Acer Plans A 16 lb. Notebook 514
jagger writes "Well not exactly gigantic but at 16 pounds and sporting a 17-inch screen this thing is stretching the term portable. It also features a 3EGHz Pentium 4, 1GB of RAM, a 7200rpm 160gb hard disk, DVD-burner and the kitchen sink. ZDNet has a rundown of all of this beast's features." This sounds like a joke (or a typo), but the story says otherwise.
Poor move.. (Score:4, Funny)
The company is marketing the Aspire 1710 as a replacement for desktops or PC workstations primarily in the workplace.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
A laptop with docking station does the same thing with far less luggable weight, albeit at a higher price.
3 GHz P4. OK, that's pretty nice.
1 GB RAM. Nothing special about that.
160 GB disk. So what? How many offices don't have a server to store everything on?
DVD burner. Optional on some laptops and you can always use an external to a docking station.
Kitchen Sink. So what? Carry a small bottle of Purell [purell.com] in your pocket.
This has got to be a "Hail Mary" to keep brand recognition in the portable market or one of the worst marketting decisions this year.
Re:Poor move.. (Score:5, Interesting)
However, one selling point maybe the fact that this notebook is just $1,499 - which is quite cheap considering the configuration (and the fact that if you are a gamer, it comes with Nvidia's GeForce FX Go 5200 graphics card).
The rest of the features are cool, but nothing *so* special. Honestly, I would rather have a desktop for way lesser price than a beast that weighs so much.
Re:Poor move.. (Score:4, Interesting)
KFG
Re:Poor move.. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Poor move.. (Score:5, Insightful)
The primary value of the laptop is it's small form factor, low weight and unitary design that allows you to use it, well, on the top of your lap.
A 16 pound desktop replacement is never going to be used on your lap, except, perhaps, under some sort of duress. You're going to put it on a desktop to use. The ergonomics of a desktop machine are superiour to a laptop's ergonomics when used on a desktop. The unitary desktop machine died for good reason.
When I just need to stick something in my bag so I can write a paper or something, say while doing research at the library, I take my notebook, but I don't enjoy using it.
When I need the full power of a desktop in a remote location I take a lunchpail and bless it for not having the laptop form factor.
If all you want is a handle on your laptop, well, that's what the carrying bag is for.
KFG
Re:Poor move.. (Score:4, Insightful)
The primary value of a heavy, desktop-replacement notebook as oppossed to a lunchbox is that its a simple brick with a screen that folds up, meaning its easier to carry from place to place.
There'll allways be some strange people who prefer lunchboxes, but they are the minority and I doubt the general desktop-replacement-buying-public gives a shit.
As for my suggestion that a handle might be useful to carry 16 pounds, I agree a carrying case is better for long distances but if you are moving a relatively short distance like, say, one side of a large room to another, you aren't going to want to stuff it back in the carrying case for such a short time.
Re:Poor move.. (Score:4, Funny)
A lunchbox may certainly be better, but I haven't seen one in real life for almost 20 years (well, I have one in my garage, but it's 20 years old). I'm not big on the whole "do what everyone else does" thing away from work, but at work I enjoy drawing attention to myself in positive ways, not by being strange and different.
Re:Poor move.. (Score:4, Funny)
With three nicely spaced holes, you could use it for bowling.
Re:Poor move.. (Score:4, Insightful)
This is a good machine! It fills the void between desktop and notebook, with a price that's affordable. The only notebook I'm aware of that's trying to fill the void with that much gusto is Dell's Inspiron XPS, which offers up to a 3.2GHz Pentium 4 Extreme Edition, as well as the stuff you get in this Acer.
Students might love this - they can have desktop performance in something they can take to lectures. slowly. in a cart. :-P
more like a gap (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Poor move.. (Score:5, Funny)
However, one selling point maybe the fact that this notebook is just $1,499 - which is quite cheap considering the configuration
Given the cost and weight, mabye they saved money by swapping out the titanium or aluminum case for the much lower cost cast-iron case...
Re:Poor move.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah, and did you notice the article says this relating to the harddrive:
Although Acer simply dipped into the desktop PC parts bin to get the two components
I certainly hope that's not true. Your typical desktop harddrive has nowhere near the shock and vibration resistance as a notebook harddrive. I think we are talking almost an order of magnitude.
