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Acer TravelMate 5620-6285 Laptop Computer

Monday, November 10th, 2008

Acer TravelMate 5620-6285 Laptop Computer Now Just $759.56

Acer TravelMate 5620-6285 Laptop Computer
Our new Acer TravelMate 5620-6285 Laptop Computer is ideal for mobile professionals looking for performance, connectivity, independence and security. Building on the growing demand for larger screen sizes, the Acer TravelMate 5620-6285 Laptop Computer offers a panoramic a 17-inch color TFT LCD display that boasts a brilliant WXGA+ (1440 x 900) resolution. This 8.06-pound powerhouse comes loaded with a 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 processor with Centrino Duo technology, a 160GB hard drive, 1GB of DDR2 memory, and a DVD-Super Multi dual layer optical drive. The Acer TravelMate 5620-6285 Laptop Computer also features splendid graphics performance with its NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 7300 graphics controller. And business pros who need to seamlessly switch from different connectivity options, will find the new Acer TravelMate 5620-6285 Laptop Computer a welcome work partner, as it offers a complete range of flexible connectivity solutions including, Gigabit LAN and 802.11a/b/g wireless, along with a built-in web camera.

Specifications
Condition: New
Operating Systems: Windows® Vista™ Home Premium
Platform: Notebook PC
Expansion Ports: 1 – Type II PC Card Slot
PS/2 Keyboard Connectors: N/A
PS/2 Mouse Connectors: N/A
Serial Communication Ports: N/A
Parallel Ports: N/A
USB Ports: 4
FireWire Ports: N/A
Fast Infrared Ports (FIR): N/A
LAN Ports: 1
Modem Ports: 1
Audio Out Jacks: 1 – SPDIF
Line In Jacks: 1
Microphone Jacks: 1
VGA Ports: 1
S-Video Connectors: 1
DVI Video: N/A
Port Replicator/Connector: N/A
Processor Brand: Intel
Processor Class: Centrino Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5600
Processor Speed: 1.83GHz
Processor FSB: 667MHz
Processor Cache: 2MB
Additional Technologies: Intel Centrino Duo Mobile Technology
Memory Type: DDR2
Memory Size: 1GB (1GB x 1)
Memory Speed: PC2-5300
Memory Slots (Total): 2
Memory Slots (Available): 1
Maximum Memory Supported: 4GB
Capacity: 160GB
Optical Drive Type: DVD Super-Multi Dual Layer (DVD-R/RW, +R/RW, -R DL, +R DL, RAM)
Supplemental Drive Type: Media Reader
Capacity: 5-in-1
Media Types: SecureDigital
Memory Stick
xD-Picture Card
Memory Stick PRO
Multi Media Card
Audio Description: Integrated Audio
Audio Chipset: Realtek High Definition Audio
Graphics Description: Dedicated Graphics
GPU/VPU: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300
Video Memory: 128MB
Video Interface: S-Video, VGA
Communications Description: Integrated LAN
Integrated Modem
Integrated Wireless LAN
Interface Type: RJ-11 Phone Connector
RJ-45 Ethernet Connector
Integrated Intel PRO Wireless 3945ABG
Data Transfer Rate: 56Kbps Modem
10/100/1000Mbps Network
54 Mbps
Protocols: V.92
802.11b
802.11a
802.11g
Width: 15.75″
Height: 1.24″ – 1.57″
Depth: 11.61″
Weight: 8.06 lbs
Mouse Type: Touch Pad
Buttons: 3
Scrolling Capability: 4-way scrolling button
Keyboard Type: 105 Key US Keyboard
Display Type: WXGA+ TFT LCD
Viewable Screen Size: 17″
Maximum Resolution: 1440 x 900
Battery Type: Lithium-ion
Battery Life: N/A
Detailed Features

A Closer Look

Popularity: 2% [?]

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What You Should Know about the Travelmate TM2480-2968 Notebook

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

Not Much RAM for Multitasking

The more RAM your laptop has, the faster programs will run and the greater number of windows you can work in at one time. If your needs are simple and you rarely do more than two things at once on your PC, the relatively modest amount of memory that comes installed in inexpensive laptops will be enough. Today the standard amount of RAM shipped in most PCs is 2GB. If you like to multitask–say, you want to launch a search for a file and start backing up data to a disc while you watch a news video–you need more memory.

Suited for Commuting and Other Short Trips

Because of its midsize screen and other middle-of-the-road characteristics, this notebook qualifies as an all-purpose portable. Though it might not have the biggest hard drive or all the latest card slots, its features–and accordingly, its price–are a good fit for most people who need to get work done in mainstream applications. On this laptop, you’ll be able to compute comfortably in word processing, spreadsheet, e-mail, and browser applications, and enjoy music or a DVD movie with headphones. This laptop, lighter and easier to carry than a desktop replacement, is also a better choice for commuting and other short trips.

