Reviews related to : Laptops
Laptops have evolved over the years from a poor cousin of their more powerful desktop brethren to today, where for many manufacturers, laptops outsell desktops.
The focus has moved to laptops with huge investment in improving performance and reducing power consumption. You will still however find even those that claim to be 'desktop replacements' to be slower than a desktop product, and this is likely to remain the case for some time.
If it's raw power you want stick to a desktop computer!
A Chromebook is an alternative to a Windows PC if all you use it for is emails, scouring the web and suchlike. These days a Chromebook has anti virus built in so you are already saving money and you should be safe to trawl the net, but as always remember if the offer looks to too good to be true it almost certainly is and you will probably get bugs that you do not want.
The measures 36x23.5x1.5cm. Going around the outside it has USB 'C', HDMI and USB on the left. The front is clear, the right side has 3.5mm audio socket, USB 'C' and Kensington lock port. The back is also clear as the screen goes back to 190 degrees. The back has four 3x.5cm small rubber feet in each corner the two at the front vertical and the two at the back horizontal. The weight of the unit is 1.37 kilos which is a tiny amount over three pounds.
This is a powerful rugged notebook designed for the sort of conditions that most notebooks would very soon give up. While I can tell you about the unit I was sent, the connections it has can very to suit the use you plan to have for it, so the actual price will tend to vary somewhat.
It came with 32GB of RAM; it has an Intel 12 Gen i7 processor running at 2.1GHz. It has a 1GB SSD ‘C’ drive with 865GB of the 928GB free and a 1GB ‘D’ SSD with 953GB available. The Windows version is Windows 11 Pro 22H2 which is the latest available. Boot up was a reasonable 15 seconds, shutdown is around 10 seconds.
A 16inch notebook that does not weigh that much, it also does not feel that much larger when you move around with it. Unlike a lot of such devices I get to review this one has an AMD processor, this one runs at 2.7GHz. It has 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.
Its dimensions are 36x24x1.5cm and it weighs only 1179grams which is meant to be the world’s lightest. The viewable screen is 34x21.5cm which gives the notional imperial diagonal measurement of 16inches, this is 4K 3840x2400pixel and OLED. On the left edge are two USB ‘C’, USB3 and HDMI. The right side has 3.5mm socket for headphones, USB3 and two LED’s. Both the front and back are clear. The screen goes back to around 45 degrees.
This latest offering from Acer is the Swift 5 a small and light notebook that has Windows 11. Just because it is small does not mean it is not powerful. There are a range of models with different processors, sizes of SSD drives and memory.
The Acer Swift 5 measures 31x22x1.5cm and weighs 1278 grams. On the left side there are two USB ‘C’ ports an HDMI port and a USB port. On the right side are 3.5mm audio out socket a USB port two LEDs and the all-important Kensington Lock port. The keyboard is 84 keys with the alpha keys being full size. There is a 2cm border behind and to the sides of the keyboard with 9cm in front and the 10x7cm trackpad being mounted centrally in this area.
If your main uses of a PC are for emails, browsing the web and word processing or spreadsheets then a Chromebook can be cheaper and even a more secure form of connection to the outside world as Chromebooks are both automatically updated in the background and have Anti-Virus protection built in so you can remain in a safer environment.
This one from Acer measures 36x23.5.1.5cm and weighs 1677g and can show a full HD screen. Going around the outside on the left is a USB ‘C’ port a USB port and 3.5mm socket for headphones. The front is clear. The right side has micro SD card port, Ethernet connection, USB ‘C’ port and finally a Kensington Lock port. The rear is also clear as the screen goes back beyond 180 degrees. The viewable screen is 34x19.
At last a company starts to do something about sustainability as the case on this unit is made from recycled plastic, it has a slightly rough feel no doubt not essential but to make you feel you are doing your bit. This latest offering in the Aspire range is called Vero. The strap line comes up on bootup ‘Vero for Planel Earth’. What does this latest offering from Acer have to offer both for sustainability and also for value for money in these testing times?
The Acer Aspire Vero AV15-51 measures 36.5x24.5x1.7cm and weighs 1800grams. Going around the outside has power input, Ethernet, HDMI, two USB3 and a USB ‘C’. Both the front and back are clear the right side has two LED’s, 3.5mm for headphones and a USB3 finally a Kensington Lock connection. You can also charge the unit with a USB ‘C’ connection. The base has four horizontal 2x.7cm yellow rubber feet, behind the front feet are the 2.5x1.5cm speaker outlets.
