For me desktop replacements have to be good to earn the name.  They have to genuinely be able to replace your desktop and this means at least a Core i5 processor, lots of memory, huge volumes of hard disk space and, crucially, a large screen.  My own laptop is a desktop replacement workstation, the Dell M6600 which is an absolute monster with a price tag to match of around $4,000, but it’s possible to get much of the same for significantly less.  A couple of months ago I reviewed Samsung‘s RF711 gaming desktop replacement laptop which comes in at under $1,000 and, while it may make a few compromises such as not having a full HD 17 inch screen, it does come packed with a Core-i7 chip, 6Gb of Ram and twin hard disks.

Now though Acer have stepped into the frame with the new Aspire Athos 8951G and it’s got a very interesting little trick up its sleeve.  This is the most enormous laptop I’ve ever seen with a huge 18.4 inch full HD screen.  It’s over 40 cm wide and weighs more than 4Kg.  Inside though the package is very impressive with my model packing a quad core 2.2GHz Core-i7, 8Gb of DDR3 ram (expandable to 16Gb) and two 500Gb hard disks.  There’s an nVidia GeForce GT 555M graphics card with it’s own dedicated 2Gb of memory and the customary extras you’d expect such as 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 (though not 3.0), three USB 2 ports, a USB 3 port, full HDMI, FireWire, 6 in 1 card reader, VGA, Gigabit Ethernet and e-SATA.  There’s a webcam built into the bezel and a fingerprint reader below the keyboard.

All this comes in, with a Blu-Ray reader at around $1,400 which is more than the Samsung, but it offers more, and is considerably less than the Dell.

It is a very attractive machine finished in jet black brushed metal with matching high-quality plastics throughout.  There are a few small touches of silver finish, a large speaker grille above the keyboard with loud, punchy sound that admittedly lacks range, and a sub-woofer underneath.

The keyboard is a full size, scrabble-tile affair and, while I would have liked full size cursor keys on the machine this large, the keyboard is well proportioned and easy to use.  The keyboard is backlit too, very helpful, but with only a single brightness setting; or two if you include off!  It was disappointing not to see seperate volume and media controls however, but this may be because of the Acer’s party piece.

The full HD 1920 by 1080 screen is glorious, with a glass-effect finish (it’s actually a plastic coating) that give the machine a feel of real luxury.  What it lacks in brightness against some others it makes up for with its sheer size and impact.

Battery life is perhaps less impressive, the 6000 mAh battery will last a maximum of 5½ hours on light use but more likely 3½ to 4 hours in general use.  Play a game on it and, like the Samsung, you’ll be lucky to get 45 minutes out of it.  Build quality is much better with no show-though when I poked the pack of the screen and solid build quality throughout.

The 8951G’s party piece though is the removable trackpad which doubles as a media controller.  Flip a switch on the front of the laptop and out it pops to work wirelessly.  Press a button in the top right and media controls illuminate, it’s really very clever and works at some distance.  While you can click it, though it’s not multi-touch, this sadly pushes the chassis mouse buttons to the very front of the edge of the case, which feels odd.

Alas it’s as a trackpad that the faults begin to appear.  The trackpad has quite a sticky surface which often makes it feel you’re physically trying to shove the cursor across the screen.  It also doesn’t have a rubber or grippy bottom, so you won’t be using it to the side of the laptop like Apple’s Magic Trackpad.

On a desktop replacement machine however you’re more likely going to be using this in a static location with a mouse, and in this configuration it’s simply superb and hugely powerful.  It’s pre-loaded with huge volumes of bloatware and trialware, which I hate, but once you’ve uninstalled all that it’s a desktop replacement in every sense of the word.  I wouldn’t even know how to fill 1Tb of storage on a laptop and I have millions of files!

Overall the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951G is a hugely powerful and hugely impressive machine.  It may be pricey, but it’s not much more than a comparable desktop with all the advantages a laptop brings.  The trackpad lets it down so you’ll really want to get a mouse as well.  But overall, it’s an excellent purchase at a very sensible price.

