Acer Aspire 5735Z Review

Pros

• Good build quality
• Beautiful screen
• Comfortable keyboard
• Decent performance
• Two hours and fifty minutes of battery life
• Excellent wireless
• Runs cool and quiet

Cons

• Could use a few more input/output ports
• Loud touchpad buttons
• Lots of pre-loaded junk software

The Aspire 5735-4744 has the following specifications:

• 15.6” WXGA glossy display (16:9 aspect ratio, 1366x768 resolution, model AUO10EC)
• Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit
• Intel Pentium Dual-Core T3200 processor (2.0GHz/1MB L2/667MHz FSB)
• 2GB DDR2-667 RAM
• 160GB 5400RPM hard drive (Western Digital WD1600BEVT)
• Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics
• Intel GL40 chipset
• Atheros AR5B91 802.11 Draft-N wireless
• DVD Super-Multi drive
• Full-size keyboard w/ number pad
• Weight: 5.9 lbs
• Dimensions: 15.1” (W) x 9.9” (D) x 1.5” (H)
• Six-cell battery (11.1V, 46Wh/4600mAh)
• One-year limited warranty

I picked up the 5735-4744 for $399.99 plus sales tax at Best Buy. The specifications are more than reasonable for the amount of money paid. There are higher-end configurations available with larger hard drives and more RAM, but they are naturally priced higher.

Build and Design
The 5735Z has a no-frills plastic construction and a relatively simple design. It feels surprisingly solid in the hand, and despite the all-plastic construction, generally does not flex. The 5735Z has a sound internal frame since the chassis is stiff resists flexing. The palmrests are inflexible, as are the surfaces surrounding the keyboard. The bottom of the notebook is made of thicker plastic than I expected and also does not flex. There are no squeaks or creaks while handling the notebook.

The plastic surrounding the keyboard is a smooth dark gray color with a non-glossy finish, which seems to be relatively durable. The lid and screen casing are a glossy black plastic, which attracts fingerprints easily and is more prone to scratches than the dark gray plastic. The bottom and sides of the notebook are a textured black plastic, which is more durable than the other plastics used.

The lid is secured to the chassis by two strong hinges that do not let the display wobble. The lid itself resists twisting well, partly because of its stocky shape since it has wider than usual 16:9 aspect screen that lends more support. Pushing in on the back of the display will yield small ripples on the screen, but only if abnormal pressure is used. When closed, the lid is securely held down by a latch.

The design of the 5735Z is simplistic. The notebook is quite wide relative to its width, again due to the 16:9 aspect ultra-widescreen display. The 5735Z places function ahead of form.

The 5735Z is not built like a tank, but it has pleasantly sturdy build quality and feels solid. This notebook should be able to stand up to everyday use and last for many years if proper care is taken.

Screen
The Aspire 5735Z has one of the new 16:9 aspect ratio displays; most notebooks have 16:10 displays, so 16:9 screens are wider than usual. The 5735Z’s panel measures 15.6” diagonally and has a 1366x768 pixels resolution (a typical 16:10 display is 15.4” diagonally and has a 1280x800 resolution). It takes some time to get used to the extra-wide 16:9 display. Only 768 pixels of vertical space mean a lot of scrolling, but it is difficult to throw up any flags here given the price point of this notebook. The extra wide resolution means working with two windows side-by-side is doable.

The picture quality of the display is beautiful. The display, made by AU Optronics (model AUO10EC), has an 8 ms response time and is advertised to have a 33% wider color gamut (color range). The colors are vibrant and contrast is very good. The display has ample brightness. There is some light leakage from the bottom of the screen, but it is unnoticeable unless the screen is completely black. Side-to-side viewing angles are decent, with minimal color inversion. Colors invert sharply from above and below, but this is normal for an LCD panel.
Overall, the display beat my expectations and is pleasing to look at. The resolution is a bit limited in terms of vertical space, but it is difficult to complain.

Speakers
There are two stereo speakers located above the keyboard. These are typical notebook speakers, with little to no bass and they sound rather tinny. For a more enjoyable audio experience, use a pair of headphones or speakers.

The 5735Z has volume up/down buttons right above the speakers, which are convenient and a welcome addition to any notebook.

Processor and Performance
I will run a few benchmarks on the 5735Z to demonstrate its performance capabilities.

Windows Experience Index (WEI) is a benchmark built into Windows Vista. It scores various components of a computer out of 5.9. Higher scores are better.

