Review: Acer Aspire Gemstone Blue AS8920-6671

When reviewers lifted this nine-pound behemoth out of its box, everyone in the Test Center stopped what they were doing to come over and drool.

Labeled Gemstone Blue, the case has a carbon black look to it, but when light hits it at just the correct angle, little glints of blue can be seen. The AS8920 was obviously designed from the beginning with entertainment in mind. Acer claims that it is the first notebook with a 16:9 screen (other widescreen laptops are actually 16:10), and the first with true 1920 x 1280 high-definition resolution.

Besides its beautiful looks and enormous screen, one of the first features that stand out is the full-size keyboard. And not just full-sized keys either. . . There is an actual number pad right next to the QWERTY. The textured wrist rest is also nicely oversized and can deftly support the largest of palms. In addition, the touchpad (which is centered to the middle of the QWERTY part of the keyboard, not the actual unit) is textured with the same symmetrical design as the wrist pad. This not only enhances the look of the device, but also makes it a little more tactile when in use.

To the left of the keyboard is the next noticeable attribute; what Acer calls the CineDash media console. This is an artistically looking (but functional) array of glossy, touch-sensitive controls that handle anything media related including Play/Rewind/Fast-Forward, Volume, and a button that launches Arcade Deluxe -- Acer's multimedia program.

Our evaluation unit, the AS8920-6671, came pre-installed with MS Vista Ultimate on a 320GB SATA hard drive, and an Intel Core 2 Duo T9500 running at 2.60 GHz. It also has 4GB of DDR2 667MHz SDRAM, although the 32-bit version Vista only reports 3GB. Video from the NVIDIA GeForce 9650M GS supplies the very bright WUXGA+ TFT display with mesmerizing, sharp, vivid colors against extremely dark blacks and Blu-ray discs played on the included internal drive look particularly stunning. The HDMI output also allows the 1280p video to be carried over to a large screen monitor or television.

Bloatware is kept to a minimum on this model. Most of the included, Acer-branded, applications are useful; Bio-Protection for the included fingerprint reader, Crystal Eye Webcam software, a Video Conference Manager, and the earlier mentioned Arcade Deluxe, which can be launched almost instantly without having to completely boot into Windows. Trial versions are limited to Cyberlink's PowerDirector (30-days), McAfee Internet Security Suite (60-days), and MicroSoft Office HomeStudent 2007 (60-days). A full version of MicroSoft works 8.5 is also included.

Since video is only part of the Hi-Def experience, Acer also included a true Dolby Home Theater 5.1 surround sound system. This consists of three speakers in the front of the unit, and two above the keyboard. The "dot-one" in this case is in the form the Acer Tuba CineBass booster, which is a tube running along the back of the base, in between the similarly tubular hinges, which cleverly hold the power plug jack on the left and a Kensington Lock Slot on the right.

As one would expect, the sound system of a notebook computer, even with these specifications, doesn't compare to a permanently installed In-Home Theater, but Acer has successfully approximated the experience enough to still keep the wow factor.

Connectivity to the AS8920 is by way of a Gigabit Ethernet port, BlueTooth 2.0, infrared (for the included remote control, or via the integrated 802.11a/g/n WiFi connection. There is also the (for some unknown reason) always standard V.92 modem too.

Rounding out the list of notable features is a 6-in-1 card reader located in the front of the computer, an ExpressCard/54 slot, four USB ports (two on each side), and five "easy-launch" shortcut buttons, three of which are user programmable.

Performance on the AS8920 was tested using Primate Labs' GeekBench2 benchmarking tool which resulted in a score of 2787. This score is within the scope of other computers with similar configurations and is not too shabby.

Battery life was tested by continuously playing a movie in Windows Media Player, with all power saving settings turned off. Although the battery only lasted a bleak 2 hours, 6 minutes, that is still close to the "up to" 2.5 hours Acer specifies. In addition, recharging a depleted battery to 100% (while the laptop was on) took approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes, well below the stated 3 hours Acer claims.

Because of its large footprint (17.4 inches by 11.8 inches by 1.7 inches), there were no discernible hot spots on the device. Across the entire unit, temperature measurements never rose above 87 degrees Fahrenheit (noticeably in a location where there is no contact during normal use) and the average temperature hovered around 82 degrees.

Also due to its size, the AS8920 is really not practical to be used as a traditional laptop. It fits more into the growing pool of desktop replacements that have recently surfaced. If size and weight are not an issue, the AS8920 Aspire Gemstone is a computer that truly meets all expectations. It handles the rudimentary, day-to-day PC functions well, and can continue to serve a purpose when the work is done.

Our evaluation, 6671 model has an MSRP of $2,599, but there is also a 6048 model with an MSRP of $1,299 that has similar, but lower specs (Vista Home, T5550 processor, 3GB memory, 9500M graphics, 250GB HDD, and 802.11a/b/g WiFi).