Acer today announced that several of its popular Windows 10 notebook lines are the industry's first to offer Alexa pre-installed, including the Acer Spin 3 and Acer Spin 5 lines, which are available at retailers now. The news today is the first step in Acer's plans to roll out Alexa across its PC portfolio. Alexa will also be pre-installed on the Acer Nitro 5 Spin convertible gaming notebook line next month. It will also be available on select Aspire, Switch and Swift notebooks, as well as Aspire all-in-one PCs, as they are rolled out to Acer's retail partners over the next few weeks.

Additional product lines already purchased by customers will soon be able to be updated with Alexa via the Acer Care Center. The first Acer notebook lines to receive the update will be the Acer Spin 5 and Spin 3 convertible families on May 23 and May 26, respectively."The Acer Spin 3 and Spin 5 convertible notebooks are the ideal products for the industry debut of Alexa voice functionality on notebooks," said Jerry Kao, President of IT Products Business of Acer Inc. "We are thrilled to be the first to market with these flexible systems, which feature industry-leading audio and the latest technologies for convenient, time-saving and intuitive interactions."

"We're delighted to work with Acer to bring Alexa to customers in new ways," said Steve Rabuchin, Vice President, Amazon Alexa. "We believe customers should be able to interact with Alexa wherever they might need her, including from their PCs, in order to take advantage of the simplicity of voice control."  

Voice Control Lets Customers Do More
Acer customers can use their Alexa-compatible Acer notebooks and desktops to get more done via voice control. For example, customers can ask Alexa to check the weather, make an entry on their calendar, create lists, answer questions, or play their favorite music, podcasts or audiobooks. Acer customers can ask Alexa to manage smart home devices including lighting, thermostats and home appliances, all with their voice.

Acer's notebooks and desktops with Alexa are Enabled by Intel Smart Sound Technology, an integrated audio DSP (Digital Signal Processor) built to handle audio, voice and speech interactions. With Intel Smart Sound Technology, the devices provide support for voice control along with high-fidelity audio.

The Acer Spin 5 has Acer Purified.Voice and four digital microphones that support far-field voice recognition. Other Acer notebooks feature dual microphones that support near-field voice recognition. All supported convertible and 2-in-1 notebooks come with front-facing speakers and provide an immersive audio experience.