The 5735Z is held back by its integrated graphics, which bring the score down to an average 3.5. The other components – the processor, memory, and hard drive – have reasonably high scores.

wPrime is an arithmetic benchmark that forces the processor to calculate the square roots of numbers. Lower times are better.

This time places the Intel Pentium Dual-Core T3200 within 15% of the performance of a Core 2 Duo with a similar frequency (around 2.0 – 2.2GHz). The T3200 is essentially a Core 2 Duo with reduced specifications.

HDTune tests the read, write, and access time of a hard drive. Higher numbers are better for transfer rates, and lower for access time.

The Western Digital 160GB 5400RPM drive posts some nice results. An average transfer rate of 50MB/s is very respectable for a 5400RPM hard drive. This particular drive, the WD1600BEVT, has a single platter, which greatly helps performance.

The Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics card is designed to lower costs and save energy while providing enough power for smooth video playback and light 3D applications. We run 3DMark06 to compare it to other graphics cards:

A typical gaming notebook scores north of 3,500 points in this benchmark, so gamers will obviously not be flocking to the 5735Z.

Heat and Noise
A single fan on the left side of the 5735Z keeps its internal components cool. The fan is always on but is difficult to hear, even in a quiet room. There is minimal noise even at full tilt. The surface temperatures of the notebook are docile, not more than 10-20 degrees above room temperature in most places. The bottom of the notebook gets about ten degrees warmer than on the top. The heat generated by this notebook is insignificant – there is not much of it to begin with.

Keyboard and Touchpad
A computer’s input devices, especially the keyboard, are of utmost importance to me when it comes to buying a computer. The 5735Z does well in this area. The full-size keyboard and separate numeric keypad have good tactile feedback. The feel is a bit soft but movements are defined enough to allow accurate typing. There is some flex in the center of the keyboard but it does not detract from the overall typing experience. The keys have a matte non-slip surface. The four column numeric keypad is a very welcome addition to this notebook. For someone like me that does spreadsheet work all the time, it is a valuable asset.

The touchpad is proportional to the screen dimensions. It has a matte surface and is easy to track on. The two buttons are very loud, so be sure to tap-to-click in quiet places instead of using the buttons. The 5735Z’s touchpad has some unique features. Using two fingers in a pinching motion will zoom in and out, and moving a finger in a circular motion will scroll.

Input and Output Ports
Let’s take a short picture tour. All descriptions are left to right.

Left Side: VGA monitor port, Ethernet, 3x USB 2.0, microphone, headphone, media card reader

Right Side: Optical drive, 56k modem, AC power jack, Kensington lock slot

Back: Vent exhaust

Front: Display latch

The 5735Z does not have a lot to offer in terms of connections, but I imagine a few USB ports and the Ethernet jack will be all most buyers of this laptop require. The memory card reader is an added bonus.

Wireless
The 5735Z comes with an Atheros AR5B91 wireless card supporting 802.11a/b/g/draft-N bands. Wireless range and signal strength is excellent, superior to the wireless solution in my HP Pavilion dv5t. I had no trouble connecting to a variety of wireless networks. It is surprising to see a draft-N wireless card in a budget notebook.

Battery
The included six-cell battery is rated for 11.1V and 46Wh/4600mAh. This battery’s capacity is not particularly high but is on par with the six-cell batteries in competing notebooks. In power-saving mode with the screen brightness at half, I measured two hours and fifty minutes of life while surfing the Internet. Only the buyer can determine whether this time is sufficient; for my personal use, it is more than enough.

Operating System and Software
The 5735-4744 comes pre-loaded with Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1. Usually very inexpensive notebooks like this one come with Vista Home Basic, a cheaper and more limited version of Windows, so Home Premium is nice to see.

Acer includes many pre-installed utilities, including Acer GridVista and Acer Empowering Technology. NTI Backup Now! Software is included and allows you to make a backup of your entire hard drive. A lot of "bloatware," or junk software, is also pre-loaded. I spent upwards of thirty minutes uninstalling games and other garbage from the Control Panel.

Conclusion
Computers like the Acer Aspire 5735Z show just how far a few hundred dollars can go. For as little as $400-450 you can buy a very capable notebook that is ready to tackle everyday tasks on the go. The Aspire 5735Z has solid build quality, a great screen, comfortable keyboard with separate number pad, and almost three hours of battery life to boot. For those looking for an inexpensive machine with the above qualities, the Acer Aspire 5735Z should be at the very top of the list.