It's hard to believe that they actually stuck a 3.5"
Re:Poor move.. (Score:4, Informative)
However, the $1499 model:
comes with 2.8GHz P4 (not P4E) instead of 3.0 P4E
has an 80GB hard disk instead of 120GB
has only 512MB of RAM instead of 1GB
has a CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive instead of a DVD-R drive
comes with XP Home instead of Professional, and
uses the graphics chipset that comes with the Intel 865G instead of the GeForce.
If you still think that's a good deal, that's your choice. Personally, I can think of other $1500 and $2000 laptops I'd rather have which weigh less, have longer battery life and/or more CPU power.
Re:Poor move.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Not a poor move (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't believe it's positioned as anything "special" (cue 'short school bus' comments). It would indeed be a handy desktop replacement, requiring less real estate than a desktop CPU + monitor (even an LCD, unless you mount it on the wall). I suspect it would also require less overall power, leading to lower heat output than that of a similarly configured desktop.
No, you probably wouldn't want to try to use it very long on battery power - or on your lap - but it would be nice to be able to fold up such a capable machine and transport it from point A to point B with minimal fuss. For the record, external devices often == "fuss".
Not to flame, but a product is not a dumb idea (or a "poor move") just because you personally don't want one. To each his own, right?
Re:Not a poor move (Score:3, Interesting)
My situation is an apartment setup such that there is no real desk/work area. There's the counter, the kitchen table, and a little table by the couch/tv.
Now, if I needed this kind of power/screen real-estate, it would make sense to me, it's never going to leave the apartment, but it's a nice computer that I can work on where I want within my apartment, and put in the closet when company comes over.
I also have other requirments which have lead me to a different purchase, but my point
Re:Not a poor move (Score:5, Insightful)
Sheesh, 16 pounds is easily portable. My son is 30 pounds, but we don't leave him at home because he's too heavy to lift into the car seat.
Sure it might be a pain for someone that takes their computer everywhere, but there are lots of more expensive options for those people.
Re:Poor move.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Umm.... how about most of them? Or better yet, maybe their desktops workstations out-perform their server [ibm.com]. There are a variety of different office environments, with varying levels of technical support.
That said, I still think this notebook would be overkill for less tech-savy environments. Note: We have a rather low-end iSeries, so I recognize my shot was rather cheap.
Re:Poor move.. (Score:3, Interesting)
The one server that was more powerful was a terminal server that 20-30 users ran on while in the office. This is actually rather on-topic, because it was a very cost-effective way
First: Ferrari laptop, now: Hummer (Score:5, Funny)
Will Rob Enderle buy one?
Re:Poor move.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Compaq AT specs:
30 Meg HD
Running MS-DOS 5.0
Monochrome 12 " monitor
1 floppy drive
No mouse - Use an external (Who needs a mouse for DOS NEwayz?)
Weight = 25lbs
Battery life: ~30-60 minutes.
BUILT IN 24
Re:Poor move.. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Poor move.. (Score:5, Informative)
What I think would be really cool: Drop five pounds or so by doing away with the battery entirely. Use the weight savings to pump up the specs even more, or to use more cheap desktop parts. Just keep it hefty, cheap, and lug-and-pluggable, and I'll be happy.
Sure, some will whine about the no-battery thing. But the last laptop I bought would only last 2 hours on a full charge anyways, so it wouldn't be a big loss.
Re:Poor move.. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Poor move.. (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Poor move.. (Score:3, Insightful)
3 GHz P4. OK, that's pretty nice.
That's damn nice. Certainly not stupid...
1 GB RAM. Nothing special about that.
Not for a desktop. For a portable it's still on the high end.
160 GB disk. So what? How many offices don't have a server to store everything on?
Depending on file servers for large amounts of storage you need to use remotely is stupid...
DVD burner. Optional on some laptops and you can always use an external to a docking station.
Docking stations are somewhat heavi
Re:Poor move.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Clevo make the Alienware gaming notebooks.
It weights 4.2Kg, which, considering the processing power of the PC, doesn't bother me at all.
I use it for playing FPS games and coding. The Unreal Tournament 2004 demo, for instance, runs
smoothly with all the graphics settings maximised.
It is a VERY portable desktop replacement.
Re:Poor move.. (Score:5, Insightful)
The kitchen sink... (Score:2)
Wondering what battery it uses? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wondering what battery it uses? (Score:3, Funny)
In other news... (Score:5, Funny)
Powerbook.......all the way (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Powerbook.......all the way (Score:3, Insightful)
I've only got a 15" (and 5.6 lb) version, but it is by far the best laptop I've ever used.
