Acer Inc. http://www.acer.com
The Acer TravelMate 8210-6038 ($2,999 list) is a desktop replacement that's designed to perform. Although it is considered a business laptop, it has features that cross over to the media side. The carbon-fiber lid is reminiscent of the Acer Ferrari 5000 , and a 15.4-inch widescreen screams multimedia. The biggest addition, however, is the BD-RW (Blu-ray) recordable drive, which enables burning high-definition video discs. But despite adding such a high-profile component, Acer is clearly gearing the Blu-ray drive for backup purposes. The system is missing the media accessories, such as a remote control, a built-in sensor, and even playback buttons, that are needed to enhance the HD playback experience.
I'm a big fan of carbon fiber. Sony and Acer are the only two laptop vendors that make much use of it, and they use it well. Sony's VAIO VGN-TXN15P comes to mind, and Acer is very generous in draping its lids with the material, as evidenced by the Acer Ferrari 4000 and Ferrari 5000. The TravelMate 8210-6038 succeeds the TravelMate 8204WLMi, which garnered an Editors' Choice and also uses carbon fiber on its lid.
The Acer TravelMate line of business laptops is well known overseas, especially in Europe and Asia, and it's gained a strong foothold in the U.S. market. The 8210-6038 is not something you would want to travel with, however, because with a battery, it weighs a hefty 7.7 pounds. Much of the weight is in the matte-finished 15.4-inch widescreen, which is ideal for working with several applications side by side, viewing additional cells on spreadsheets, and watching a full-length movie. The keyboard has a comfort curve, or "smile," that is unique to Acer laptops. The mouse buttons are too noisy in a quiet setting, but the touchpad is responsive.
You can burn Blu-ray media, too, using NTI's CD & DVD-Maker Titanium 7. It's equipped with NTI's EasySteps, a friendly user interface that creates Blu-ray discs, although the process is still slow. It took 2 hours 50 minutes to burn a 22.4GB file directory. Like the Dell XPS M1710 (Blu-ray), the 8210-6038 supports digital video-out using the DVI-D port, which doesn't stream audio in the same way its HDMI counterpart does. I tend to prefer HDMI because it eliminates the additional audio cable. Granted, most business displays will have DVI ports, but you can always get an HDMI-to-DVI-out converter cable.
Since most businesses won't be switching to Windows Vista quite yet, the 8210-6038 comes loaded with Microsoft Windows XP Professional. But you can get the same exact configuration with Vista Business loaded under a different model (the Acer TravelMate 8210-6632). Because the system doesn't come with Windows Media Center Edition, Acer does not ship a remote for video playback. It doesn't have physical playback buttons, either, so you're stuck with using the mouse and touchpad for navigation. Not exactly an ideal media experience.
You get a plethora of connectivity ports with the 8210-6038, including four USB ports, a FireWire port, S-Video, and VGA-out. It has an SPDIF or digital audio-out port for use with the DVI-out port. Acer combines the old with the new by including both an ExpressCard 34 slot and PC Card slot. And security is not overlooked with a built-in SmartCard reader. You have 802.11a/g and Bluetooth 2.0? as your wireless options. A 1.3-megapixel webcam is integrated into the screen for video chatting and capturing still images.
As the successor to the 8204WLMi, the 8210-6038 inherits the power to go along with all the features. It moves to the Core 2 Duo T7400 (2.16 GHz) and loads 2GB of RAM to make it a true powerhouse, and its impressive performance scores reflect those components. In our testing with Adobe Photoshop CS2 scripts, it sped past the Lenovo ThinkPad T60p—a workstation, mind you. It finished encoding an HD file faster than the Gateway NX570X. The system also loads discrete graphics via the ATI Mobility X1600, which plays its part in optimizing HD playback, as well as ensuring that Vista's 3D interface will run smoothly. The 8210-6038's graphics chipset is a better prospect for 3D gaming, given the gaming scores, than the ThinkPad T60p's card (ATI Mobility FireGL V5250). The Acer 8210-6038's card, though, is still midrange and is not as impressive as the nVidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX card that the Dell XPS M1710 (Blu-ray) uses. Then again, the Dell Blu-ray laptop is a top-end gaming machine. The 8210-6038's 3 hours 8 minutes of battery life is not bad at all, considering that my DVD rundown tests are a little more aggressive than what would be considered normal use. You'll get at least 4 hours running less intensive tasks such as spreadsheets, word processing, and Internet work.
