Acer Plans A 16 lb. Notebook

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.

Comments

Poor move..

[grub]

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 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..

[metlin]

I agree. The only thing thats actually big about this notebook (other than the size ofcourse) is the hard-drive - the rest are nothing *that* great.

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..

[efflux]

160 GB disk. So what? How many offices don't have a server to store everything on?

Umm.... how about most of them? Or better yet, maybe their desktops workstations out-perform their server. 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..

[kfg]

There's a real use for large, heavy, transportable desktop replacements. The problem is, that once you get up to that size and weight the laptop is a very poor format. What you want is an "old fashioned" lunchpail type machine.

KFG

Re:Poor move..

[dave420]

It uses the 5700, actually.

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

Re:Poor move..

[An Onerous Coward]

It's not really a bad idea. Carrying an extra eight pounds is no big deal, especially since that means you can take advantage of cheaper desktop components.

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..

[dslbrian]

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..

[kommakazi]

Hell, a 17" PowerBook G4 only weighs in at 6.9 lbs... it's called "poor design"

Re:Poor move..

[plover]

With a 3GHz Pentium 4, not only could this be your lunchpail but it could also be your stove.

Re:Poor move..

[kfg]

Well, obviously I disagree. :)

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..

[trb]

Well I agree maybe a carrying handle would be useful since it is 16 lbs, but other than that keep the latptop/notebook form factor. It is superior to the lunchpail.

With three nicely spaced holes, you could use it for bowling.

Re:Poor move..

[kisielk]

Major contradictions? They just have a 7.1lb combo drive. That's one damn heavy DVD writer.

Re:Poor move..

[Gherald]

The primary value of a lightweight laptop is that, yes, you can put it on your lap.

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..

[MyFourthAccount]

The only thing thats actually big about this notebook (other than the size ofcourse) is the hard-drive

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" HDD in there, but looking at my (relatively big, but not too crazy) notebook, I suppose it's possible. And incredibly stoopid.

If you want a 7200 RPM drive, just get the 2.5" 60GB Hitachi one. I have one of those and it works as a charm. Still the notebook drive shock and vibration though.

Re:Poor move..

[Sylver Dragon]

Spend some time looking at the benchmarks. The older GForce4 Ti4600 and Ti4800 tend to outperform the FX5200 by a huge margin. Heck, they even tend to outperform the FX5600. This isn't to say that your card it absolute shite, but you would have done better to by a higher end GF4 card, as opposed to a low end GFFX card. You'd get better performance for about the same price. Sure, you don't get the pretty DX9 features, but then you probably won't need those for a while, and by the time you do, the lackluster performance of the FX5200 will start to be a problem.

Re:Poor move..

[Ancient Devices King]

The top end model actually comes with a 5700, not a 5200, but that's already been pointed out.

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..

[bellings]

The primary value of a laptop is that everone else at the meeting is going to have a computer that looks exactly like yours. The primary value of a lunchbox is that everyone you meet is going to look at you like you have two heads and three arms.

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.

Wondering what battery it uses?

[Professor_Quail]

See this story for more information...

Re:Wondering what battery it uses?

[TimmyDee]

What? A link? This is Slashdot -- I want your post to be funny without having to click any more.

Powerbook.......all the way

[Anonymous Coward]

16 pounds? Man I would much rather tote around a 6.9 pound Apple 17in Powerbook. Yeah the Acer starts around $1500, but if you configure it with WinXP, a DVD burner and wireless networking, we are pretty close in price to Apple's solution. Besides I am more than willing to spend a bit of a premium or so for something that I don't throw my back out hauling across the country on a long flight.

Re:Powerbook.......all the way

[zerocool^]

Yeah the Acer starts around $1500, but if you configure it with WinXP, a DVD burner and wireless networking, we are pretty close in price to Apple's solution.

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

[Chanc_Gorkon]

That as they say....depends.....

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.

OMG!

[acxr is wasted]

It's like the laptop version of my sister!

Re:OMG!

[gosand]

It's like the laptop version of my sister!

Too big for the lap, but is doable on the desk.

Has it owns sun too!

[bdigit]

It's also powered by it's own sun in a jar!

What the hell?

[jimmer63]

Does this come with a few vouchers for chiropractor appointments?

Perfect plan to design a laptop that won't sell...

[bc90021]

1) Make it weigh 16 pounds.
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!

More large portables, great!

[Sparr0]

This is very much not a joke. The world needs more large portables. A laptop has its place, but there are times when I need a desktop PC that is just portable. I am working on putting a modern PC into an old IBM luggable right now for this very reason. Check out the Max Pac for some more insight into this, they put a desktop PC into a briefcase with a 21" LCD on the side.

more storeable than portable

[pwarf]

This would be great for some college students. A large part of the appeal of a laptop is that you can put it away and reclaim your desk space easily. Also, occassionally moving it to a friend's apartment or a research lab wouldn't be nearly as big a deal as a normal desktop system.

Anyway, I think my physics book weighed about that much ...

Acer has *nothing* on Apple

[coupland]

I cough in Acer's general direction. 16 pounds, that's nothing! Apple already has a 40lb 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.