Re:Powerbook.......all the way (Score:3, Insightful)
I agree with the other comment made here, just because YOU aren't the target market doesn't mean there isn't one.
Re:Powerbook.......all the way (Score:3, Insightful)
With all due respect to macs, the games are slightly lacking.
The article states that you get the 3EGHz, 1gig ram, 120gig hard disk, Windows Pro, .11g wifi for about $2000, which is a lot less than a 17" powerbook with the same features (can you even get a 120gig HDD for a powerbook?)
Re:Powerbook.......all the way (Score:4, Insightful)
Crack?
Check it: From the article - the notebook with WinXP Professional and a DVD burner will run about $2000.
From Apple's website, a powerbook with a 17" screen, 512 megs of ram (half that of the acer), 80 GB hard disk (half that of the acer), and an ATI mobility radeon 9600 (less good than the NVidia counterpart in the Acer) runs a whopping $3000.
So, to recap -
$3000 Apple laptop
1.33 Ghz G-4
17" screen
80GB hard drive
512 MB ram
DVD burner
$2000 Acer laptop:
3.0 Ghz P-4
17" screen
twice the hard drive space
twice the RAM
DVD burner
Please. Research first. Apple laptops are:
1.) extremely high quality
2.) aesthetically pleasing
3.) lightweight
4.) really really expensive
Please don't take this as an endorsement of one over the other: I love apple hardware, and am probably soon to be in the market for an apple laptop; however, it bugs the shit out of me when people claim that Apple hardware is cheap. It's not.
~Will
Re:Powerbook.......all the way (Score:4, Interesting)
I was looking for a small laptop equipped with:
DVD burner
Decent amount of ram
Ability to edit video
Firewire
USB 2.0
At LEAST 40 GB hard disk
WiFi
I found all of this for around $1799 in a 12in Powerbook. I know, I said I wanted to edit video.....I added a 120 GB external hard disk. I use this to archive projects and when I am working on a large project. The CLOSEST I came in a laptop not only cost more, but weighed more as well.
Also, the 17 inch PB is not much thicker then my 12 inch. Just like people did not understand why folks paid 400-500 for ye olde Palm V when it was released (when the Palm III with mor memory cost less), people don't understand why the 17 Inch Powerbook costs less. The smaller it is, the harder it is to make. Almost every PC laptop I see is thicker then most Macs are and if they are the same thickness, there's tradeoffs....like external CDRW/DVD_R drives. My only beef....include packet writing to RW media in the OS. Even windows doesn't do this yet.
I also hazard to guess that the LCD in the Acer is no where near the quality of the one in the Powerbook. I have NEVER seen better LCD's then the ones in all Apple products.
YMMV, but Apple does have decent systems and while somethings aren't cheap, there's enough variety in the line to make the price similar.
Re:Powerbook.......all the way (Score:3, Funny)
1.) extremely high quality
2.) aesthetically pleasing
3.) lightweight
4.) really really expensive
you forgot this: 5.) as comfortable as a beesting in the eyeball.
i don't care how great ibooks are or aren't i won't EVER buy one until they offer a mouse BUTTON instead of that all-too-annoying touchPAD.
Touchpads are the most asinine pointing devices ever devised by mankind and I'll never own one.
I don't care if the iBook prints $100 bills legally every minute for the rest of my life, I will
Re:Powerbook.......all the way (Score:3, Interesting)
OMG! (Score:5, Funny)
Oxymorons (Score:3, Funny)
16lbs and notebook used in the same sentence. Hah
Re:OMG! (Score:3, Funny)
Only if. . . (Score:5, Funny)
Re:OMG! (Score:3, Funny)
[insert sexual innuendo or crude comment here]
Re:OMG! (Score:3, Funny)
Okay.
You're sister's the laptop version of your sister.
She's on top of my lap right now, actually.
Re:OMG! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:OMG! (Score:5, Funny)
Too big for the lap, but is doable on the desk.
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
What the hell? (Score:4, Funny)
Perfect plan to design a laptop that won't sell... (Score:4, Insightful)
2) Price it at $1999.00.