The Acer TravelMate 8210-6038 is an excellent business or media laptop that has all the performance characteristics of a powerful desktop. The Blu-ray drive is a questionable addition, as it drives the cost of the machine to $2,999, and the system lacks some features that could have improved the overall high-definition experience. On top of that, Blu-ray media are insanely expensive, so you can't even justify the drive as a backup or content-creation solution. If you really want a high-definition laptop, take a look at the HP Pavilion dv9000t (Vista). Otherwise, opt for a configuration of the 8210-6038 that doesn't include the Blu-ray drive.
Acer TravelMate 8210-6038
Acer Aspire 9300-5005
Acer Inc. http://www.acer.com
The Acer Aspire 9300-5005 is an ideal desktop-replacement laptop if all you care about is a bright 17-inch screen. It provides a low-cost alternative for those who salivate over an Apple MacBook Pro 17-inch but can't bring themselves to spend that kind of money. At $1,000 (street), the Acer 's price is barely one-third of the MacBook Pro's, which is a boon especially for media beginners who don't demand a whole lot. If you're at all picky, however, the low-powered AMD processor, measly graphics, and Windows Vista Home Premium's hefty requirements might steer you in another direction.
At this price, you're going to have to compromise on a lot of features, and one of them is looks. It is one thing for the machine to weigh 7.7 pounds—that's what you'd expect from a laptop with a 17-inch screen—but quite another when it looks as if it weighs even more. I can't quite describe the color of the 9300-5005's chassis—silvery with a hint of green? Clearly, both its weight and looks are reasons to keep the laptop tethered to your desk. The 17-inch screen, however, is bright and spacious enough for working with several photos, video screens, and office applications, side by side. The 1,440-by-900 resolution is the same as that of the Dell Inspiron E1705 (Vista), very good for watching DVD-quality movies as well as downloaded high-definition clips. The transflective coating is common in media laptops—even cheap ones—and displays better color saturation than matte-finished screens.
The keyboard doesn't feel mushy, but I prefer the E1705's keyboard because it's more responsive. Unlike the E1705, however, the Aspire 9300 squeezes in a number pad, which I applaud. I found the mouse buttons a little noisy, but the touchpad is responsive. The speakers are weak for a desktop replacement. I had to crank the volume all the way up when playing a DVD movie. In contrast, the HP Pavilion dv9000t (Vista) uses name-brand speakers (Altec Lansing), and the improvement in audio quality is obvious.
Given that the 17-inch screen accounts for most of the cost, the components aren't the best available. The Aspire 9300 uses a Turion X2 TL-50 (1.6 GHz) AMD processor. It's a dual-core processor much like the E1705's Intel Core 2 Duo processor, but way slower. The 1GB of RAM meets Windows Vista's recommended requirements, but I would double that to get the most out of this system. You'd see a big improvement in performance for a nominal fee. CineBench 9.5 scores are about 11 percent below those of the Toshiba A135-S4467, which has a 1.6-GHz Intel processor. The Aspire 9300 didn't do as badly on the video-encoding tests, equaling the Toshiba in performance. Battery life, as you might imagine, is horrible. The 1 hour 28 minutes it took to run down a DVD is expected for such a large system. The Aspire 9300 does have discrete graphics, but the nVidia GeForce 7300's performance numbers are equivalent to an integrated graphics chipset. Basically, you won't be able to run 3D games effectively.
The Acer Aspire 9300-5005 is a bargain for those who are looking for a desktop-like experience on a laptop. The gorgeous 17-inch screen will play a large role in your buying decision, but it also sucks up a large percentage of the $1,000 price, leaving you with below-average (thus, cheaper) components. It's ideal for those who have basic computing and media needs, such as watching an occasional DVD movie or editing family photos. Otherwise, you might want to spend more to get the Dell Inspiron E1705 (Vista) or the luxurious Apple MacBook Pro 17-inch.
Acer Aspire 5920G
Acer Inc. http://www.acer.com
Acer knows how to fight a price war when it comes to selling laptops, but its knack for designs hasn't been as memorable as some of its competition's. The only exception is the head-turning Ferrari series, highlighted by a carbon-fiber frame and racing-style red streaks. Now that PC makers are focusing more attention on design, the Ferrari line alone isn't enough to draw in the hipper crowd. But Acer is hoping to change all that with its Gemstone series, otherwise known as the Acer Aspire 5920G ($1,999 list). Aside from the sleeker look, the system integrates an HD DVD-ROM drive and 5.1 Dolby surround sound, and offers a bunch of other entertainment features at a price few can pull off.