Pros:

• Good build quality
• Beautiful screen
• Comfortable keyboard
• Decent performance
• Two hours and fifty minutes of battery life
• Excellent wireless
• Runs cool and quiet

Cons:

• Could use a few more input/output ports
• Loud touchpad buttons
• Lots of pre-loaded junk software

Acer Aspire One D250 Review

Acer managed to strike gold in the middle of a global economic crisis thanks to their affordable Acer Aspire One netbooks. These low-cost, ultraportable laptops have quickly become popular travel companions for people who don't want to haul a heavy notebook to Starbucks. The latest 10-inch Acer Aspire One, the D250 series, offers a great balance of features at a starting price of less than $300. Read on to find out more about the Acer Aspire One D250-1165

Our Acer Aspire One D250-1165 features the following specifications:

• Operating System: Genuine Windows XP
• Processor: Intel Atom N270 Processor 1.60GHz
• Memory: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM (533MHz)
• Internal Storage: 160GB 5400 rpm SATA HDD
• Display: 10.1-inch diagonal WSVGA+ (1024x600)
• Graphics: Intel GMA 950
• Wireless: 54g Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
• Expansion: 5-in-1 media card slot
• Ports and connectors: (3) USB 2.0 ports, VGA OUT, power connector, RJ-45/Ethernet (10/100), stereo headphone/line out, stereo microphone in, 0.3 megapixel (VGA) webcam
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 1 x 10.2 x 7.2 inches (including feet)
• Weight: 2.4 lbs (not including weight of AC adapter).
• Power: 3-cell Lithium-Ion battery (2200mAh, 25Wh)
• Warranty: One-year standard warranty
• MSRP: $329.99 ($299.95 Retail Price)
  

Build and Design
The Acer Aspire One D250-1165 is a low-cost version of the new D250 series netbooks and features a smaller battery and no Bluetooth in order to drop the retail price below $300. One very interesting item of note is that the D250 is actually slightly thinner than the original Acer Aspire One 150 series which used a smaller 8.9-inch screen. Like the original Aspire One, the D250 uses glossy plastics on the top of the screen cover as well as around the entire LCD. At times the reflective boarder does get on your nerves if you are in a brightly lit room with many sources of glare.

Build quality looks quite good and the construction feels strong enough to handle being tossed around inside a book bag without much concern for its safety (well apart from possible scratches to the glossy surfaces). We detected some flexing in the LCD lid plastics and bottom of the chassis when we squeezed the D250 while holding it folded in half, but overall this is a solid little netbook.

One nice design feature in the D250 is easy access for upgrades. Compared to the original Acer Aspire One, the D250 is extremely easy to upgrade. Flip the netbook over and you'll find three access panels for the hard drive, RAM, and the mini-PCIe card slot. The mini-PCIe card slot is obviously open for built-in broadband wireless access, so you should be able to buy this netbook directly from wireless carriers depending on the carriers and data plans in your area.

Screen and Speakers
The new Aspire One uses a fairly standard LED-backlit display panel with a 1024x600 native resolution. The glossy screen looks identical to what we're seeing in most netbooks: the glossy screen offers good color and contrast, but glare and reflections indoors under strong lights or outdoors under direct sunlight can be a problem. Again, although the 1024x600 resolution is pretty standard for a netbook these days, I'd much rather see a 1366x768 screen in the next Aspire One. Vertical viewing angles are average, with some strong color inversion when viewing from below and some over-exposed colors when viewed from above. Horizontal viewing angles are better with colors staying accurate at extremely wide viewing angles.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The Aspire One D250 uses a surprisingly cramped keyboard that is virtually identical to the keyboard used on the original Aspire One 150 series. Considering that the original Aspire One was a smaller netbook with a 8.9-inch screen it's rather disappointing that Acer didn't use a larger keyboard. Despite the small key size, the typing surface feels strong with no keyboard flex and individual keys feel strong with no wobble. One aspect that I really enjoy about the keyboard layout is the dedicated page up and page down buttons.

Still, the cramped keyboard will cause problems for more than a few owners. Since the keys are small and unusually close together you have to look at the keys when typing rather than using touch typing methods. Here's a quick example of what I can type when looking at the keys:

"This is what it's like to type a document on the Acer Aspire One keyboard if you are looking at the keys."

Here's a quick example of what I can type using the traditional touch typing method:

"This is ehat it's like to type a document on the Acer Aspore One keyboard ig you are looking st the screen."

