Acer has just announced its Gemstone Blue, an upgrade to its Gemstone laptop series. It got the appelation blue due to the the distinctive shade of the shell, and the fact that it sports Blu-Ray drives.
The display comes in 16″ and 18″, full 16:9 widescreen, and maximum resolution of 1920×1080, with video delivered by INVIDIA GeForce GS processor. It also carries 5 integrated speakers for true 5.1 sound delivered by Dolby Home Theater, Tuba CineBass booster and True5.1 CineSurround.
At the core of the series is the processor, of course. These machines are driven by Intel Centrino processors, Penryn, of course, with up to maximum of 4GB RAM.
The CineDash is the Star Trek-like interface found at the left side of the keyboard. CineDash is just a specialized interface for controlling media apps. Unfortunately, there is no right-side version.
Two models have been announced: Aspire 6920G and 8920G, and both are due next month. Not sure about a Philippine release date. Of course, they won’t come in cheap. The cheapest is priced around US$900 (that’s Php 36900 at US$1=Php41 conversion rate).
Prices of Gemstone laptops should drop by the time these Aspires hit retailers’ shelves.
Technical specifications below:
| Aspire 6920G | Aspire 8920G | |
| Processor and Chipset | Intel Centrino Intel Core2 Duo Mobile Intel PM965 Express Chipset Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN |
|
| Memory | DDR2 667 MHz, up to 4GB using 2 soDIMM modules (dual channel) | |
| Hard disk | 1 or 2 HDD, up to 320GB each | |
| Optical drive | 1X Blu-Ray Disc Super Multi double layer or 8x DVD Super Multi double layer | 2X Blu-Ray Disc Super Multi double layer or 8x DVD Super Multi double layer |
| Video | NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GS, up to 12808 MB Turbo Cache (512MB dedicated, up to768MB shared) | NVIDIA GeForce 9650 GS or NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GS, up to 12808 MB Turbo Cache (512MB dedicated, up to768MB shared) |
| Display | 16″ Full HD 1920×1080 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio 16″ 1366×768 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio |
18.4″ Full HD 1920×1080 resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Sound | Dolby Home Theater, Acer CineSurround with 5 integrated speakers, Tuba CineBass | |
| Ports | ExpressCard, 4 USB ports, HDMI, infrared, VGA, RF-in, headphone/speaker/line-out with S/PDIF, mic-in, line-in | |
| Connectivity | WiFi A/B/G/N 1GB LAN 56K modem |
|
| Weight | 3.5KG with 8-cell battery | 4.1KG with 8-cell battery |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Ultimate or Home Premium | |