
Verdict: Hot deal
The good: The Acer Aspire V5 has a decent design, midrange configuration, and a touch screen, all for a very reasonable price.
The bad: While slim and reasonably attractive, this is still a plastic laptop. The weak battery keeps it from being a great road system.
The bottom line: For under $700, the Acer Aspire V5 proves that a touch screen can work in a budget-priced Windows 8 laptop without cutting too many corners.
November 14, 2012 12:44 PM PST
Photo by: Acer
%20-%20Black%20Friday%20laptops,%20desktops,%20and%20tablets%20(pictures)%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/2300-34231_7-10014533-6.html&x_breadcrumb=6011:7278:34229:34231&x_arw_bkts=MAD:first_impression){kind=small}