The Synaptics touchpad used on the D250 is a little small considering that most 10-inch netbooks are getting larger touchpads these days. The touchpad is gesture-enabled and this allows you to use multi-finger gestures such as "pinching" your fingers together or "pulling" your fingers apart to zoom in or out. You can also use a spiral motion to activate the "chiral scroll" feature. The Synaptics control panel in Windows also allows you to customize these gestures as well. The touchpad surface provides smooth, fluid movement but the small size takes some getting used to. The left and right touchpad buttons are located beneath a single rocker-style button, but with no separation between the left and right side it's easy to accidentally press the middle of the touchpad button when you're trying to press the left or right side. The touchpad buttons have extremely shallow feedback, so it isn't always easy to feel when you have or have not pressed a button.

The D250 also includes a dedicated wireless on/off switch on the front of the notebook--something that's nice to have when traveling and isn't available on many netbooks from other manufacturers.

Input and Output Ports
The Aspire One D250 provides a good selection of ports despite the thin profile of the chassis. You get three USB 2.0 ports, a 5-in-1 media card reader, headphone and microphone jacks, Ethernet port, and a standard VGA out port. It's nice to see a standard set of ports considering that several other netbooks sacrifice ports in order to achieve a thin profile.

Here is a quick tour around the Acer Aspire One D250-1165:

Front view: Wi-Fi on/off switch.

Rear view: No ports here, just the hinges and battery.

Left side view: Ethernet, heat vent, VGA out, USB 2.0 port, microphone and headphone jacks.

Right side view: 5-in-1 card reader, two USB 2.0 ports, power jack and security lock slot.

Performance and Benchmarks
There isn't much to be said in the performance section of a netbook review. If you've read our reviews of other netbooks that use the Intel Atom processors then you know that all Atom-based netbooks have nearly identical performance in terms of actual real-world use. Overall performance with the Intel Atom platform is very reasonable for daily activities like Web browsing, email, using Microsoft Office, listening to music, and watching standard definition (480p) movies. If you're in a bind you can even use photo editing software like Photoshop or GIMP for basic image editing.

The weak performance of the Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics combined with the Intel Atom means this isn't going to be your next multimedia laptop. The integrated graphics processor (IGP) is powerful enough to handle displaying a PowerPoint presentation on a projector or watching DVD quality video, but a netbook with this hardware is really only intended to provide "good enough" performance for quick Web access while you're away from your primary PC.

wPrime processor comparison results (lower scores mean better performance):

Notebook / CPU	wPrime 32M time
Sony VAIO TZ (Core 2 Duo U7600 @ 1.20GHz)	76.240 seconds
HP Pavilion dv2 (AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 @ 1.60GHz)	103.521 seconds
ASUS Eee PC 1000HE (Intel Atom N280 @ 1.66GHz)	114.749 seconds
ASUS Eee PC 1008HA (Intel Atom N280 @ 1.66GHz)	116.030 seconds
ASUS Eee PC 1005HA (Intel Atom N280 @ 1.66GHz)	116.421 seconds
HP Mini 2140 with HD screen (Intel Atom N270 @ 1.60GHz)	123.281 seconds
Acer Aspire One D250-1165 (Intel Atom N270 @ 1.60GHz)	124.829 seconds
Acer Aspire One 150-1635 (Intel Atom @ 1.60GHz)	125.812 seconds
Lenovo IdeaPad S10 (2009) (Intel Atom @ 1.60GHz)	126.406 seconds
Samsung NC20 (VIA Nano ULV U2250 @ 1.30GHz)	173.968 seconds

PCMark05 measures overall system performance (higher scores mean better performance):

Notebook	PCMark05 Score
Sony VAIO TZ (1.20GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U7600, Intel GMA 950)	2,446 PCMarks
HP Pavilion dv2 (1.60GHz AMD Athlon Neo, ATI Radeon HD 3410 512MB)	2,191 PCMarks
ASUS N10 (1.60GHz Intel Atom, NVIDIA 9300M 256MB)	1,851 PCMarks
Toshiba Portege R500 (1.20GHz Intel Core 2 Duo U7600, Intel GMA 950)	1,839 PCMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1005HA (1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, Intel GMA 950)	1,637 PCMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1008HA (1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, Intel GMA 950)	1,564 PCMarks
Acer Aspire One 150-1635 (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	1,555 PCMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1000HE (1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, Intel GMA 950)	1,535 PCMarks
Acer Aspire One D250-1165 (1.60GHz Intel Atom N270, Intel GMA 950)	1,456 PCMarks
Samsung NC20 (1.30GHz VIA Nano ULV U2250, VIA Chrome9 HC3)	1,441 PCMarks
HP Mini 2140 with HD screen (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GM1 950)	1,437 PCMarks