A Hummer of a Lugtop

[Anonymous Coward]

So will they co-brand this with Hummer?

And will Rob Enderle be infatuated with it?

Luggable

[kwandar]

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.

Great for home use?

[Stone316]

Personally since I don't play many games anymore (well cutting edge ones anyways) so I was thinking of getting a laptop for my next home computer and setup a wireless network. This would seem to be what i'm looking for... Not as mobile as a laptop but I don't expect to lug it around with me but its compact enough to fold up or bring to any room in the house.

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.

In other news...

[percepto]

Acer corporation today announced that it has merged with the American Chiropractic Association. Their first joint project is a 16-pound "laptop" that, when carried around in a backpack, should produce revenues for both organizations.

Lead brick

[cybermace5]

Sorry, the specs aren't that outstanding.

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!

Why should it be a joke?

[Lurks]

The boom in notebooks/laptops is a large part of the revival of the fortunes of IT. What's more, it's actually consumer notebook use which is the big sector which has been on the rise and most of the notebook vendors realise this.

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.

Not a poor move

[sczimme]

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

[skiflyer]

Couldn't agree more.

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 is simply to provide an example for your point.

Re:Not a poor move

[haystor]

I'd gladly "suffer" 16 pounds just to be able to move this around my house easily...oh and to be able to afford it easily.

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.

It's less than 7 lbs

[morcheeba]

The heaviest model is under 7 pounds... all it took was a google search for "aspire 1710".

I'd buy it

[microbox]

I've always wanted a portable desktop computer. Desktops costs less, but they're a pain to take too/from work. I don't think 16lb is any more than the books a high school student has in their bags (well mine weighed that much). Sure there's lots of people out there who want a laptop that's the size of a PDA, but there _is_ a middle ground =)

1-hour battery life, 2 hours to charge

[maliabu]

according to Acer's website, this monstop is powered by a 12-cell lithium ion battery: up to 1.0 hour life depending on configuration and usage. Battery recharge times: 2.0 hours with system off, 4.0 hours with system in use.

Re:1-hour battery life, 2 hours to charge

[easyfrag]

So basically its more of a UPS than a battery.

Re:1-hour battery life, 2 hours to charge

[PCM2]

Whaa-a-aa-aaa?

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 ... baffled.

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:Is it really so much work, Timmy?

[Zed2K]

Yet further down it says:

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

like alienware

[QEDog]

16pounds, desktop processor. Sounds like an Alienware Laptop. Those puppies have 3 fans (!!!) to cool it down. In fact, I don't think it can technically be a laptop. If you put it in your lap, the high temps would boil your sperm...

Re:like alienware

[RevDobbs]

... as if being a Gamer Geek wasn't enough of a form of birth control...

Not really a laptop

[drix]

Notebook/laptop is really a bit of a misnomer, this machine sits squarely in the "desktop replacement" segment of the market. HP ZD7000 is another example. If you think of this thing as a notebook, sure it sounds like a joke, but you're failing to recognize that the old laptop-desktop dichotomy isn't valid anymore. These machines are actually quite useful. Lots of people don't ever actually take their laptop on the road, but they also don't want the big footprint of a desktop. Or they're like me, a student, and so the only time they transport their laptop is in a suitcase, to and from home. They need a smidge of portability, nothing more. (Some of these machines don't even have onboard batteries.) Desktop replacements make perfect sense. They're cheaper--you don't have to pay for the space-efficiency premium of a good notebook--and you're not stuck typing on a cramped keyboard, squinting at a miniscule screen and listening to tinny music from miniscule onboard speakers.

It's obviously not a "portable"

[aengblom]

These are just the PC markets' answer to the iMac type customers.

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.)

Re:Perfect plan to design a laptop that won't sell

[CowboyNick]

Hey!, by the time you add the extra battery, external HDs, keychain USB drives, digital camera, iPod, bose headphones, bag, DC/AC power supplies, voltage converters. I've got mine to 23.4lbs in the bag! Beat That!

Re:Perfect plan to design a laptop that won't sell

[theLastPossibleName]

3) Short battery life

The acer site says the battery lasts only 1 hour.

Re:why would anyone buy this

[pummer]

you call that an advantage? I've never owned an Apple product since the AppleII, and even I think this is ludicrous.

Re:Perfect plan to design a laptop that won't sell

[Cruciform]

Not exactly their best selling points.

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?

Only if. . .

[Anonymous Coward]

the Netork card is set to Promiscuous Mode

First: Ferrari laptop, now: Hummer

[chmilar]

Since the Ferrari laptop has a logo and red paint job, does this one have an ugly Hummer-style case? Does it make machine gun sounds when you fire it up?

Will Rob Enderle buy one?

3E gigahertz? thats impressive

[psycho]

I must say that 0x3E = 62 Gigahertz laptop
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?

[techstar25]

Seems to me this would be nice at lan parties where you would have all the performance and speed and a good size monitor without having to lug your desktop system around.

more like a gap

[GunFodder]

This product fills the gap for those who don't really want the portability of a laptop or the low price and ergonomics of a desktop.