Underpowered Video Hardware Not Suited for Serious Gamers

A video chip set (also called integrated video or Intel video) built into this laptop’s motherboard handles the graphics. Relatively speaking, this video hardware is underpowered. Since the laptop lacks a dedicated graphics card, the integrated chip set has to borrow video memory (an arrangement known as dynamic memory or shared memory) from the main system memory to make images look good. If you play only online trailers or 2D games, integrated video is fine. As long as the laptop has a fairly fast processor, such as a dual-core Intel CPU, even movies should look good and play smoothly. But laptops with integrated video can’t render 3D well and handle sophisticated effects properly. Games will skip, lose details, or stop altogether if the video hardware can’t manage at least 30 frames per second. If gaming is important to you, ante up for a laptop with a dedicated card.

Supports Memory Stick Cards

Usually, a multiformat card reader, such as the one in this laptop, can accept several different types of flash memory cards, including Memory Sticks. A compact proprietary flash memory card, Memory Stick is a Sony and SanDisk product intended chiefly for Sony devices, including its laptops, digital cameras, camcorders, PDAs, and cell phones, as well as the PlayStation Portable. Five variations have been released since its introduction in 1998–each faster, smaller, and more capacious than the last. Check this laptop’s specs to see how many variations of Memory Stick it can read without an adapter. Not much bigger than a thumbnail, the Memory Stick Micro (aka M2) is the one of the smallest flash memory cards in existence; only the competing microSD, a type of SD Card, is tinier. The 16GB Memory Stick Pro Duo stores the most data.

Supports xD-Picture Cards

If you own a Fujifilm or Olympus digital camera, or an Olympus digital voice recorder, this laptop might be appropriate for you since it can read the xD-Picture Card format. xD is a niche product, not as popular or ubiquitous as other types of flash memory cards. Small and thin, and about the size of a quarter, it’s comparable in size to Memory Sticks and SD Cards–but it doesn’t hold as much, topping out at a mere 2GB. If you own (or are thinking of buying) a Fujifilm or Olympus digital device and need xD compatibility, that won’t matter. This laptop will make sharing xD data a breeze.

Supports SD Cards

Like most new laptops, this one has either a multiformat card reader or a dedicated slot that accepts an SD (Secure Digital) Card. More popular than Memory Stick, CompactFlash, and xD-Picture Card, SD is found in a large number of digital cameras, PDAs, printers, and other devices. SD Cards have built-in security functions to protect data, including music copyright protection. (The cards have a small write-protection switch on the side similar to that of a floppy disk.) The latest SD card, the microSDHC, is the tiniest flash memory card to date, measuring only 11mm across. It’s also the fastest and roomiest, capable of holding up to 16GB of data.

Supports MultiMediaCards

Any laptop that can work with SD Cards can also take MultiMediaCards in its multiformat card reader. These small, thin cards look like their SD counterparts (and are often lumped into the same category), but the technology inside is different, as these cards lack SD’s encryption and have only half the storage capacity. They’re also slower. If security and speed are not critical issues for you, MultiMediaCard can be a cheaper alternative to the more popular SD; many devices that accept SD will also take the slightly thinner MultiMediaCard. Regardless, this laptop gives you the choice of using either format.

Connect to the Net Via Ethernet Port

Even though Wi-Fi is all the rage, an ethernet connection for wired networking is still a nice thing to have. Ethernet jacks allow for instant connections to the Internet, e-mail, and applications over a fast, secure wired network. Ethernet comes in three speeds: the all-but-obsolete traditional ethernet, limited to 10 megabits per second; fast ethernet, which works at up to 100 megabits per second; and gigabit ethernet, which operates at up to a gigabit per second. If your laptop is equipped with the still-common fast ethernet, it won’t be able to take full advantage of the performance that a gigabit-ethernet network has to offer. But more and more laptops now come with gigabit ethernet, in which case you’re covered for access to the fastest type of wired network.

Windows Vista Installed

Microsoft’s Windows Vista introduces more graphical and functional changes–big and small–than the OS has undergone in quite some time. Among the graphical changes, the splashiest is the glasslike transparency of overlapping windows. Flip 3D, which lets you view open windows in a cascading 3D stack on the desktop, is eye-catching too. And the Windows Sidebar displays small applets on the desktop designed for specialized purposes, such as weather reports or sports scores. On the practical side, the new systemwide integrated Instant Search lets you look for a needed file from practically anywhere and at any time. Keep in mind, however, that because Vista offers so much, it requires a speedy CPU, ample RAM, and a good graphics card. Check out the other components of this laptop to be sure that Vista can run smoothly on it.