3DMark06 comparison results against netbooks @ 1024 x 768 resolution:

Notebook	3DMark06 Score
HP Pavilion dv2 (1.60GHz AMD Athlon Neo, ATI Radeon HD 3410 512MB)	1,520 3DMarks
ASUS N10 (1.60GHz Intel Atom, NVIDIA 9300M 256MB)	1,417 3DMarks
Samsung NC20 (1.30GHz VIA Nano ULV U2250, VIA Chrome9 HC3)	151 3DMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1005HA (1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, Intel GMA 950)	127 3DMarks
Acer Aspire One 150-1635 (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 950)	122 3DMarks
Acer Aspire One D250-1165 (1.60GHz Intel Atom N270, Intel GMA 950)	120 3DMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1008HA (1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, Intel GMA 950)	116 3DMarks
HP Mini 2140 with HD screen (1.60GHz Intel Atom, Intel GM1 950)	112 3DMarks
ASUS Eee PC 1000HE (1.66GHz Intel Atom N280, Intel GMA 950)	92 3DMarks
Sony VAIO P (1.33GHz Intel Atom, Intel GMA 500, Windows Vista)	88 3DMarks

In our ongoing quest to provide helpful information to our readers we are adding the following video playback table to our reviews of netbooks. Since netbooks are starting to be used for mobile entertainment (watching movie trailers or streaming video) it's important to know how a netbook performs when trying to play a simple video file. We selected a family-friendly movie trailer and downloaded three different versions in 480p, 720p, and 1080p resolutions. We used the CCCP Codec Pack for decoding and Media Player Classic Homecinema (version 1.1.796.0) for playing all of the video files.

Video Playback Performance:

Video Resolution	CPU Usage	Playback Comments
480p	30%-40% (hyperthreading)	Plays flawlessly
720p	40%-50% (hyperthreading)	Plays with a few dropped frames
1080p	55%-70% (hyperthreading)	Plays with severe stutter, dropped frames and broken audio

HDTune for the built-in hard drive:

Heat and Noise
Temperatures on the new Aspire One are in line with what we've come to expect from netbooks with Intel Atom processors. Temperature readings taken from the outside of the plastic chassis remained "lap friendly" during normal use. The only time that temperature readings spiked was when the CPU was being stressed with video playback.

Below are images indicating the temperature readings (listed in degrees Fahrenheit) taken inside our office where the ambient temperature was 74 degrees Fahrenheit.

Battery
Acer claims that the Acer Aspire One D250-1165 provides "up to 3 hours of battery life" from the 3-cell battery. Even if the D250 indeed lasted that long it would be relatively pathetic compared to the ASUS Eee PC 1005HA with a 6-cell battery that lasts more than 9 hours.

In our test with the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and XP set to the laptop/portable power profile the system stayed on for 2 hours and 32 minutes of constant use. If we turned down the screen brightness to the lowest setting and disabled Wi-Fi then I'm reasonably sure the D250 could have lasted more than 3 hours. It's worth mentioning that the Aspire One D250 series is also available with a 6-cell battery, and that the 6-cell battery version should provide better battery life.

Acer Aspire 8940G Review

Acer Aspire 8940G Full Review

The Acer Aspire 8940G is a desktop replacement system packing an Intel Core i7 processor, NVIDIA 250M dedicated graphics, Blu-ray, and a massive 18.4" 1080P display. Acer built this system to not only handle everyday gaming, but also to be the multimedia hub in your dorm room or home office. With extra perks such as a backlit keyboard and touch-sensitive media buttons, is there anything not to love in the Aspire 8940G? Read our full review to find out.

Our Acer Aspire 8940G Specifications:

• Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
• Intel Core i7-720QM (1.6GHzGHz, 1333MHz FSB, 6MB Cache)
• 18.4" WUXGA FHD LCD display at 1920x1080
• NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M with 1GB GDDR3 memory
• Intel 5100AGN Wireless, Broadcom Gigabit LAN
• 4GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM (2GB x 2)
• 500GB Western Digital 5400RPM Hard Drive
• Blu-ray/DVD SuperMulti
• Webcam, Acer CineSurround speakers, backlit keyboard
• 120W (19V x 6.32A) 100-240V AC Adapter
• 8-cell 71Wh 14.8v 4800mAh Lithium Ion battery
• Dimensions (WxDxH): 17.34 x 11.62 x 1.22-1.73"
• Weight: 9lbs 5.5oz
• 1-year warranty
• Price as configured: $1,329

