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Acer intros 1080p Gemstone Blue notebooks


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[newsimg]http://images.macnn.com/esta/content/0803/aceraspire6920.jpg[/newsimg]As promised, Acer on Wednesday launched a radical overhaul of its Aspire notebook line targeted at the high-end notebook market normally occupied by companies such as Apple and Sony. Nicknamed the Gemstone Blue, the new design centers around a deluxe media console known as the CineDash: the touch-sensitive control lets users navigate music, videos, and menus without having to resort to the trackpad. Each system also sports a unique "weave" finish and an advanced speaker system that generates virtual Dolby 5.1-channel surround, including a 10-watt subwoofer. The two systems being released today are also the first notebooks anywhere to ship with a true 16:9 ratio display. Both the 16-inch Aspire 6920 and 18.4-inch Aspire 8920G can output at the same 1080p (1920x1080) resolution of Blu-ray or an HDTV tuner (options on both models) and are fast enough at 8ms to avoid the ghosting artifacts that surface on many notebook LCDs. Their color gamuts are also a full third richer than conventional notebooks, Acer claims. The Aspire 6920 has the option of a less costly 720p (1366x768) display.

We just got a peek at these two new systems in person at a press event in New York, and while they're not going to be game-changers, there are a few highlights worth noting.

Outside of screen differences, the systems are primarily separated by graphics and storage. The simpler 6920 is driven by NVIDIA's next-generation GeForce 9500M GS, while the larger 8920G steps up to a GeForce 9650 GS. Storage runs up to 320GB on the 16-inch system but can be doubled to 640GB on the larger model courtesy of a second hard drive bay. Either system comes with HDMI video output as standard, though only the 8920G has a VoIP phone that allows it to more naturally place calls through Skype or other services.

Intel Penryn-class CPUs and Nvidia's GeForce 9500 or 9650 GPUs are standard, and Acer claims its new displays are brighter, with better color range, than the previous Aspire models.

Despite the high-profile launch, Acer has not said which Core 2 Duo processors it will use or when it expects the new Aspires to ship, though past comments by the company have priced the systems between $1,900 and $2,200 and would have both ship in the spring.

The most interesting part was the unique capacitive touch media controls. Instead of running a simple line of media buttons along the top of the keyboard (even budget laptops such as the Dell 1525 have capacitive touch-sensitive controls these days), the media controls are boxed off to the left of the keyboard in a panel called the CineDash Media Console.

It's the same general concept, but the high-tech layout makes it stand out--you get a volume circle, basic play/pause/transport controls, and a few other media player keys.

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Look for these two new systems to hit retailers some time in April, starting at $900 and going up to around $1,700.

Source: Electronista, CNET

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If osx86 were to run on this machine, then I could only imagine the limitation, bugs, and numerous features (the touch media center controls, for example, along with the abnormal-for-PCs 1080p resolution.)

Same with Linux, too, I'd be sure. I'd have to give this thing ~6 months on the market before most/all of the special features of this machine were to all work properly.

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