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Acer Travelmate TM4200-4831 Notebook

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

Not Much RAM for Multitasking

The more RAM your laptop has, the faster programs will run and the greater number of windows you can work in at one time. If your needs are simple and you rarely do more than two things at once on your PC, the relatively modest amount of memory that comes installed in inexpensive laptops will be enough. Today the standard amount of RAM shipped in most PCs is 2GB. If you like to multitask–say, you want to launch a search for a file and start backing up data to a disc while you watch a news video–you need more memory.

Suited for Commuting and Other Short Trips

Because of its midsize screen and other middle-of-the-road characteristics, this notebook qualifies as an all-purpose portable. Though it might not have the biggest hard drive or all the latest card slots, its features–and accordingly, its price–are a good fit for most people who need to get work done in mainstream applications. On this laptop, you’ll be able to compute comfortably in word processing, spreadsheet, e-mail, and browser applications, and enjoy music or a DVD movie with headphones. This laptop, lighter and easier to carry than a desktop replacement, is also a better choice for commuting and other short trips.

Underpowered Video Hardware Not Suited for Serious Gamers

A video chip set (also called integrated video or Intel video) built into this laptop’s motherboard handles the graphics. Relatively speaking, this video hardware is underpowered. Since the laptop lacks a dedicated graphics card, the integrated chip set has to borrow video memory (an arrangement known as dynamic memory or shared memory) from the main system memory to make images look good. If you play only online trailers or 2D games, integrated video is fine. As long as the laptop has a fairly fast processor, such as a dual-core Intel CPU, even movies should look good and play smoothly. But laptops with integrated video can’t render 3D well and handle sophisticated effects properly. Games will skip, lose details, or stop altogether if the video hardware can’t manage at least 30 frames per second. If gaming is important to you, ante up for a laptop with a dedicated card.

Supports DVD Burning

This laptop is equipped with a DVD burner, a slightly older type of optical drive. If you don’t need the ultrahigh recording capacity of a new Blu-ray optical drive, and you don’t care about watching high-definition movies on your laptop, a DVD burner should suit you fine. It can read and burn data, music, or video discs up to 8.5GB in capacity. A DVD burner is, of course, backward-compatible with CDs, but it cannot play the newer Blu-ray media because the two types of optical-disc technology use different lasers. In a couple of years, Blu-ray will completely replace the DVD disc format.

Supports Memory Stick Cards

Usually, a multiformat card reader, such as the one in this laptop, can accept several different types of flash memory cards, including Memory Sticks. A compact proprietary flash memory card, Memory Stick is a Sony and SanDisk product intended chiefly for Sony devices, including its laptops, digital cameras, camcorders, PDAs, and cell phones, as well as the PlayStation Portable. Five variations have been released since its introduction in 1998–each faster, smaller, and more capacious than the last. Check this laptop’s specs to see how many variations of Memory Stick it can read without an adapter. Not much bigger than a thumbnail, the Memory Stick Micro (aka M2) is the one of the smallest flash memory cards in existence; only the competing microSD, a type of SD Card, is tinier. The 16GB Memory Stick Pro Duo stores the most data.

Supports xD-Picture Cards

If you own a Fujifilm or Olympus digital camera, or an Olympus digital voice recorder, this laptop might be appropriate for you since it can read the xD-Picture Card format. xD is a niche product, not as popular or ubiquitous as other types of flash memory cards. Small and thin, and about the size of a quarter, it’s comparable in size to Memory Sticks and SD Cards–but it doesn’t hold as much, topping out at a mere 2GB. If you own (or are thinking of buying) a Fujifilm or Olympus digital device and need xD compatibility, that won’t matter. This laptop will make sharing xD data a breeze.

Supports SD Cards

Like most new laptops, this one has either a multiformat card reader or a dedicated slot that accepts an SD (Secure Digital) Card. More popular than Memory Stick, CompactFlash, and xD-Picture Card, SD is found in a large number of digital cameras, PDAs, printers, and other devices. SD Cards have built-in security functions to protect data, including music copyright protection. (The cards have a small write-protection switch on the side similar to that of a floppy disk.) The latest SD card, the microSDHC, is the tiniest flash memory card to date, measuring only 11mm across. It’s also the fastest and roomiest, capable of holding up to 16GB of data.

Supports MultiMediaCards

Any laptop that can work with SD Cards can also take MultiMediaCards in its multiformat card reader. These small, thin cards look like their SD counterparts (and are often lumped into the same category), but the technology inside is different, as these cards lack SD’s encryption and have only half the storage capacity. They’re also slower. If security and speed are not critical issues for you, MultiMediaCard can be a cheaper alternative to the more popular SD; many devices that accept SD will also take the slightly thinner MultiMediaCard. Regardless, this laptop gives you the choice of using either format.

