By Darius Chang, CNET Asia
27/07/2009
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/notebooks/0,39050488,44821156p,00.htm

To say we hate the term "cheap and good" whenever we are asked to recommend a laptop does not even begin to describe the depths of disdain we have for that cliche. Most of the time, you can't have it both ways. However, Acer, well-known for offering excellent feature-to-price models, has outdone itself with the Aspire 8935G. Fulfilling almost every entertainment need we can imagine, this desktop replacement has set a new price bar in its category.

Design

To start off, we are very glad to see the CineDash multimedia control panel replaced with the new MediaControl interface. Though the former had oodles of geek appeal with its Star Trek-like design, the MediaControl panel is much easier to use. The glossy black plastic chassis of this laptop feels sturdy and the overall design is attractive enough for the living room.

The Aspire 8935G sports a backlit keyboard based on the same individual key design as the new Timeline series. Though it may look strange at first, once you start typing the full-sized keys are comfortable enough to use for long periods. There is also a separate numeric pad for quick data entry. Our main gripe with this new keyboard is that unlike the ones on Apple or Sony machines, the keys are essentially platforms on top of plastic springs. This makes them hard to clean since crumbs can easily hide beneath the keys.

Features

The Aspire 8935G impressed us with its comprehensive multimedia feature set while managing to remain affordable at S$3,498 for a high-end desktop replacement. This machine sports Blu-ray playback capability, HDMI and DisplayPort output, a full-sized remote control and built-in digital TV tuner, though it would have been nice if the latter was a hybrid receiver that can take in analog and digital signals.

Unlike most desktop replacements, the full-HD 18.4-inch panel has LED backlights which provide better illumination while keeping power consumption down. The 8ms response rate prevents ghost effects when viewing action movies, and the 16:9 aspect ratio allows for widescreen videos to be displayed fully. The audio system is just as impressive with five speakers and a built-in subwoofer providing excellent sound output.

Other notable features include a multitouch trackpad and fingerprint sensor. Though you can use the latter in lieu of passwords, it is not considered a strong enough security feature for encrypting important data. The Webcam is capable of 1,280 x 800-pixel stills and 640 x 480-pixel videos, which is on par for its category. What made an impression was the Acer Video Conference Manager which allows picture-in-picture video calls among multiple callers via common instant messaging clients such as Yahoo and MSN.

Performance And Battery Life

This Aspire is one of the few to come with 2.0GHz Core 2 Quad performance as standard. Coupled with 4GB RAM and 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD4670 graphics, this desktop replacement gave a result of 183 on our MobileMark 2007 test, which makes the machine ready for almost any productivity task that one can throw at it. The Windows Experience Index came back with an overall 5.6 marks (5.8 for processor and 5.9 for graphics) with the limiting factor being the harddisk access speed. Its high-end video card scored a middling 6,535 on our 3DMark06 graphics benchmark, which will satisfy all but the hardcore gamers.



Battery life for a desktop replacement is not a major factor as this laptop category is not expected to be moved around away from an AC outlet too often. Still, it's nice to know that this Aspire can last 2 hours 2 minutes while viewing a DVD on half-screen brightness and up to 1 hour 52 minutes on our MobileMark 2007 productivity benchmark.

Service And Support

This notebook comes with an international one-year warranty from Acer. Recognizing that mobile computing has become a key activity for executives, the Taiwan company promises to fix any hardware issued within 2 hours, or it will deliver the unit to your preferred location free. Extended warranty can be purchased from the service center for S$349, while onsite repairs will add another S$69 to the price tag. For DIY troubleshooting, a toll-free telephone helpdesk is available for assistance. Acer support Web site offers downloads of updated drivers as well as an email for notebook issues. In the event that further technical assistance is required, the machine can be brought to any Acer service center worldwide for diagnosis.