Granted, I know it's supposed to be a "desktop replacement" that is sometimes portable, but I have desktops that weigh less than this and cost a third of the price!
like alienware (Score:5, Funny)
Re:like alienware (Score:5, Funny)
... as if being a Gamer Geek wasn't enough of a form of birth control...
Re:Perfect plan to design a laptop that won't sell (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Perfect plan to design a laptop that won't sell (Score:4, Informative)
The acer site [acer.com] says the battery lasts only 1 hour.
Re:Perfect plan to design a laptop that won't sell (Score:5, Informative)
I have a Shuttle SB61G2 with a 2.4 GHz HT P4, a gig of ram, a 120 gig hard drive, and a Radeon 9600. It probably weighs about 7 or 8 pounds.
It's readily upgradable, has a small desktop footprint, and is easy to transport. As long as I have a monitor or TV I can use at my destination it's perfect for work or gaming.
Without the video card it cost me 1000 CDN. I could have shaved off another hundred or more by going with an Athlon, but I was taking heat into consideration with the tight airflow restrictions.
You get a laptop for the convenience of portability at the cost of being able to upgrade. And generally a desktop is a statically placed computer that can be upgraded, but isn't all that portable. They just hybridized the negative aspects of both, slapped on a nice big screen and put it to market.
What type of user is going to derive the most benefit from this?
History lesson (Score:2, Funny)
never mind.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Whats the point? (Score:3, Insightful)
Untethered from the desk (Score:3, Interesting)
More large portables, great! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:More large portables, great! (Score:3, Informative)
Portables aren't anything all that new- I used a portable PC with an LCD(the size of a postage stamp, and a nice orange monocolor- not even greyscale) for a science project back in the days of DOS. It was about the size of a very small sewing machine, and the keyboard(which was infrared-based) popped out of one side to reveal the screen. Can't remember the name of it f
more storeable than portable (Score:5, Interesting)
Anyway, I think my physics book weighed about that much
Re:more storeable than portable (Score:3, Insightful)
Acer has *nothing* on Apple (Score:3, Funny)
I cough in Acer's general direction. 16 pounds, that's nothing! Apple already has a 40lb [apple.com] notebook for sale. That's a full 24 pounds heavier than Acer's, and it has a 20" LCD to boot! Yupm you guessed it, it's called an iMac.
Really now, the article says this brick actually uses a 120GB desktop IDE drive, just cause you throw a hinge on a desktop with integrated LCD doesn't make it a notebook. If this is how Acer plans to recapture the North American market I wish them luck.
Its a great idea..... (Score:2)
A Hummer of a Lugtop (Score:3, Funny)
And will Rob Enderle be infatuated with it?
Kitchen sink? (Score:2, Funny)
Mmmm, Acer! (Score:2)
Stretching the definition... (Score:2)
Luggable (Score:5, Interesting)
When I bought my first computer, a heavy metal Kaypro (those of you who had an Osbourne might remember), it was referred to as a "luggable".
I think this falls into that category.
Video... (Score:2)
I am sorry... The Video killed this as a Lan Gaming Machine. There are other uses, but they just sliced off a part of the market with no real reasoning as far as I can see...
EMachine's AThlon 64 3000+ with a Radeon 9600 really feels like it should be comp
"portable"-- I've seen this before! (Score:2)
Great for home use? (Score:5, Insightful)
And it appears to be powerfull enough that even if I did play games I could bring the 'laptop' to a friends house for a gaming night and not have to worry about lugging around a desktop system.
Clock speed!??!?! (Score:3, Funny)
3 exa-giga Hertz? Let's see, that's 3 * 10^18 * 10^9 = 3 * 10^27 Hertz. Maybe Intel will always be faster than Apple.
Battery life? (Score:3, Interesting)
Lead brick (Score:5, Funny)
And at 16 pounds, and with that 3Ghz processor in there, it will burn your legs AND cut off circulation to them at the same time!
In other news... (Score:3, Funny)
Ford has announced plans for a new steam-powered roadster. "We believe this new vehicle will set a new standard for vehicle perfomance and efficiency, easily surpassing both oxen AND mules for both speed and maneuverability", a spokesman said.
lug nuts (Score:3, Funny)
Why should it be a joke? (Score:5, Insightful)
Even business stalwarts Toshiba launched bulky widescreen notebooks into the market last year. Barely portable, these devices are designed as crosses between desktop replacements and media PCs. Sony even have a compact PC system which comes at it from the other angle.