Connect to the Net Via Ethernet Port

Even though Wi-Fi is all the rage, an ethernet connection for wired networking is still a nice thing to have. Ethernet jacks allow for instant connections to the Internet, e-mail, and applications over a fast, secure wired network. Ethernet comes in three speeds: the all-but-obsolete traditional ethernet, limited to 10 megabits per second; fast ethernet, which works at up to 100 megabits per second; and gigabit ethernet, which operates at up to a gigabit per second. If your laptop is equipped with the still-common fast ethernet, it won’t be able to take full advantage of the performance that a gigabit-ethernet network has to offer. But more and more laptops now come with gigabit ethernet, in which case you’re covered for access to the fastest type of wired network.

Windows Vista Installed

Microsoft’s Windows Vista introduces more graphical and functional changes–big and small–than the OS has undergone in quite some time. Among the graphical changes, the splashiest is the glasslike transparency of overlapping windows. Flip 3D, which lets you view open windows in a cascading 3D stack on the desktop, is eye-catching too. And the Windows Sidebar displays small applets on the desktop designed for specialized purposes, such as weather reports or sports scores. On the practical side, the new systemwide integrated Instant Search lets you look for a needed file from practically anywhere and at any time. Keep in mind, however, that because Vista offers so much, it requires a speedy CPU, ample RAM, and a good graphics card. Check out the other components of this laptop to be sure that Vista can run smoothly on it.

Be Wary of Battery Life Specs

Take the battery life you see advertised for any laptop with a grain of salt. Why? A few vendors still use unrealistic testing parameters in order to report the longest battery life possible. For example, a “tested” laptop simply might be turned on, with the screen brightness lowered to the darkest level, and allowed to run down without anyone touching it. When the laptop undergoes typical, everyday use–say, with the screen brightness turned up to a readable level and with the user working in several applications or playing a CD or DVD movie–its battery life could be much shorter than a vendor’s claims.

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Acer Aspire AS3003LCI

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

I’m quite satisfied with this machine. Here are some items that haven’t been discussed. The hard drive is partitioned into two equi-sized FAT32 partitions – C: holds the whole Windows install while D: is used for Norton Ghost (cut down version included – nice) backup/recovery (launched with alt-F10 at boot time). There’s plenty of room on D: for data, however. Apparently you can convert C: to NTFS but are warned that converting D: will disable Ghost. 64M of RAM are initially allocated to video. You can free up 32M of this in the BIOS (F2 on boot up) with no obvious video degradation. (Probably only an issue if you stick with the standard 256M. Adding another 256M significantly reduces application load times.) WindowsXP included no updates since SP2 so plan on doing some downloading. Regarding unit size, note the promotional photo used is incorrect. The real left and right screen margins are about 1″, which is more than depicted.

The Acer Aspire 3003LCi is a great choice for notebook shoppers unwilling to settle for minimal features even at $499 (including rebate and store-specific offers; otherwise, the price is $649). All this Windows XP Home-based consumer notebook lacks is productivity software.

Altogether, this good-looking 6-pound portable (weight is without cables and adapter; travel weight is 7 pounds) offers a lot more than most other $500 notebooks: a 15-inch XGA screen, a big 60GB hard drive, a combination DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive for burning your own CDs, and built-in Wi-Fi with a front LED and an off/on button. The comfortable touchpad-equipped keyboard includes extras usually found on more expensive notebooks, such as a separate mouse button with a center four-way scroll, and user-programmable shortcut keys for launching your favorite applications and Web sites at the press of a button. I would be tempted to buy the 3003LCi for its USB-port layout alone, which includes one of these handy all-purpose connections on the front (there are two others).

On top of everything else, the unit performed well: The 3003LCi’s 1.8-GHz Mobile Sempron 3000+ processor and 512MB of RAM helped it edge past two other $500 notebooks PC World tested in early October. Its WorldBench 5 score of 68 is 16 percent faster than a Dell Inspiron 1200′s score of 57, and 11 percent better than an HP Compaq M2000′s score of 60. The Acer can’t match mainstream notebooks, however, lagging the average of recently tested notebooks by about 10 points.

DVD movies looked fine, though the graphics aren’t up for serious game play. And battery life will quickly leave you computing on empty: the unit lasted just 1 hour, 19 minutes in our test.

The 3003LCi has a couple of other flaws: brassy-sounding speakers and hard-to-pry-off panels covering the RAM and hard-drive compartments. But that’s about it. The system comes with a decent, one-year warranty.

Upshot: With its 60GB hard drive, 15-inch screen, built-in Wi-Fi, great keyboard, and decent performance, the $499 Acer Aspire 3003LCi could serve as a good family portable or even a lean desktop replacement.

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Acer Travelmate 3002WTCI

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

Acer Travelmate 3002WTCI is a basic light weight laptop that I can tote around all day without a pain in my shoulder. I was not looking for all the bells and whistles, I have that on my home computer. Just something that can run office documents, strong wifi, decent keyboard size, good connectivity, and this has it all. Add on dvd burner is fine with me. I like not havng the weight unless I need it. The burner itself is very light as well.