Overall, 7/10

Each week will see different prizes with a grand prize in the final week. The prize breakdown and dates for the competition are as follows.

Week 1

Monday 17th October to Sunday 23rd October 2011 – Prizes 1 copy of “Windows 7 Plain & Simple” and 1 signed copy of “Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out” as a bundle for one winner.

Week 2

Monday 24th October to Sunday 30th October 2011 – Prizes 1 copy of “Windows 7 Step by Step” and 1 signed copy of “Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out” as a bundle for one winner.

Week 3

Monday 31st October to Sunday 6th November 2011 – Prizes 1 copy of “HTML5 Step by Step” and 1 signed copy of “Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out” as a bundle for one winner.

Week 4

Monday 7th November to Sunday 13th November 2011 – Prizes 1 signed copy of “The Windows 7 Power Users Guide” and 1 signed copy of “Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out” as a bundle for one winner.

Week 5

Monday 14th November to Sunday 20th November 2011 – Prizes 1 copy of “The Windows 7 Resource Kit“, 1 copy of “Windows 7 Inside Out Deluxe Edition” and 1 signed copy of “Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out” as a bundle for one winner.

Week 6

Monday 21st November to Sunday 27th November 2011 – Prizes 1 Acer Iconia Tab W500 Windows 7 Tablet with a 10.1 inch multi-touch screen, 2GB memory, 32Gb SSD, 2 in 1 card reader, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 3, 1.3MP built-in webcam, Windows 7 Home Premiun 32-bit and Office 2010 Starter Edition preloaded. 1 copy of “Windows 7 Inside Out Deluxe Edition” and 1 signed copy of “Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out” as a bundle for one winner.

Entry Rules

• People following Mike Halsey MVP on Facebook may enter this competiton a maximum amount of once per week, duplicate entries will not be counted.
• Competiton questions will be posted once on the wall of Mike Halsey MVP each Monday throughout weeks 1 to 5.
• Entries can be accepted from people worldwide.
• All entries MUST contain the full name, postal address and contact telephone number (required by some couriers) of the participant. Entries submitted without this information will not be counted. This information will be deleted at the end of the competition and will not be shared with third-parties.
• All participants must be 16 years or older to comply with competition rules in some countries.
• All participants must be able to receive packages via standard postal mail or by courier.
• People may only win one of the weekly prizes (weeks 1 to 5) and the grand prize maximum. People cannot win two weekly prizes.
• People who have won a weekly prize may still enter following weeks to increase their chances of winning the grand prize, though their entry will not be counted in the week they enter.
• Each week’s competition will be slightly different to reflect the prizes on offer and may include open and multiple-choice questions and tip suggestions
• Each person must submit a tie-break tip each week on the subject provided, this subject will change each week.
• Entries must be emailed to mike@MVPs.org with the subject Competition during the weeky period of the competition, as stated above. NOTE: If this email address repeatedly fails (which it does sometimes) try mike_dot_halsey_at_live_dot_co_dot_uk
• Lost, late or undelivered entries cannot be counted.
• The winner of the grand prize will be selected from the best tie-break tip over the full course of the competition. There will be no separate way to enter during week 6.
• Winners will be notified by email within 6 days of the end of each week’s competition and will be required to accept their win within a calendar week. Any person who is non-contactable by email, or who does not accept their prize within the time permitted will forfeit their prize, which will be reallocated to a new winner.
• Prizes will be sent by a variety of methods including regular mail. No replacement prizes can be sent for any items lost or damaged in transit and no cash alternative will be available.
• Delivery of prizes can take 6 to 8 weeks depending on the location of the winner and the delivery method used.
• The winner will be chosen by Mike Halsey and judged on the quality of the answers given and their tie-break suggestion. Mike Halsey’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
• Entry to this competition constitutes acceptance of these terms and conditions.

