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Acer Goes True Blue With Aussie Launch Of Gemstone Notebooks
Posted by Nick Broughall at 12:02 PM on April 16, 2008
Last month, Acer held a big exciting event in New York to launch their new range of Gemstone Blue Entertainment notebooks. Yesterday, they held a much smaller, low-key affair to launch the laptops in Australia.
The range, which includes both 16-inch and 18.4-inch models, are available now for RRPs starting at $2,499 for the 16-incher and $2,699 for the 18.4 monster.
Each model incorporates its own Blu-ray player, a widescreen, 1920 x 1080p screen and Dolby digital sound. There is also their stylish, touch-sensitive CineDash media console, which looks awesome, but could be a little awkward for some people to get used to.
The 18.4-inch behemoth also features six integrated speakers for "surround sound", which could pump out decent audio, although not as loudly as you would expect. There's a port on the back for those who want their digital music through dedicated speakers though.
Battery life is around two hours playing back a Blu-ray disc, or so they said.
There's a fair amount of cool technology crammed into these machines, and the price is actually pretty decent when you take it all into account. If you're after an entertainment or desktop replacement notebook, this actually looks pretty damn decent.
[Acer]
SYDNEY, Australia - 16th April 2008 - Acer today announced the Australian launch of its new Gemstone Blue series of entertainment notebooks, the Acer Aspire 8920G (18.4 inch) and Aspire 6920G (16 inch). The Acer Aspire Gemstone Blue offers a complete entertainment experience with an enhanced design of the original stylish and cutting edge Gemstone series.
The high performance Gemstone Blue Aspire 8920G includes world first full High Definition (HD) screen resolution and six integrated speakers to provide full HD entertainment in both image and sound.
Visually it offers 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio, Blu-ray Disc™ technology, and Acer CineCrystal™ TFT LCD - 8ms high definition response time, complemented by a NVIDIA GeForce 9500M GS graphics card.
"What Acer has created is a new benchmark in notebook technology, demonstrating how standard screen resolutions for the computer and the consumer electronics industries are beginning to merge," says Henry Lee, Senior Product Manager, Acer Oceanic Region.
"The Gemstone Blue series is adopting the consumer electronics standard by providing a screen with the same resolution as a top of the line HDTV; 1920x1080 pixels."
For sound quality the Aspire 8920G uses HD audio support, 2nd generation Premium Dolby Home Theatre, with six built in speakers that includes a unique subwoofer. The Tuba Cinebass booster is another world first developed by Acer. It is a bass booster designed in the form of a tube that creates a smoother sound wave flow, enabling better resonance.
"Acer is continually improving both the visual experience and the sound quality of its notebooks, which edge it closer to a 5.1 surround sound as opposed to other notebooks on the market which use only two integrated speakers," says Lee.
"For users, this means that Acer is able bring them ever closer to the high definition home theatre experience they've come to expect."
The Gemstone Blue series expands upon the design of the original Gemstone notebooks (launched in May 2007). It maintains the 3D holographic cover with a starlit Acer logo, and adds an Enlightener power button; a blue-lit bass booster and distinctive media control panel. The CineDash media console is a touch sensitive control panel situated on the left of the keyboard that lets users easily navigate all media menus such as volume, music, and movies.
Lee concludes, "Acer is merging design with high definition quality. We have addressed some of the aesthetic concerns that have been voiced by our users, and used these to enhance the overall design look and feel of the Gemstone Blue series."
The Gemstone Blue series is available from today from all major national retail outlets. The Acer Aspire 8920G (18.4 inch with 6 speakers) comes with an RRP of $2,699 inc. GST and the Aspire 6920G (16 inch with 3 speakers) with an RRP of $2,499 inc. GST.
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