Despite some admirable qualities, including great battery life, the Acer TravelMate 3002WTCi would not be my first ultraportable choice. It’s a snazzy-looking little wedge-shaped unit that weighs only 3.2 pounds and costs just $1199 (as of 6/26/2006). However, a clunky external optical drive and a cramped keyboard layout spoil its appeal.

With its optical drive and power adapter, the 3002WTCi weighs a not-very-ultraportable 5.3 pounds. Not only is that external drive something else to keep track of, but it’s a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, which offers far less storage capacity than the rewritable DVD drives found in competing models.

I liked the keyboard’s slant and its four user-programmable quick-launch keys, but it was hard to type on, mainly due to its half-size punctuation keys. I found these keys hard to hit consistently. Ditto for the Page Up and Page Down keys, which are positioned horizontally in the lower right corner instead of vertically down the right side. The four-way scroll button on my unit was so stiff it was almost unusable.

The 3002WTCi is loaded with features, including a vivid 12.1-inch WXGA screen and both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless communications. Each wireless technology has its own handy button on the front of the notebook that serves as a combination status light and on/off switch. The TravelMate’s complement of ports is also generous for a small notebook: Three USB ports, a FireWire port, and a four-in-one-card reader.

The 3002WTCi might be the only notebook on the market right now, ultraportable or full size, that comes standard with not just one but two swappable, rear-mounted batteries, one of which is a high-capacity power pack. Although the three-cell battery lasted only 1.8 hours in our tests, the twice-as-powerful six-cell battery endured an impressive 4.7 hours. The bigger battery extends the back of the unit by an inch but adds only 3 ounces to the total weight. The batteries can’t be hot-swapped, unfortunately, but it’s still nice to have them.

The unit’s speed is decent–the 3002WTCi uses a 1.73-GHz Pentium M processor–but not phenomenal, such as what we’ve seen from models using newer dual-core chips from Intel. As configured with 512MB of RAM, this Acer earned a WorldBench 5 score of 75. That places it in line with the average of 74 earned by four other laptops we’ve tested with a 1.73-GHz Pentium M 740 processor and 512MB of RAM. While the notebook is slower at multitasking in multiple windows because of the single-core processor, it’s plenty fast enough for most applications.

Although this fact isn’t documented, the 3002WTCi is fully user-upgradable: Its 60GB hard drive and two 256MB memory modules are easily accessible via bottom compartments. (The otherwise thorough Acrobat manual omits hard drive upgrades, which led to my removing the wrong set of screws. Hint: The screws are located midcase and labeled with an a??Ha??.) For desktop cable management, a 124-pin connection on the back lets you add Acer’s optional $299 ezDock.

The 3002WTCi is nicely designed overall, and hunt-and-peck typists who do mainstream work on the go might be happy with the compact unit. Others looking for a better typing experience in an ultraportable should keep looking.

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Acer Ferrari 5005WLMI

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

Acer Ferrari 5000-5832 Laptop Computer Now Just $1,329.99

I loved my Ferrari — which is why I got rid of it after 9-months of mostly collecting dust. I discovered shortly after purchase that, not unlike rev limiters on engines, there was a “rev” limit to USB transfer rates — a SERIOUS limit. The maximum transfer rate with external USB2 drives is a paltry 12MB/sec. This is way below the real-world limit of 28-30MB/sec. Even my 5-year old Sager transferred at 28MB/sec. I’m a photographer and work with pocket-sized USB drives to offload images while on location, so a transfer rate less than half the speed it should be, translates into significantly more work time at the end of a long day. The computer was sent in to Acer twice. Each time they stated there was nothing wrong with the notebook. Only, from my standpoint, it was crippled. So as much as I loved it, I sold it. STAY AWAY from this notebook if you have serious work to do and use external hard drives. (P.S. – Firewire speeds were full and normal.)

Notebook shoppers, start your engines. The latest Acer Ferrari laptop is a good choice if you’re looking for something a little different–but not too offbeat–in a home portable. The $2399 (as of 2/6/07) Ferrari 5005WLMi offers better design and battery life than earlier Acer Ferrari models did, and it has some new features and an unusual keyboard.

Acer is the official supplier to the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One racing team, and the 5005WLMi has the candy-apple-red trim of older Ferrari laptops but a comparatively sedate black lid instead of a checkered one. Maintaining the line’s relatively svelte design, the 5005WLMi weighs 6.8 pounds without the power adapter and measures about 1.5 inches thick. The 5005WLMi also has a 15.4-inch WSXGA screen and a cool, slot-fed dual-layer DVD burner.

Other new features–which help justify the price–include an HDMI (high-definition) video connection, a 160GB hard drive, and the new ExpressCard/34 slot that supplements a PC Card reader. The built-in 1.3-megapixel Webcam is one of the better ones included with a notebook: Since it can rotate 225 degrees, you can record in front of or behind the lid, and the Acer Orbicam software provides one-click videos and snapshots.