Both iOS and Android are polished tablet operating systems, though there is still demand for Windows on tablets.  This might be because people want the power of WIndows, they want to use their existing Windows software or perhaps because they’re getting ready to move to the next version of Windows next year.  I’ve been using the W500 for a week now and I’ve written a full review of the device on our sister site Windows7News.

According to him, Acer Inc. predicts that about one third of its revenue will be generated by the profits from tablet and smart phone sales by 2015.
Acer Inc is still in the phase of reorganizing itself after a sudden turnaround in situation when the company’s CEO left in March after a dispute about how to counter the massively growing tablet PC industry and how to safeguard company’s own core business, notebook and net books.

Jim Wong, who has recently taken over the role of President told reporters that Acer Inc. would now focus much more on tablet PCs and touch phones than earlier. According to him the new age belongs to touch technology and he & his team will do whatever they can to put the latest technology in the palms of users hands. The company has an ambitious plan to make up 13% of its revenue by touch products in 2013 and then about 33% of the revenue by 2015. And in touch products, Acer Inc will target the smart phones and tablet PC market along with its regular notebook business.

Ultrabooks is basically a new technology launched by Intel Corp. It’s a new category of notebooks that are ultra-light weight and perform much faster. Top chipmaker Intel has introduced high performance processors into the motherboards of these Ultrabooks. Intel anticipates that about 40% of the people who will buy a new laptop will have Ultrabooks by next year. Mr. Wong seems quite hopeful that Ultrabooks will help revive the notebook industry since there’s no doubt that tablet PCs can provide power packed computing performance much like the Ultrabooks can.

On the other hand, Acer’s rival and Netbook pioneer Asustek launched its first ultrabook at the Computex computer show in Taiwan on Monday.

Acer has been a dominant stake holder in the notebook industry with their cheap notebooks. Although they still lead the segment of low cost notebooks they have not been able to compete with the quickly growing tablet PC industry of, especially after the runaway success of Apple’s iPad.

In April, Acer Inc decided to cut is shipment target by 10% as compared to Jan- Mar the same year. This shows the drop in sales and low profits that the company is experiencing. Despite this, Wong is still confident that Acer is a major player in the industry and looks forward to increasing the company’s investments in China by establishing an R&D facility in Chongqing and another city in addition to the one already established in Shanghai. It seems like Acer is determined to succeed. It will be interesting to watch over the coming months.

So here we have some of the more high profile Snapdragon phones that are coming our way.

HTC HD2

After that big a whispering campaign courtesy of the leaks and the high anticipation during the launch, there is no way you can forget this mobile phone. Arguably the first device to bring the processor to the limelight, this is the phone that in a way started it all.

If you are not too impressed by the 4.3inch screen, then you might be impressed by the custom UI made by HTC. The UI has been demoed on video and it looks really great and responsive. The acceleration, the transitions and the rendering – all look smooth and fast. That is definitely where the Snapdragon shines its brightest.

But the phone might fail to generate the traction and sales that it deserves simply because of its platform. It is a Windows Mobile device and it runs Windows Mobile 6.5 underneath that great UI. What that means is a (ridiculously) low number of apps and low third party interest, which again translates to a not-so-good user experience when compared to the fast-moving Android or the trend-setting iPhone OS.

HTC Dragon/ Passion [?]

This was rumored to be the Android version of the HD2 but now it has been (almost) ID’d as the new HTC Passion. This would be more like a CDMA version of the HTC Dragon, which is a GSM phone. It has also been revealed that the HTC Passion is heading for Verizon and we could be seeing it in the flesh metal by the end of this year. Well, if they want to sell something this year they have to bring it out before Christmas.

But if this phone does materialize, this would be another Android phone that will be jostling for space at the top rung of things. Now that we have the Droid and the X10, this would likely become the third super-specc’d Android phone. [read]

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10

If you still do not know about the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10, you are clearly not coming out from underneath your rock often enough. The XEPRIA X10 was leaked and discussed frenetically before it was finally unveiled on November 3^rd.