Why is all this happening? It's because notebook prices are now at around the price which consumers are willing to pay for new computer systems. So if you walk into a shop and you can afford a notebook, it's an attractive proposition in the home. You don't need to build a huge permanent home for it, you can move it from room to room and people like the idea they can take it with them if they need to.
But really they're after compact luggable home computer systems, the real desktop replacement if you like.
The real news wont be 'is this is a joke' (which indicates to me that the poster doesn't understand the current market very well but this is Slashdot after all...) but when a vendor makes a notebook without a battery.
The day is coming.
It's less than 7 lbs (Score:4, Informative)
I'd buy it (Score:5, Interesting)
1-hour battery life, 2 hours to charge (Score:5, Informative)
Re:1-hour battery life, 2 hours to charge (Score:5, Funny)
Re:1-hour battery life, 2 hours to charge (Score:4, Interesting)
By comparison, Apple's 6.9-pound, 17-inch PowerBook packs a "58-watt-hour lithium-ion battery (with integrated charge indicator LEDs) providing up to 4.5 hours of battery life."
So basically, this is a notebook that's too heavy to carry and has too short a battery life to use when not plugged in. I am
And a workplace system that comes with a DVD burner? Terrific. I know IT departments that don't even allow CD-RW drives for most of the workforce. I predict a new software market: "virus" scanning software that will alert admins whenever a copy of DVD2One is installed...
Re:1-hour battery life, 2 hours to charge (Score:3, Insightful)
(OT) Personally, I'm more interested in finding a small, light, Pentium M system with great bat
Bad idea (Score:3, Interesting)
Any pro's won in the portability of these systems over traditional desktops is easily countered: there are far lighter laptops available.
This is the most tremendously ignorant engineering move in laptop computing that I have ever borne witness to.
Ferrari laptop? (Score:3, Funny)
Not really a laptop (Score:5, Insightful)
It's obviously not a "portable" (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not supposed to be portable. It's to serve the people out there who don't want to deal wire wires or don't have the space in/on their desk for a full tower etc. But they want desktop performance.
They don't need it to travel with, but being able to move it around the house might be nice. Or they move frequently and don't want to deal with taking the thing apart and putting it back together each time (My desktop sure is a bitch to move.)
And people made fun of Apple... (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course, I think Apple sold like ten of them.
It's kind of funny that it's taken 15 years to get back to the 16-pound laptop again. Go figure. You knew this was coming, though, when Apple and all the Wintel companies started going to 17" screens. Someone was bound to try it.
Some people are missing the point (Score:3, Insightful)
They are instead excellent replacement for desktop computers which take A LOT of space, have multiple cables running everywhere and most importantly are almost impossible to put away when space is needed for something else. And if need you can take it with you without having to drag with you a keyboard, mouse and several extra cabels.
Right now I use one desktop compter and one Dell Inspiron 8200 (luggable laptop) with 1600x1200 lcd screen and I would love to have two of those or this one.
3E gigahertz? thats impressive (Score:3, Funny)
is well worth the 16 pounds it weights. Yet again acer has shown itself to be well ahead of
the curve. May the innovation continue.
Lan parties? (Score:5, Insightful)
Film, Video, Lights (Score:3, Insightful)
One thing it's not meant for, I suspect. is the latte drinking Starbucks crowd who are just word processing and working on the next great American novel. No... this thing is meant for on-set video editing, if you ask me....
Re:Is it really so much work, Timmy? (Score:5, Informative)
Average Dimensions and Weights
14.9" (378.0mm) W x 12.6" (320.0mm) D x 1.9" front - 2.2" rear (47.0mm - 55.0mm) H / 14.1 lb. (6.4kg) with combo drive, 15.7 lb. (7.1kg) with combo drive and battery
Re:Compare to a 6.9 lb 17-inch PowerBook (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Compare to a 6.9 lb 17-inch PowerBook (Score:3, Insightful)
At the risk of being burned at the stake as a heretic I would say that if Apple make hardware that I could install Windows 2000 Pro / Win XP Pro on I would be all over it. The case of the G4 is simply amazing with the handles on top and smooth edges, their displays are top notch (although I like my Logitech keyboard and mouse) - everything about the exterior of their hardware is simply amazing. Too bad
Re:why would anyone buy this (Score:3, Insightful)
Because it costs about $1500 less.
Re:why would anyone buy this (Score:5, Funny)