So many people moan about Windows continual upgrades, with a Chromebook they still occur but in the background. So do you really need Windows, the answer lies in what do you use your PC for, if you use Windows programs then the answer is yes. However if you use it for Browsing, sending and receiving emails writing books or using spreadsheets possibly not as a Chromebook can do all that and now it even supports the Google Play store.
This latest offering from Acer has another plus ‘touch’ so ideal for those not keen on the Touchpad. It is 32x22.5x1.5cm this last measurement is at the back, at the front it is only a tad over 1cm. It weighs only 1284grams. The viewable screen is 31x17.3cm which gives you very close to the imperial measurement of 14inches, the aspect ratio is 16:9. The left side has USB ‘C’ and 3.5mm headset socket. The front is clear; the right side has USB3 and Kensington Lock socket.
With Lockdowns possible over, it might be the time to take a look at improving your computer experience.
Having recently told you about a Samsung Chromebook that comes with the latest version of Wimdows here is their Chromebook offering that was released at the same time. So here you get a Chromebook that can also allow you to get mobile data to keep you in contact while out of the office and as it has its own SIM so no nicking mobile data from your phone.
The measures 32.5x22x1.5cm and it weighs 1431grams. The viewable screen is 17x31cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 14 inches and the display is 1366x768. There is .5cm clear either side of the screen 1.5cm above it and 2cm below it. In the centre of the area above the screen is a 720p web cam. The 75 key keyboard has full size alpha and numeric keys. There is 2cm clear on the sides and 2.5cm clear behind it.
This is a powerful Notebook from Acer that is very fast and while not a featherweight at 1.41 kilos it is very solid so should stand the odd knock or three. It still has the ability to be used in an office environment as it has Ethernet and a full sized HDMI port. So what else does this latest offering have to temp the user to dig into their wallet.
The Acer TravelMate P4 measures 32.5x22.8x1.3cm and weighs 1.41kilos. The left side has DC input, Ethernet, HDMI, two USB3 ports and USB ‘C’ which can be used to charge to save carrying a power brick on your travels. The front is clear. The right side has on/off button, two LEDs, micro SD, 3.5mm audio out and a further USB ‘C’. The back is also clear as the screen goes back to 180 degrees. The base has a long 28x.
This is one of three different models of notebooks that have something that few notebooks have, a SIM slot so that when out and about you do not have to rely on your SmartPhone or dodgy open Wi-Fi to stay in touch. While I have seen this before it has only been on a very few Tablets and not on a full notebook like the Samsung Galaxy Book Go.
The is the first notebook to come my way that has Windows 11 pre-installed. It is 32x22.2x1.2cm and weighs 1350 grams so will not weigh down your bag. So on initial startup after the normal 15 minutes of questions and choices you are ready to go. The viewable screen is 31x17.5cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of close to 14inches. The screen resolution defaults to 1920x1080 with 125% being the setup default if your eyesight is excellent then 100% may work for you.
This is a powerful Notebook which at the time of setup you can have as Windows 10 or Windows 11. I choose Windows 10 and after the normal 15 minutes’ worth of questions answered was able to use the machine, as usual there are a number of updates to do to bring it right up to date. So after a few days having done all the updates I expected to be offered the chance to upgrade and as I was not I restored it and this time I choose Windows 11.
The Acer Predator Notebook measures 32x22.5x1.8cm and weighs 1722 grams. The screen is 31x17.5cm, 14inch. The viewable screen is 1920x1080 with the default display set to 150%. Bootup is 8 seconds while shutdown is 5 seconds. It has an 11 Generation Intel 17 processor running at 3.3GHz. It comes with 16GB RAM and has a 1TB SSD (952GB). Going around the outside on the left has a Kensington Lock port, Power input, USB3 port, USB ‘C’ which can also charge.
This Acer Aspire 1 is the first unit I have seen that offered me the chance to upgrade to Windows 11; you can read my thoughts in an item published last week. So now having done the upgrade I move on to the review of this rather nice if somewhat lower power and capacity unit. It is however all wrapped up nicely with a 14 inch full HD screen, and it’s very well priced.
This Acer Aspire 1 measures 32x23x1.5cm and weighs 1494 grams. The screen is 30.5x17.4cm and this gives the notional imperial diagonal measurement of 14 inches. It comes with 4GB of RAM that has 3.81GB usable and has a 64GB SSD which is 57.1GB actual size. The Processor is an Intel Pentium Silver N6000 which runs at 1.1GHz. After the upgrade it now has Windows 11 Home version 21H2. There is an 84 key keyboard with the alpha keys being full size. There is 2.