The Gemstone design is a far cry from the metallic silver-green models that Acer is used to putting out. Its outer lid, for example, is topped off with a piano-black finish that isn't impervious to fingerprints but can fend off a scratch or two. The technique resembles the in-mold decoration process made popular by recent HP Pavilion models such as the dv9500T, as well as the Gateway T-140X, where a graphical overlay is embedded underneath a plastic finish. The Aspire 5920G lacks the sequence of line patterns found on the HP and Gateway laptops, but its oval-shaped frame, or what Acer calls its "Opalesque contours," is distinctive.
The keyboard reminds me of something out of the movie Tron. A string of LED lights begins above the keyboard, circles the power button, and extends down to the playback control keys on the laptop's right-hand side. The keyboard and the area surrounding it are an eyeful, accented by about 11 media keys. The playback buttons (Play/Pause, Stop, FFWD, RWD) are touch-sensitive, whereas the four application keys on the left-hand side of the keyboard are regular press buttons. (I'm not sure why Acer didn't make all the media keys touch-sensitive.) The keyboard is a bit mushy and isn't as responsive as the one found on the Dell Inspiron 1720. I can also do without the loud clicking that the mouse buttons make.
The Aspire 5920G offers decent home theater viewing once you ditch the bundled HD DVD playback software and get past the resolution. Its CrystalBrite 15.4-inch widescreen is the minimum size you should get for a good HD experience. The 17-inch screens on the HP Pavilion dv9500t and the Sony VAIO VGN-AR590E are ideal for viewing HD content on a laptop. The 5920G comes with a 1,280-by-800 resolution, which is generic but still serves up a 720p experience. A 1,440-by-900 or a 1,680-by-1,050 resolution would have generated a sharper picture and more color detail. But it's one of the few media laptops at its price that come with an HD DVD-ROM. You can play back all the latest HD DVD titles and burn DVDs (both single- and dual-layer) and CDs. The system also comes with an HDMI-Out port in case you want to hook it up to a bigger screen.
Acer includes a comprehensive bundled media software package in the Arcade Deluxe. The DV wizard lets you capture video directly from your camcorder or from the webcam. VideoMagician sorts and organizes all your media content, similar to what Windows Media Center does. The only thing that it doesn't do well is play back HD DVD content. (It isn't clear what manufacturer helped develop the video player.) Scenes from various HD DVD titles were choppy and fell victim to the stuttering effect. A couple of times, the software even crashed during the movie. I think Acer just needs to update the software with a patch. On the bright side, installing a copy of CyberLink's PowerDVD 7.2 Ultra fixes all of these problems. If you want a complete and glitch-free HD experience, though, the HP Pavilion dv9500t is my pick of the crop.
The Aspire 5920G uses Intel's latest Centrino Duo platform, which includes a 2-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 processor, 2GB of RAM, and rides on the 800-MHz front-side bus. These are the same components found on the Sony VAIO VGN-AR590E. Unfortunately, the 5920G could not complete BAPCo's SYSmark 2007 Preview benchmark tests. But on Adobe Photoshop scripts, it finished ahead of the Dell 1720 and HP dv9500t, taking 1 minute 7 seconds. In video encoding tests, it beat out the Sony laptop but fell behind the Dell and HP. Most laptops with built-in HD drives include discrete graphics. The 5920G uses the nVidia GeForce 8600M GT, which is not only great for 3D gaming, but its PureVideo engine is also the world's first video processor that offloads 100 percent of the video-encoding work from the CPU, enabling smoother HD DVD playback (provided you're running the correct playback software, that is).
With all that power running underneath its hood, the 5920G fares pretty well against the competition on battery life. It scored 3 hours 21 minutes on MobileMark 2007 , beating the HP dv9500t by 11 minutes and the Gateway M-150X by over an hour.
It's not often that Acer gets to combine an aesthetically pleasing design with good processing speed and affordable pricing. I'm inclined to say that between its Gemstone and Ferrari series, the Ferrari series is still the better-looking one. But for $1,999, the Acer Aspire 5920G is a formidable media center, complete with an HD DVD-ROM drive and Dolby 5.1 surround sound. You might want to purchase a copy of CyberLink's PowerDVD Ultra before leaving the store, though.
Acer Ferrari 1100
Acer Inc. http://www.acer.com
The Ferrari series is the only one of Acer 's laptop lines that favors design over price and performance. The use of carbon fiber on the lid, the sporty red colors, and the signature Ferrari logo are the details that drew fans to the Ferrari 5000 when Acer launched it. Then came the Ferrari 1000 series, a miniature version of the 5000, which had one serious feature flaw: Despite its 4.4-pound weight, it lacked a built-in optical drive. The Acer Ferrari 1100 ($1,860 street), though far from being the lightest ultraportable on the market, improves upon the 1000 by integrating a slot-loading DVD burner.