Equipped with a high-end 2-GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-60 processor and 2GB of DDR2-667 SDRAM, our test unit earned a WorldBench 5 score of 98. Though we have no similarly equipped notebooks in our current all-purpose test pool, we can say that this score basically comes within range of the marks earned by other notebooks with 2-GHz Core Duo and Core 2 Duo processors. The notebook’s nine-cell battery lasted 3 hours, 43 minutes, more than 25 percent longer than previous Ferraris we’ve tested.

A tad easier to upgrade than older Ferrari models, the 5005WLMi has memory slots that are located together in one bottom compartment instead of under the keyboard. Other features–including the five-in-one flash memory-card slot with attached cover, the audio ports, and a FireWire port–are conveniently positioned on the front of the notebook. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless communications have their own separate, front-mounted on and off switches, a very nice touch.

The keyboard layout includes a four-way scrolling button to save time negotiating documents and Web pages, plus four user-programmable quick-launch buttons. The slight 5-degree, U-shaped curve of the keyboard, however, takes some getting used to, as the design makes you hold out your elbows a bit.

The 5005WLMi’s gaming-friendly 256MB ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 video card helped the notebook rank second in our graphics tests among currently tested all-purpose models. Other notebooks, though, are better equipped for pure entertainment, as the Ferrari lacks one-touch DVD and CD access and a subwoofer. Even productivity applications cost extra. But if solid performance, the latest features, and race-car colors rev your engine, take a look.

Popularity: unranked [?]

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Acer Travelmate 6292 TM6292-6700 Notebook

Monday, October 13th, 2008

The best value for a portable laptop. At this price, you won’t find a more powerful 12″ laptop with as good features. Also, it comes with XP instead of Vista so you don’t have to have the hassle of downgrading. But if you do want Vista, it’s not hard to upgrade and all drivers are available. At 12″ it’s quite a mobile laptop, especially w/ the 9-cell battery which lasts close to 6 hours. Even with this large battery, it’s only a little over 4lbs, which is certainly fine for travel. Great to bring to class and you don’t have to plug it in at all until you go back home. At my desk, I plug it into a larger monitor and the built in software to manage external monitors makes it very simple. It only has 1 gig of RAM and a 5400 rpm hard drive, but 5400 rpm is normal and both are easily upgraded. It’s much cheaper to upgrade these yourself than buying them already installed. The built-in speakers are pretty crappy, but all laptop speakers are and you should either be using external speakers or headphones. The edge around the screen is kind of thick, but it’s not a big deal. The construction overall seems quite sturdy.

Not Much RAM for Multitasking

The more RAM your laptop has, the faster programs will run and the greater number of windows you can work in at one time. If your needs are simple and you rarely do more than two things at once on your PC, the relatively modest amount of memory that comes installed in inexpensive laptops will be enough. Today the standard amount of RAM shipped in most PCs is 2GB. If you like to multitask–say, you want to launch a search for a file and start backing up data to a disc while you watch a news video–you need more memory.

Underpowered Video Hardware Not Suited for Serious Gamers

A video chip set (also called integrated video or Intel video) built into this laptop’s motherboard handles the graphics. Relatively speaking, this video hardware is underpowered. Since the laptop lacks a dedicated graphics card, the integrated chip set has to borrow video memory (an arrangement known as dynamic memory or shared memory) from the main system memory to make images look good. If you play only online trailers or 2D games, integrated video is fine. As long as the laptop has a fairly fast processor, such as a dual-core Intel CPU, even movies should look good and play smoothly. But laptops with integrated video can’t render 3D well and handle sophisticated effects properly. Games will skip, lose details, or stop altogether if the video hardware can’t manage at least 30 frames per second. If gaming is important to you, ante up for a laptop with a dedicated card.

Supports DVD Burning

This laptop is equipped with a DVD burner, a slightly older type of optical drive. If you don’t need the ultrahigh recording capacity of a new Blu-ray optical drive, and you don’t care about watching high-definition movies on your laptop, a DVD burner should suit you fine. It can read and burn data, music, or video discs up to 8.5GB in capacity. A DVD burner is, of course, backward-compatible with CDs, but it cannot play the newer Blu-ray media because the two types of optical-disc technology use different lasers. In a couple of years, Blu-ray will completely replace the DVD disc format.

Supports Memory Stick Cards

Usually, a multiformat card reader, such as the one in this laptop, can accept several different types of flash memory cards, including Memory Sticks. A compact proprietary flash memory card, Memory Stick is a Sony and SanDisk product intended chiefly for Sony devices, including its laptops, digital cameras, camcorders, PDAs, and cell phones, as well as the PlayStation Portable. Five variations have been released since its introduction in 1998–each faster, smaller, and more capacious than the last. Check this laptop’s specs to see how many variations of Memory Stick it can read without an adapter. Not much bigger than a thumbnail, the Memory Stick Micro (aka M2) is the one of the smallest flash memory cards in existence; only the competing microSD, a type of SD Card, is tinier. The 16GB Memory Stick Pro Duo stores the most data.

