September 2, 2004
The Acer 1502LMi’s chassis design is familiar enough, but underneath lurks enough new technology to make this one of the best notebooks we’ve seen for many a month.
Few ever doubted the potential of 64-bit computing, and now that Intel has officially thrown its hat into the ring, we can expect to see it taking an ever-larger section of both laptop and notebook markets. However, with a complete set of 64-bit applications still some way off, the early AMD foot-soldiers like this offering from Acer, while boasting a degree of future-proofing, don’t quite have the must-buy status that they might have.
It’s fortunate, therefore, that Acer 1502LMi backs up it’s powerhouse 3200+ processor with a host of features that make it more comprehensively alluring. While 512MB of RAM and a 60GB, 4,200rpm hard drive are increasingly commonplace, they’re still a very respectable combination, contributing to an excellent MobileMark2002 score of 219. We’re used to seeing scores of around 140 from Athlon 64 notebooks. It’s difficult to say why this machine scores so much better, but we suspect that Acer’s disk partitioning has something to do with it.
Graphics are also impressive, with a 64MB Radeon Mobility 9600 notching up a mighty score of 9,731 in3DMark 2001SE and 2,637 in 3DMark2003, and for such a gutsy specification the battery life is praiseworthy: three hours and 22 minutes from filling to failure. This compares favourably with the majority of Athlon 64 portables.
There’s a good showing on the data storage front, too. A DVD-RW drive is joined by the 3-in-1 card reader and, unusually, a floppy drive. More modern tastes are catered for by a four-pin FireWire connection and four USB 2.0 ports, although the latter are clustered together in a way that’s sure to block bulkier attachments. Joining them on the rear panel are the usual pack of VGA, DVI-I and parallel ports, along with 56K and Gigabit Ethernet connections, but it’s the wireless connections that really excite; 802.11g is there for the taking and can muster a decent range. The Bluetooth button amid the shortcuts isn’t connected to anything, but the side elevation offers an IR port for short-range work along with the handy expansion potential of two Type II PC card slots. This is nicely presented, too. While the chassis design is all too familiar, and the feeling of solidity comes more from the 3.72kg weight than the plastic build quality, the black, grey and silver colour scheme makes it all look surprisingly alluring.
There are a host of minor irritations that spoil an otherwise robust showing. The rattling keyboard is hardly rare and can be excused, but nerves are more likely to be frayed by the oddly-placed backslash key, and the maddening squeaking of the space bar. You’ll also struggle to escape the fan noise, which is a regular and noticeable presence. In an office environment this will pass unnoticed, but it’s a chore in the comparative silence of the home.
The display, at only 15 inches, doesn’t compare favourably to the widescreen wonders that we’re growing used to seeing, and limited viewing angles spoil gaming and DVD playback. But with acceptable response times and a resolution of 1,400x1,050, there’s not too much to complain about.
Minor quibbles aside, it’s hard to identify any real deficiency with the 1502. Top-end performance, a solid graphics showing and 802.11g wireless capability represent an almost universally desirable specification, and a price that doesn’t go too far over L1,000 is more than acceptable. It might lack the big screen and titanic build of the beefier desktop replacements, but it’s an excellent package.
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