The Ferrari design is immediately distinguishable by the prancing stallion logo, yellow on black. Although the vibrant reds have been omitted, Acer did a great job of dressing up the lid, such as adding a touch of carbon fiber and a rubbery texture that feels like an auto tire along the edges. The 1100 is as thick as the Ferrari 5000, and its 4.4-pound frame is far too heavy compared with other ultraportables on the market. The 1100 basically took a plastic shell and fancied up the exterior to hide the laptop's bulkiness. By contrast, the Apple MacBook Air paid closer attention to the materials used and molded its aluminum alloy chassis into a cracker-thin design. Meanwhile, the Sony VAIO VGN-SZ791N took the same carbon fiber material used in the Ferrari, combined it with a magnesium alloy, and made its screen paper thin.
The Ferrari's12-inch screen is not LED-backlit, so it doesn't have some of the power-saving benefits as that of the MacBook Air, the Sony SZ791N, and the Fujitsu LifeBook P8010. On the other hand, it's fine for in-flight videos and photo editing. The keyboard is about the same size as the one on the Lenovo ThinkPad X61, but not nearly as comfortable. The mouse buttons, much like those on the ASUS U6, are nightmarishly rigid and difficult to use.
On paper, the standard-voltage AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-66 CPU, 4GB RAM, and discrete graphics look like they can pack a serious punch. Yet according to the SYSmark 2007 Overall scores, the Ferrari 1100 is only a shade faster than the Fujitsu P8010 and the Apple MacBook Air, which have low-powered parts. The Sony SZ791N's Intel Penryn processor beat out the 1100's 2.3-GHz AMD Turion by 22 percent, while the ASUS U6S—using Intel's previous-generation Merom processor—beat it out by 18 percent. That's not to say that the 1100 can't handle tasks like video encoding, Adobe Photoshop CS3, and light 3D rendering—it's simply not as fast as its Intel counterparts. Battery life is respectable at 3 hours 27 minutes, though not as long as that of either the Sony SZ791N (3:49) or the Fujitsu P8010 (5:05).
In terms of energy efficiency and environmental attributes, the Acer Ferrari 1100 is Energy Star 4.0-compliant, despite running a 2.3-GHz AMD processor. It hasn't filed for EPEAT certification, but Acer follows proper recycling methods and is eliminating hazardous materials from production. According to my own energy tests, it consumed 34 watts in idle mode.
The Acer Ferrari 1100 would be more attractive if its price ($1,860) wasn't higher than that of the more aesthetically pleasing Apple MacBook Air ($1,799) or the ASUS U6S ($1,699). For those who passed on the first-edition Ferrari ultraportable because it lacked an optical drive, the 1100 now has one built in. But in a world consumed by miniaturization, it will have to shave off a bit of weight and improve its performance scores for it to compete with thoroughbreds like the Sony SZ791N, the Dell XPS M1330, and the Lenovo X61.
Acer Aspire 8920G
Acer Inc. http://www.acer.com
Just when you thought Acer couldn't come up with another beastly laptop, the Aspire 8920G "Gemstone Blue" series emerges to wow high-definition aficionados. The Aspire 9805WKHi—Acer's first effort at a wow! laptop—had a glamorous 20-inch screen but weighed a backbreaking 17 pounds. The Aspire 8920G ($2,600 street) finds the sweet spot by putting an 18.4-inch widescreen on a system that, at 8.8 pounds, weighs as much as some 17-inch models, like the Dell Inspiron 1720, do. Though still bulky, it doesn't seem like a nightmare to lug around. Altogether, the 8920G is a nice, albeit expensive, Blu-ray–equipped media center that delivers 1080p content.
Apart from the Ferrari series, Acer's design tastes have been questionable. The "Gemstone Blue" look sounds fantastic in the press release, but all you're really getting is a dark-blue lid with a glossy treatment. You can just about detect the sparkly material underneath the gloss, which, unfortunately, doesn't hide the smudges and scratches you'll see over time. Hoping that old-school, solid colors will appease consumers is an approach similar to that found in the Gateway M-152XL. Designs like the Apple MacBook Pro 17-inch, the Dell XPS M1530, and the HP Pavilion dv9500t are leaders in the field of attention grabbers.
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Though the interior could use a little work in terms of aesthetics, the navigational and typing experience worked in its favor. As in the HP Pavilion HDX-9000 (Penryn), the width of the laptop allowed Acer to put in a superb full-size keyboard, a numeric keypad, and a media control pad. The "CineTouch" controls, as Acer calls them, are laid out in a unique manner to the left of the keyboard such that the touch-sensitive playback controls, the volume bar, and multimedia buttons spiral in different directions.