Supports xD-Picture Cards

If you own a Fujifilm or Olympus digital camera, or an Olympus digital voice recorder, this laptop might be appropriate for you since it can read the xD-Picture Card format. xD is a niche product, not as popular or ubiquitous as other types of flash memory cards. Small and thin, and about the size of a quarter, it’s comparable in size to Memory Sticks and SD Cards–but it doesn’t hold as much, topping out at a mere 2GB. If you own (or are thinking of buying) a Fujifilm or Olympus digital device and need xD compatibility, that won’t matter. This laptop will make sharing xD data a breeze.

Supports SD Cards

Like most new laptops, this one has either a multiformat card reader or a dedicated slot that accepts an SD (Secure Digital) Card. More popular than Memory Stick, CompactFlash, and xD-Picture Card, SD is found in a large number of digital cameras, PDAs, printers, and other devices. SD Cards have built-in security functions to protect data, including music copyright protection. (The cards have a small write-protection switch on the side similar to that of a floppy disk.) The latest SD card, the microSDHC, is the tiniest flash memory card to date, measuring only 11mm across. It’s also the fastest and roomiest, capable of holding up to 16GB of data.

Supports MultiMediaCards

Any laptop that can work with SD Cards can also take MultiMediaCards in its multiformat card reader. These small, thin cards look like their SD counterparts (and are often lumped into the same category), but the technology inside is different, as these cards lack SD’s encryption and have only half the storage capacity. They’re also slower. If security and speed are not critical issues for you, MultiMediaCard can be a cheaper alternative to the more popular SD; many devices that accept SD will also take the slightly thinner MultiMediaCard. Regardless, this laptop gives you the choice of using either format.

Connect to the Net Via Ethernet Port

Even though Wi-Fi is all the rage, an ethernet connection for wired networking is still a nice thing to have. Ethernet jacks allow for instant connections to the Internet, e-mail, and applications over a fast, secure wired network. Ethernet comes in three speeds: the all-but-obsolete traditional ethernet, limited to 10 megabits per second; fast ethernet, which works at up to 100 megabits per second; and gigabit ethernet, which operates at up to a gigabit per second. If your laptop is equipped with the still-common fast ethernet, it won’t be able to take full advantage of the performance that a gigabit-ethernet network has to offer. But more and more laptops now come with gigabit ethernet, in which case you’re covered for access to the fastest type of wired network.

Windows XP Installed

Currently Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system remains an option for sub-$600 mini-notebooks (also known as “netbooks”). Although it debuted back in 2001, XP is still popular among many computer users, especially in businesses that have standardized on the OS and have no desire to switch to the 3D-heavy Vista. XP introduced a lot of the useful built-in applications we now take for granted, including the ability to burn CDs, as well as Remote Desktop, which lets telecommuters connect to another XP computer across a network or the Internet and access their programs and files. This streamlined operating system should run fine on this notebook.

Be Wary of Battery Life Specs

Take the battery life you see advertised for any laptop with a grain of salt. Why? A few vendors still use unrealistic testing parameters in order to report the longest battery life possible. For example, a “tested” laptop simply might be turned on, with the screen brightness lowered to the darkest level, and allowed to run down without anyone touching it. When the laptop undergoes typical, everyday use–say, with the screen brightness turned up to a readable level and with the user working in several applications or playing a CD or DVD movie–its battery life could be much shorter than a vendor’s claims.

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Acer Ferrari 4000

Monday, October 13th, 2008

When I think of racing, I think of ear-bleeding engine noise and fiery multicar pileups. Maybe that’s why I initially steered clear of the Acer Ferrari 4000 with its black-checkered lid and “EAARRRrrrrrooom!” startup sound. (Acer says you can turn this off in Control Panel, Sounds and Audio Devices, Sounds.) But beneath its novelty exterior, this all-purpose notebook is well equipped, starting with AMD’s cutting-edge 64-bit mobile CPU, the Turion 64.

The case, trimmed in Ferrari-red carbon fiber, is solidly built. The front is a jumble of multiple slots, ports, and lights; but it conveniently includes a five-in-one card reader, microphone and headphone ports, and battery and power status lights. The front also has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi LED buttons, which are more convenient than software settings for controlling and monitoring your wireless connections. The right side of the case contains a removable slot-fed DVD burner and three of the laptop’s four USB ports. On the rear, sits a DVI port and a 124-pin connector for Acer’s EzDock port replicator. The left of the case contains a standard VGA port.