Most items I get to review have Intel chips in and while specifications say something like Intel i5 or equivalent until I have tested an equivalent I am reluctant to say something will work. A while ago Parallels brought out a product that would allow Chromebooks to run Windows, most recent Chromebooks can run Android Apps but Windows was something new.
If your company or education establishment wants to save on the cost of Windows notebooks this Chromebook may help as it has the basic power and memory to run Parallels for Windows allowing you to run Windows in a ‘sandbox’ while still running Chrome on the machine your company will however still need Windows licenses for every Chromebook running it though, currently they are Windows 10.
If your company or education establishment wants to save on the cost of Windows notebooks this Chromebook may help as it has the basic power and memory to run Parallels for Windows allowing you to run Windows in a ‘sandbox’ while still running Chrome on the machine your company will however still need Windows licenses for every Chromebook running it though, currently they are Windows 10.
There is a list of Chromebooks from all the major players but so far only Acer have gone out of their way to find me units that qualify. The basic requirements are an i5 Processor or equivalent, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage as with any such project more is better. Chromebooks are great for basic things like word processing, working with emails and browsing the Internet.
Here is a recent Chromebook from Acer, this is a powerful unit more than capable of running Chrome Apps and that also means Android Apps – although some may look a little strange with the swap from portrait to landscape – so things that you use every day on your phone can now be viewed that little larger in your living room as well as on the road.
The Acer Chromebook Spin measures 30x23x1.5cm, the last figure at the back if you measure at the front it's barely 1cm, it weighs 1368 grams. Going around the outside has USB ‘C’, USB3, 3.5mm socket for headphones and Micro SD card socket on the left side. The front is clear. The right side has volume rocker, HDMI out, USB ‘C’ and finally on/off button. The back is clear as the screen rotates 180 degrees to become a Tablet. The base has four landscape rubber feet 3x.
During Lockdown and afterwards I spent a lot of time online with Webinars and various Zoom and various other online meetings both work and friend related, far too often people were moaning about the times they could not get into group simply because Windows was spending ages upgrading, other were getting problems with bandwidth for various unconnected reasons. The polite version from many was I am going to get a Chromebook as they do what you want.
So here one of the latest range that may help them and if there are programs and Apps that you cannot do without them Chrome already allows access to the Android store so Apps on your phone now work on recent Chromebooks. Better still Parallels is just launching a program that allows you to run Windows on your Chromebook. This offering from Acer measures 30.5x205x1.5cm the last figure is the maximum thickness as at the front it is only 1cm thick, it weighs only 1125grams.
Available in two colours, when I delved into what colour I was sent I find it was listed as Pink but to me it’s more like a light violet. This is a rather nice and quiet powerful Laptop from a company known for producing top quality items.
It is 21.5x31.5x1.5cm the last figure is at the back, at the front it is only 1cm. The screen display is full HD 1920x1080 and the notional diagonal imperial screen measurement is 14 inches, it weighs 1428 grams. The connections on the left side are 3.5mm socket for headphones and a USB port. The front is clear.
While there are a good number of units that are stated to withstand both heat and cold as well as dust and wet there are a lesser number designed to work for longer periods in places where there is zero or very limited mains power available so this triple battery model might be the answer.
It is 34x28x3.5cm and weighs 3.15 kilos. The viewable screen is 30.5x17cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 14inches, out of the box the screen resolution is set at 150% but 125% should still be viewable and for those with perfect vision maybe 100%. The screen surround is 1.5cm on each side with 2.5cm at the base and 3cm at the top. Inset in the centre at the top is a webcam that has a vanity slider. On the area on the right side is a fingerprint reader.
This is a very powerful and also rather expensive offering but when you get a boot at six seconds and shutdown at two seconds this immediately tells you it will not be ‘cheap’ so what exactly does this latest offering from Porsche and marketed by Acer offer.
Porsche AP714-51GT laptop measures 32x19.5x1.5cm the last measurement is at the rear because at the front it is only 1cm thick. The viewable screen is 30.5x17.5cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of very close to 14 inches, the display is full HD 1920x1080 and the default is to show this at 150%. Going around the outside has connections on the left for power in, HDMI out, USB3 and USB ‘C’. The front is clear while the right side has a 3.
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