RANDOM NEWSBYTES
Acer's wide-body Gemstone Blue notebook will play Blu-ray discs
TONY WALTHAM
The new Acer Aspire Gemstone Blue 6920G has a slightly offset keyboard. |
Acer is the market leader here for notebook PCs, offering many models in various categories while addressing different markets such as "slim and light," "ultimate gaming" and "mobile traveller," to name just three categories listed on the company's web site.
The latest Acer Aspire Gemstone Blue 6920G, under review here, is not yet listed on the web site, but it looks as if the company may need to create yet another category for this 16:9 aspect ratio wide-screen notebook that has a Blu-ray HD drive, a Dolby 2.0 speaker system and a dashing media console that nudges the keyboard off to one side.
The stylish Gemstone Blue 6920G was clearly designed with entertainment uppermost in mind and the 1,920 by 1,080 (WUXGA) 16-inch display is a perfect match for high definition movies you can play on its Blu-ray drive, while also maximising the potential screen space for applications.
The other side of the coin with such high-resolution displays is the relatively small size of text on the screen, although it should be said that most applications allow you to change the size of displayed text - and it's not that bad, in fact.
This resolution provides the added fine detail that can make movies and game scenes much more life-like and I must say I was truly impressed with the quality of several movie trailers in hi-def format that were on a sample Blu-ray disc provided. Now that the competing HD DVD format - supported by Toshiba and Microsoft- has keeled over, Acer's Gemstone Blue is well-positioned for HD movie early-adopters with its Blu-ray drive, which is also able to write dual-layer DVDs, by the way.
The size of the display and 16:9 format adds two centimetres to the width of the notebook compared to its predecessor, the Aspire Gemstone 5920G, making it one of the widest notebooks around at 38.5cm. And it took a bit of stretching and jiggling to shoe-horn it into my standard back-pack, which I could just manage to zip closed.
Comparing these two models further, the new Gemstone Blue looks sleeker and its LEDs are less distracting, having a deep blue glow at each side of the screen hinge and with more discreet indicators of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth activity. The lid is a rich, glossy deep navy blue, verging on black, while the Acer logo glows silver white when active.
The Gemstone Blue 6920G's media console in close-up. |
When the unit is opened up, a glossy black keyboard is revealed, with the CineDash media console off to the left providing media controls - volume, play, pause, advance/"rewind", etc. - and which works with Acer's Arcade Deluxe software or Windows Media Centre. You can disable this panel if you need to, although I didn't have any problems accidentally triggering media while typing.
The keyboard, which is offset to the right, takes a little getting used to, considering that the touch-pad remains in the centre of the unit. Nor was I too enamoured with the response of the keys, which seemed to need a slightly longer thrust while typing than my fingers were used to.
I also detected a little flex in the middle of the keyboard and this, combined with the need to push further down than I am accustomed to, caused occasional frustration when I missed a letter or two while typing.
The area in front of the keyboard is a dappled, matte silver grey, including the touch pad itself, where the response was just right for navigating with the mouse, although I'd recommend using an external mouse for extended gaming sessions where a lot of mousing around is required since the non-smooth finish can be a little rough on your fingertips.
The overall appearance is pleasing, and the screen swings back and then drops down slightly on firm hinges - thus, if anything, making the profile of the Gemstome Blue even more sleek when ready for action.
Connectivity options are good, but with a single serious omission. There are four USB ports, three on the left hand side and one to the right, video out, a six-in-one memory card reader as well as an ExpressCard slot and an HDMI out with HDCP support. Plus there is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless, plus Gigabit Ethernet and a built-in modem.
But, as I found to my surprise, there's no FireWire interface. And, as luck would have it, the first task I had decided to perform with the evaluation unit was to capture some video stored on mini-DV tapes. Then I had been planning to edit this, but I discovered that couldn't connect the notebook to the video camera. Acer's first-generation Gemstones had FireWire, so I wonder why Acer decided to skip on this - physically, it's such a small port, too.
All the input or output sockets are aligned along the sides of the computer, with none at the front or the rear. This is good thinking, I'd say, since USB and other ports are far easier to locate and connect along the sides of a notebook than at the back, and connectors at the front look awkward when in use.
There is also a fingerprint scanner as well as a webcam which is becoming a standard feature on notebook PCs these days.
The supplied OS is a 32-bit version of Windows Vista Ultimate (SP1), which seemed quite happy powered by the Intel T9300, Core2 Duo processor running at 2.5GHz with a 6MB L2 cache, an 800MHz FSB and 4GB of DDR2-667 RAM to play in. The system comes with an ample 320GB hard disk as well.
Bundled applications include a trial version of Microsoft Office and also Microsoft Works - which should be enough for casual correspondence (remember to save files in an Office-compatible format) - while there are the usual Acer utilities and McAfee's security suite is also bundled.
Performance, as might be expected from a new machine with such specifications, was smooth and graceful, and the Aspire Gemstone Blue took all the applications that I could throw at it in its stride.
This notebook accompanied me on a few international trips and with any full-size notebook I strongly recommend a back-pack for convenience when travelling along with the adapter-charger, associated accessories and accoutrements.
By contrast, an "executive" bag just emphasises the weight of any notebook when it is slung across one shoulder - and since the Gemstone Blue clocks in at 3.5kg its rightful place when you're on the move is most definitely on your back.
Indeed, there is a lot of talk today about nettops and netbooks, but - call me old-fashioned if you will - I believe that (screen) size matters and if you travel with a good backpack then the weight, give or take a kilogramme or two, scarcely makes a difference if you can afford the larger form-factor. Indeed, the bigger the screen the better, which brings me to another point: Today, a good, large LCD display - say of the order of 22-inches - will set you back less than 15,000 baht or so. So go for it, while travelling be content with your 16-inches, but when back at your desk take advantage of a second display.
Extend your desktop and become more productive and today you can afford to see "the big picture."
This advice should apply to all notebook owners with any size of display, and you might be surprised how useful it is to have two large screens in front of you, one for reference purposes, such as web sites or documents (or for entertainment, even) with the other being for work, correspondence or email.
The Acer Aspire Gemstone Blue 6920G reflects a maturing of the Gemstone series that de'buted last year with a more clearer identification with entertainment, although that will not prevent you from being productive when using it for work.
------------
Specs
Acer Aspire Gemstone Blue 6920G
Processor: Intel Core2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz
Memory: 4GB (2 x 2GB)
HD Capacity: 320GB
Display: 16in. HD WUXGA CrystalBrite
Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce 9500M GS 512MB
Operating System: Windows Vista Ultimate
Optical Drive: Blu-ray
Networking: Gigabit Ethernet LAN, Wireless N WLAN, Bluetooth 2.0
Sound: Dolby-certified 5.1 surround sound system (2 speakers + subwoofer)
Features: HDMI, CrystalEye Camera, Finger Print Recognition, 6-in-1 Card Reader
Price: 65,900 baht (not including VAT).
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Next