Build and Design
Acer shares the same overall look and feel throughout many of their notebook lines. The Acer Aspire 8940G shows quite a bit of resemblance to the Acer Aspire One ... keeping the same hinge shape and position as well as the protruding rear-edge of the main body that you can see when the lid is closed. The side profile of the 8940G doesn't look much thicker than a smaller 15" or 17" notebook. The sloped front and rear edge do a great job of masking thickness even further while also making it more comfortable to carry. Inside you have a completely flat surface containing the keyboard, touchpad, speakers, and multimedia keys. The keyboard is even recessed just enough so the flat keys lay flush with the outer bezel. Acer did an excellent job of making this laptop look user friendly and organized by keeping so many controls within a finger's reach.

Notebook manufacturers face a difficult task when it comes to making large notebooks that feel sturdy but aren't overweight. Wider panels require more bracing to reduce flex and heavier notebooks require stronger panels so they don't flex under their own weight. The Aspire 8940G feels very well built with a solid frame and only minimal flex on the screen cover when the notebook is shut. The palrmest feels durable and shows no signs of flex even under strong pressure. The same applies to the keyboard and upper bezel, which show only minimal signs of flex under heavy pressure. The one complaint I have with the build quality of the notebook is the use of glossy plastics which scratch and smudge easily. If you are a neat freak then those smudge-prone glossy surfaces might get on your nerves over time.

The upgradability factor of this notebook looks great thanks to a single access panel on the bottom of the chassis. Simply remove the panel and you have access to the dual hard drive bays (one of which is unused in this configuration), two system memory slots, two mini-PCIe slots, and a partial view of the processor socket. I saw no "warranty void if removed" stickers anywhere, including the screws holding the heatsink onto the processor. If you want to add a second hard drive you will need to purchase a spare retention bracket, which mounts to the back of the drive, to prevent it from sliding out of place. The open mini-PCIe slot appears to be intended for an onboard TV-tuner, and as such doesn't have WWAN-antennas pre-installed.

Screen and Speakers
The 18.4" screen on the Aspire 8940G is an "all-glass" style with a protective layer covering the actual display panel. This gives the notebook a very clean and polished look, but also increases glare and reflections. With the notebook turned off the screen surface resembles a mirror and reflects the entire room around you. These reflections are reduced when the screen is on and displaying bright colors. In terms of overall quality the screen looks very nice with good color reproduction and above average contrast. The screen really draws you in while watching movies or viewing pictures ... as if you were viewing that place in person. Black levels look great and the only noticeable areas of light bleed are near the edges of the screen and only visible with the brightness set to 100%. Vertical viewing angles look good until you pivot the screen forward or back roughly 15 to 20 degrees. Horizontal viewing angles look nice right up until reflections off the screen start to overpower the image being displayed. At peak brightness the screen is still easily visible in bright office conditions as well as sitting near a window with the sun casting over the notebook.

Acer includes a 5.1 Cinematic Surround system on the Aspire 8940G that seems to sound a step above most notebooks. The audio system features five speakers, including a Tuba CineBass Booster to increase low-frequency sound. In practice the speakers produced a great surround experience, but I felt the peak volume levels were lacking. Even with the system volume set to 100%, the speakers were nowhere near being over-driven. This causes some trouble if you expect to use the system to watch a movie in your bedroom with it sitting on a dresser rather than on your lap. This can be avoided though if you use external speakers or a home theater system connected to the notebook.

Keyboard and Touchpad
Even though many notebooks are switching to Chiclet-style keyboards these days, Acer still uses a traditional design with thin flat-top keys instead. The design resembles lily patties sitting on a pond with a very thin top and the support structure tucked neatly out of view. The keyboard also offers a backlit which gives you great key visibility in dark settings. The underlying light elements are adequately shielded, preventing "light bleed" unless you view the keyboard at an angle shallower than 45 degrees. The backlight is non-adjustable in brightness, but you can turn it off completely.

The keyboard is very comfortable for typing thanks to properly sized keys and good spacing. The large 18.4" footprint allows Acer to incorporate a full-size keyboard as well as a full number pad. There is almost no "wiggle" or lateral key travel when you move your hand around the keyboard despite the thin looking keys. The keys are easy to trigger with roughly average pressure required and when pressed give off a very small click sound. The broad palmrest works very well for cradling your hands and wrists. Typing for hours at the notebook isn't a problem unless it is on your lap ... in which case your legs might not enjoy the weight.