These extremely responsive buttons worked really well with Acer's Arcade Deluxe, a complete multimedia software suite that incorporates Blu-ray software. By contrast, the HP HDX-9000 has a removable media remote that's similar to a TV remote. The palm rest area, touchpad, and mouse buttons are covered with a silver weave–like material made of plastic, which is very comfortable but clashes with the black keyboard.
But even more underwhelming than the design is the feature set. For a monstrous media center like the 8920G, I expected a lot more. Thankfully, it does come with an HDMI port in case you want to connect this laptop to a larger display. The four USB ports, 5-in-1 card reader (MMC, SD, xD, MS, MS Pro), and ExpressCard slot are standard for a media center. However, the lack of a FireWire port and S-Video-out are glaring omissions and rare among comparable systems. The 8920G would have been a good candidate for an integrated ATSC (HD) tuner, like the one on the HP HDX-9000 (Penryn). A 320GB hard drive wouldn't be so average if less expensive systems like the Toshiba Satellite A305-S6845 weren't putting in 400GB drives, and I wouldn't have dinged its storage capacity if the 8920G came with an e-SATA port. The one feature that stands out—and a substantial part of the reason why the system costs so much—is the integrated BD-RE drive (that is, Blu-ray burner). It plays back the latest Blu-ray titles, burns data to (still exorbitant) Blu-ray media blanks, and doubles as a dual-layer DVD burner.
The 8920G's biggest asset is its 18.4-inch widescreen. It's the first laptop ever to launch with such a form factor, which is surprising given that every other screen size has been covered. Among the larger sizes, 17-inch laptops are the most common. I've reviewed the Voodoo Envy u:909 with a 19-inch widescreen, and both the Dell XPS M2010 and the HP Pavilion HDX-9000 (Penryn) have 20-inch widescreens.
In my opinion, the 18.4-inch widescreen is a smart compromise between screen size and system weight—you wouldn't believe how much an extra inch of screen real estate adds to your viewing pleasure. As with HDTVs, the 8920G's aspect ratio is 16:9. Its resolution is 1,920-by-1,080, or precisely 1080p. Acer claims that the color gamut is a full third richer than that of conventional laptops. Although the colors did appear richer when I played a series of Blu-ray movie trailers, 1080p, to me, is 1080p, whether it's a 1,920-by-1,080 resolution or the conventional 1,920-by-1,200 one. While watching Fifth Element on Blu-ray, the image looked absolutely stunning on the 8920G. It was completely free of any artifacts and stuttering, and it worked masterfully with the built-in "CineTouch" controls.
This laptop also comes with the latest Intel "Penryn" injection, the 2.6-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9500—one of the most upper-tier processors currently available. The 8920G sports a whopping 4GB of RAM, though 32-bit Windows Vista Ultimate can take advantage of only 3GB. The combination of the processor and memory produced performance scores comparable with those of the Gateway P-171XL FX—a hard-core gaming laptop. The 8920G's SYSmark 2007 Preview Overall score came within 3 percent of the Gateway P-171XL FX's, with its 2.8-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme X7900 CPU. Two of its other peers—the HP HDX-9000 (Penryn) and the Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Penryn)—lagged behind by at least 20 percent on the SYSmark 2007 Preview Overall score. Its video-encoding score topped the competition at 1 minute 3 seconds, while its CineBench R10 score came in second to that of the Gateway, at 5,361.
The 8920G is also equipped with a formidable graphics card. Although gaming scores weren't as impressive as those of the HP HDX and the Gateway, actual game play with industry-leading titles like Crysis and World in Conflict was smooth and lag-free as long as the resolution was kept low. Having an nVidia graphics card also benefits your Blu-ray experience, as its "PureVideo" engine (nVidia's decoding technology) is partly responsible for the smooth and stutter-free playback. Battery life was about the only performance area that didn't fare well, and this was understandable, given the fast components. The 1 hour 45 minutes tallied on MobileMark 2007 tests was sub-par. A bigger battery than the included 71-Wh unit could have pushed battery life into the 2-hour range.
If the Acer Aspire 8920G were playing a Blu-ray title at your local computer retailer, you'd be floored by the unprecedented 18.4-inch screen and amazing color detail. It's unique to the market, and it offers some of the best performance parts money can buy. Given the Aspire 8920G's high price tag, however, Acer could have developed a better feature set and paid more attention to style, because in this day and age, a complete package is an absolute must. But if all you care about is a great cinematic experience and future-proofed performance parts, the Gemstone passes these two areas with flying colors.