Notable among the Ferrari 4000′s multimedia talents is its ability to play good-looking DVD movies on a 1680-by-1050-pixel WSXGA+ 15.4-inch wide screen. Too bad the front-mounted speakers sound merely average and the machine lacks volume and other media-control buttons. Acer does include the handy GridVista utility, which lets you drag and drop application windows into one of four grid windows of preset size.

The Ferrari 4000 is the first Top 15 Notebooks candidate to have AMD’s Turion processor–the 1.8-GHz Turion 64 ML-34. With that CPU and 1GB of RAM, the machine earned a respectable WorldBench 5 score of 85. By comparison, IBM’s ThinkPad T43–the best-performing notebook we’ve seen with a 1.86-GHz Pentium M 750 processor–earned a WorldBench 5 score of 84. The Acer’s eight-cell battery is a big grooved power pack that forms most the laptop’s rear; it lasted for 3 hours, a slightly below-average mark.

Like most other Acer keyboards, this one curves up 5 degrees on the endsan ergonomic design intended to help typists avoid carpal tunnel syndrome. It’s easy to get the hang of typing on the Ferrari 4000: Just swing your elbows out to get your hands positioned correctly. The only problem I encountered was that the touchpad’s four-way scroll button on the test unit never functioned. The notebook comes with a Bluetooth mouse as well.

The Ferrari 4000 is pit-crew friendly, with memory slots and a hard drive that are accessible to and upgradable by users. They sit in separate bottom compartments under covers that are held in place by small screws. You can remove the optical drive, too; but Acer doesn’t sell any other devices for the modular bay. Though we didn’t receive any user manuals with our test unit, Acer says that the notebook comes with an Acrobat manual on the hard drive.

Upshot: This good-quality wide-screen model bundles such extras as a wireless Bluetooth mouse; and racing fanatics will like the Ferrari motif.

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Acer Aspire 5920G

Monday, October 13th, 2008

The Acer Aspire 5920G sophisticated-looking multimedia unit has oodles of custom keyboard buttons, plus one-touch presets for music.

Armed with a fast processor and solid speakers, the $1999 (as of July 24, 2007) Acer Aspire 5920G is great for both work and entertainment. It bears Acer’s tritone “gemstone” case design, which looks stylish without being overly ornate. The screen is prone to some glare and battery life is so-so, but the machine can handle most types of applications.

Driven by a 2-GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 processor and configured with 2GB of DDR2-667 SDRAM , the 5920G notched a very good WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 77–a few points above the mark achieved by a Dell Inspiron 1720 that carried the same processor and RAM. The Aspire’s average frame rate in our graphics tests was 83 frames per second–not close to the average of 100 fps posted by recent gaming notebooks, but capable of supporting good game play nonetheless.

The 5920G lacks the dedicated number pad found on some other desktop replacements, but it offers two sets of customizable buttons. Application launch buttons and a Wi-Fi toggle switch sit on the left side of the keyboard; media controls occupy the right side.

The media controls include a button for launching Acer’s Arcade interface, which provides direct access to HD DVD movie and music playback without your having to boot up Windows. Both sounded great through this notebook’s subwoofer-assisted stereo speakers. The ‘e’ button–a blue sparkly triangular piece of keyboard trim that looks like a faux gemstone–puts sound equalizer options such as rock, pop, and classical within easy reach. This laptop also includes a 1.3-megapixel Webcam. Unfortunately, the option to get an integrated TV tuner for the 5920G is available only in Europe and Asia.

The 5920G felt comfortable to use. The mouse buttons are slightly stiff, but the four-way scroll button for moving pages in any direction is nice. Overall its keyboard is great, especially for shortcut fans. Though the super-glossy Acer CrystalBrite screen reflects fluorescent office lights unless you tilt it just right, it’s bright and easy to read otherwise.

This Windows Vista Ultimate home notebook lacks bundled applications, but it has power and style to spare. Short-list this one if you’re on the prowl for a trendy home desktop replacement.

Popularity: 1% [?]

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Acer Aspire ONE

Monday, October 13th, 2008

This 2lb 8.9″ laptop is fabulous. the screen is good sized and the LCD brightness quality is adjustable from dim to bright. There’s a plentiful 3 USB ports, VGA out, mic in and audio out. This netbook comes with a webcam and mic so you really won’t need a mic in. There’s a SD card slot for transferring photos to your netbook and a kensington security slot for locking down your netbook to something unmovable. Overall, the keyboard quality is fairly good for something this small. Response is good but the the touch pad mouse is something that is not well liked. It’s small and the left and right clickers are difficult to tap, almost requiring a sturdy press. But that’s not a huge problem because you can plug in a USB mouse to it. The netbook is stylish and the LCD hinges are STURDY. The wireless network card is quick and responsive, locking into my wireless network at home without problems. I read that many users have problems with the noisy fan but I really do not hear fan. In fact, I think the newer models might be fanless!

Popularity: unranked [?]

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