It features a custom UI on top of Android and it is know as the ‘Open OS’. The features to be highlighted are the Timescape and Mediascape features, that give you smarter ways to stay connected with your contacts, communications and media. If you want a hands-on review of a pre-production unit, you can check out this post. Over all, Sony Ericsson has something that is pretty sleek and stylish. If they can deliver on their promises (Timescape and Mediascape), this might become THE Android phone to get. Hopefully it will be up to Android 2.0 when they finally get around to selling this phone in the first half of next year.

Acer Liquid A1

Acer’s Liquid A1 is the company’s venture into Android smartphone field and it has so far received a lukewarm response at best. After announcing the Snapdragon processor and the Android OS base, it became the first phone to bring those two together.

However, as we have seen and heard from the folks who got their hands on the device  – Acer is clearly lacking on the UI development. Plus, the physical design of the phone leaves much space for improvement. Acer’s inexperience in the smartphone category shows through too clearly for this to be a compelling device. Sorry Acer but it looks like you need to step up your game here. [read]

Unnamed Nokia Smartphone For AT&T

Nokia is rumored to be making a new smartphone for AT&T that will be powered by Snapdragon. It is not the N900 and it is something that will be up against the likes of the Droid, the HD2 and the X10. This is a little sliver of a rumor, so more details are currently unavailable. [read]

However, Acer’s products tend to have some more polish and better aesthetics than Asus products. So they have successfully carved out a niche for themselves that is slightly above the Asus price range. Still, performance-wise, they are at more or less the same level.

Acer has already announced the Z5610 all-in-one quite some time back but live pictures of the device have been scarce to the point of not being there. But now that it has been spotted in the omlette du fromage land, we are quite impressed by it.

It has been about one week since Acer announced the product and now we have live shots of the device courtesy a French tech blog called ‘Le Journal du Geek’. Cool name you guys.

The Acer Z5610 is a touch enabled Windows 7 system whose claim to fame is its 24” HD multitouch screen. With 4GB memory, 320GB Storage and ATI Mobility Radeon HD4570 graphics, it is not going to kill the Sony Vaio line of all-in-ones but it is good competition for the rest.

Looks like it has other points of attraction as well, now that we have seen the live shots. The ambient lighting and the round edges look pretty good to me. I won’t go as far as Acer who calls it a “timeless piece” in their promo. But I am ready admit that it has the right looks and it looks like Acer is stepping up the design game as well. With an MSRP of $899, the price is just right too. It will of course sell for about $800 once it gets out but that’s what MSRPs are there for in the first place.

Acer has more up its sleeve though. It has been working on tablet PCs for quite some time now and we have been through the usual – rumor followed by leaked images followed by live images followed by official announcement. So what are these new devices?

Actually, if you weren’t told you would think you are looking at multiple units of the same model. But no, Acer has decided to bring out, not one or two, but three 11.6” netbook-tablet convertibles that look like copies of each other. They are called 1420P, 1820PT and1820PTZ. The point here is that this type of convertibles haven’t really caught on yet and there are good reasons behind that.

In the beginning, the software wasn’t up to scratch for a proper touch-based UI, the hardware was weak. Now that we have Windows 7, we will probably have better UI but the fact remains that tablets are still considered to be niche devices that are meant for the professionals. And the hardware is still not all that powerful to appeal to the professionals. Besides, they want a digitizer mostly, not just multitouch.

People might be looking for a nice multitouch surface that is bigger than their touchphones but the fact remains that these tablets are not what they have in mind. They are more of the MID crowd who are looking for better mobility and a more compact form factor. Taking it out, turning it, folding it, using it, unfolding it, twisting it back and stowing it away – too much work to get some quick reading or emailing done in the car or the bus. So it remains to be seen how Acer’s marketing team intends to push these devices.