The touchpad is a very large Synaptics model that rates very high on my list of best touchpads. It is quick to respond to fast movements, showing no discernable lag at any time. The surface texture is a soft matte finish that makes it easy to slide your finger across whether completely dry or slightly damp from sweat. The only significant complaint I have is the size. This touchpad is so much larger than most of the touchpads that I use that I end up clicking the bottom edge of the touchpad instead of the actual buttons. If you like big touchpads you will love the touchpad on the Aspire 8940G. The touchpad buttons are the same width as the touchpad surface and have a very short throw. Each button gives off a higher pitched clicking sound when you press down. Acer also includes a button to disable the touchpad to prevent accidental movement when using an external mouse. This button is located to the right side of the touchpad and lights up when activated.

Ports and Features
The port selection on the Acer Aspire 8940G is phenomenal. Acer gives you four dedicated USB ports, one eSATA/USB combo port, Firewire 400, VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort, LAN, and audio jacks including digital audio out. To load pictures from a digital camera, there is a flush-mount SDHC-card slot on the front side of the notebook.

Front: SDHC-card slot

Rear: Exhaust vent and Tuba CineBass Booster

Left: AC-power, LAN, VGA, DisplayPort, HDMI, eSATA/USB Combo, one USB, FireWire, Audio jacks, ExpressCard/54

Right: Two USB, BLu-ray drive, one USB, Kensongton lock slot

On the left and right side of the keyboard there are touch-sensitive control keys. The left side has three buttons including one for Wi-Fi On/Off, one for Bluetooth On/Off, and another to access the Acer Backup Manager. The right side offers media quick-access keys including a Media Center button, hold button, skip, play/pause, stop, and fast forward controls, and a switch to enable or disable the touch sensitive buttons. The volume control is a metal rotating dial that gives a slightly more precise method to adjust the volume than a touch-sensitive slider.

Conclusion
The Acer Aspire 8940G is a well built and good looking multimedia notebook that can also game. The sound system is great if you can get past the weaker volume levels. The spacious 18.4" display is great for sharing a movie in a small room; something that might be difficult with a 15" or 17" notebook. System performance is very good with the Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GTS 250M graphics ... although slightly less than true gaming notebooks. The biggest strength of the 8940G though is its $1,329 price, which is lower than any other Core i7 system currently on the market.

Pros:

• Huge touchpad
• Comfortable backlit keyboard
• Beautiful display

Cons:

• Knee breaking 9lbs 5.5oz
• No Blu-ray software

Acer Aspire 7740 Review

Review Summary:

Solid performance and good looks for a $749 starting price.

Pros

• Good screen resolution
• Nice speakers
• Comes with Blu-ray drive

Cons

• Doesn't come with Blu-ray software
• No touchpad sensitivity adjustment

Acer Aspire 7740 Full Review

The Acer Aspire 7740 is a 17.3-inch multimedia notebook designed for people who want a lot of features for not a lot of money. This notebook costs $749 while still offering an Intel Core i3-330M processor, Intel GMA HD graphics, Blu-ray drive, and a HD+ LED-backlight display. In this review, we take an in-depth look at its performance and see how well it stacks up against the competition.

Our Acer Aspire 7740-5142 Specifications:

• 17.3-inch HD+ LED-backlit display (1600 x 900, glossy finish)
• Windows 7 Home Premium
• Intel Core i3-330M (2.13GHz, 3MB Cache)
• 4GB DDR3 Memory (2GB x 2GB)
• Intel GMA HD Integrated Graphics
• 6-cell 48Wh battery, 65W 19V AC adapter
• Dimensions: 16.2" x 10.8" x 1.6-1.8"
• Weight: 6lbs 14.3oz
• Retail Price: $749

Build and Design
For a 17.3-inch notebook, the Acer Aspire 7740 does a good job of hiding its size with a slim profile. From the side, it appears shorter than expected with the lower chassis standing not much higher than the VGA-port's height. The design tapers off at the front giving the palmrest a nice sharp edge. The color scheme is well thought-out with a glossy, dark-blue screen-cover, metallic blue palmrest and keyboard trim, and black keyboard. The only visible branding is a moderately sized Acer logo displayed front and center. One aspect that concerned us was the amount of space left open around the keyboard that could have been used for multimedia keys or other functions.

Build quality of the Aspire 7740 is above average with a solid body that doesn't have much flex. The screen cover provides decent impact protection for the LCD and doesn't allow the screen to be distorted unless firmly pressed from the back side. The glossy paint on the screen lid resists light scratches and seems to hold up under normal daily abuse from carrying it around. The palmrest and keyboard trim resist smudging and managed to stay clean throughout most of the review period.

Inside, the palmrest and keyboard show little or no flex under pressure. The palmrest doesn't compress one millimeter when squeezed with extreme force. The rigid chassis does a good job of holding up the body panels attached to it and doesn't squeak or creak under normal use. The screen hinges feel strong and hold the screen tightly closed. Overall, the body feels solid enough to survive a typical notebook's lifespan.

Users looking to upgrade the Acer Aspire 7740 will find it easy to get to components through a single cover on the back of the notebook. Taking off the panel gives you access to the wireless card, hard drive, and system memory.

Screen and Speakers
The Acer Aspire 7740 comes with a HD+ screen with a 1600 x 900 resolution. This resolution supports 720P content as well as 1080P content when scaled. For watching movies, viewing images, or just surfing the Web, the resolution is more than adequate for most users. Color saturation and contrast are average compared to other screens of this size. Backlight levels are fine for viewing in bright office conditions, but not bright enough for outdoor viewing with the glossy screen surface. Peak brightness levels measured 248cd/m2 at the center of the screen and decreased to as little as 199cd/m2 at the corners. Colors displayed on the screen stay consistent to about 15 degrees when tilted forward or back. The screen stays visible until about 60 degrees when viewing from the side since the backlight is overpowered by reflections on it.

The speakers on the Aspire 7740 sound above average and are pretty good for a system that doesn't have a subwoofer. In our testing, we found peak volume levels to be more than adequate to watch a movie in the immediate area around the screen. The speakers also support simulated Dolby surround sound that worked quite well if you were centered over the notebook. Sound output is warm with a hint of bass and midrange when the Dolby Audio Enhancer was toggled on and off. For a system priced under a $1,000 and not including a low-frequency driver, we were impressed.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The Aspire 7740 uses a floating island-style keyboard that is comfortable to type on but causes a few hang-ups when trying to type quickly. Since this keyboard doesn't have an internal bezel structure or solid key design, it is easy to hit the top of another key when you finger is fully pressing a neighboring key and trying to slide over at the same time. I got used to it after a few hours and learned to lift my finger fully off the key before sliding to the next key in my typing motion. The keyboard layout takes advantage of the chassis and offers a four-key wide number pad with room to spare on each side.

One thing missing from the keyboard layout is quick-access media keys. It was surprising that a notebook designed entirely around multimedia use with a Blu-ray drive didn't offer touch-sensitive buttons for volume control or media playback. Instead this notebook has quick-access buttons for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, backup software, and a customizable program launch.

The touchpad on this notebook is an ALPS design model with a spacious layout and multitouch gesture support. The touchpad is quick to respond, but we did notice just a hair of lag in fast gestures. Refresh times are great which helps prevent a choppy mouse movement when moving around. Sensitivity out of the box was good but not perfect, and no adjustment for sensitivity was found in the ALPS control menu. For users who don't want to accidentally move the cursor while typing, there's a button located to the right of the touchpad to disable the touch surface.

Ports and Features
The Aspire 7440's port selection is average for a 17-inch notebook with VGA and HDMI-out, four USB ports, audio input and output jacks including S/PDIF out, LAN, modem, and a Kensington lock slot. We were hoping to find eSATA for faster external storage expansion, but it was probably left out to keep the price low. We were impressed that a Blu-ray drive was included, but decoding software was absent. Blu-ray decoding software can cost as much as $99, with one example being PowerDVD 10 from CyberLink.

Conclusion
The Acer Aspire 7740 is an affordable multimedia notebook with solid performance and a good appearance. While some budget notebooks might only offer resolutions of 1366 x 768, Acer went with a 1600 x 900 resolution for its 17.3-inch screen. System performance was very good for its price, reaching close to 5,000 in both PCMark05 and PCMark Vantage. We were also impressed that the system included a Blu-ray drive, but disappointed when it lacked decoding software. Overall, if you are looking for a midrange desktop-replacement notebook and don't want to spend more than $800, the Acer Aspire 7740 is worth checking out.

Pros:

• Good screen resolution
• Nice-sounding speakers
• Comes with Blu-ray drive

Cons:

• Doesn't come with Blu-ray software
• No touchpad sensitivity adjustment