(Source: Acer)

The third of four new digital still cameras introduced by Acer recently is the Acer CE-6430 - a six megapixel camera with 3x optical and 4x digital zoom, plus 6 shooting modes.

Although it comes equipped with a relatively large 2.36-inch LCD screen, more demanding photographers will be disappointed with the small 8MB internal memory and average video recording capability of 320×240 (30 fps). Of course, given that it is supposed to come with an “affordable price tag”, these issues shoudn’t be a problem at all - especially since most won’t need quality video recording and 1GB SD cards can be found rather cheaply these days.

All in all, the CE-6430 looks like one step down from the pro-level CP-8660, but a step above the lightweight CL-5300.

(Source: LetsGoDigital)

For every “professional level” product Acer introduces, at least two budget-class products are unveiled. Acer’s digital camera line is no exception, with the Acer CL-5300 being only one of three new budget-class digital cameras introduced to compensate for Acer’s latest flagship camera, the 8-megapixel CP-8660.

With a 5.05 megapixel resolution, 2″ LCD display, 14MB of internal memory, and 320×240 video recording, it’s clear that the CL-5300 is meant for the average photographer who doesn’t need ridiculously high resolutions nor 640×480 video recording.

But while most of us surely fall in this category, there really isn’t anything to recommend the CL-5300 - except the possibility of a highly competitive price. Admittedly, weighing at 85g, you could make a case for it on lightness as well.

(Source: Acer)

Well, well. Acer finally attempts to enter the professional digital still camera market with its recent introduction of the Acer CP-8660. With an 8.28-megapixel (total) resolution, Anti-shake Digital Signal Processor (DSP) technology, a 2.8″ LCD screen, plus 6x optical and 8.5x digital zoom capability, it’s at the very least Acer’s highest spec digital camera to date.

There’s really nothing special about the 8660 - with the relatively standard macro mode, 18 shooting modes, 25MB internal memory, SD card-only expansion up to 1GB, and Pictbridge direct print capability all included in the package.

But if Acer can push what it calls its “flagship digital camera” at its standard (a.k.a. low) price points, then there will definitely be a pretty good market for it. At least, that’s what we think.

(Source: TrustedReviews)

It’s a pity that such a solid Acer desktop replacement notebook got marked down because of its “awkward keyboard” and “mediocre speakers”, but when you have such capable opposition, that’s what usually happens.

What we’re talking about is the recent Top 5 notebooks list published in the August Issue of the PC World magazine - where the Acer Aspire 9504WSMi got only 5th place in the desktop replacement category, despite having the second highest WorldBench 5 score, third highest battery life and second lowest weight.

Admittedly, the results were very close, with only 1 point separating the 9504WSMi with the Toshiba Satellite P105 at 4th place, and 3 points with the HP Pavilion dv8000z at 1st place.

So, your mileage with the different notebooks may truly vary - especially if you happen to get some good retailer discounts for any one of them.

(Source: PC Pro)

One of Acer’s best handheld creations, the Acer n300-series Windows Mobile PDA gets reviewed again, but this time by PC Plus.

The review itself talks about both the Acer n311 and its little bro, the n310 - though the review unit itself is a n311, equipped with embedded WiFi support which the n310 doesn’t have, more memory and a faster processor.

While PC Plus found the n300’s lack of GPS features and processing power (compared to a Dell Axim they reviewed earlier) to be minus points, they still concluded with a 4 out of 5 overall rating, and a pretty favourable verdict: “For a mid-range PDA in a wonderfully-designed shell there’s really no need to look elsewhere.”

(Source: Acer)

The rather dated, but solid (just check out some of the reviews on it) 19″ widescreen AL1916W LCD monitor is being sold on the cheap at Buy.com. It’s currently priced at US$183.95, and comes with free shipping.

It is normally priced at US$230+, so this is actually a pretty good bargain.

For those who have forgotten, the Acer AlL1916W comes with a 1440 x 900 native resolution, an 8ms response time, a 500:1 contrast ratio, and a silver or black finish.

The one being sold on Buy.com is the silver version though.

[News via CNET News Blog]

(Source: Acer)

Alas, while nVidia will power HD-DVD playback, graphics card-wise, on the recently announced HD-DVD-enabled Acer Aspire notebook series, CyberLink will continue to be the media software provider for those notebooks. Under the Acer Arcade brand most Acer users (and reviewers) should be accustomed to, CyberLink will provide the all-in-one software necessary to play HD-DVD media.

We might seem a bit prejudiced here, but let’s just say we’ve found Acer Arcade to be little more than an annoyance so far - with dedicated software for individual media playback serving our purposes far better, even those from CyberLink itself.

However, this shouldn’t matter too much for those who were going to pump their notebooks with their own media playback software. For those who aren’t willing to spend some dough on dedicated software though… Acer Arcade really isn’t that bad…

(Source: NotebookReview.com)

If you remember the 500-hour battery life ECS notebook with an embedded mini-LCD display we featured earlier, you would also remember that we said that Acer would be putting up a similar component in place on their notebooks (probably when Windows Vista actually appears on the market).

What we were talking about then is known as a Personal Media Display (PMD) - a small LCD display placed on top of a notebook, allowing “always-on” access to simple functions of the notebook (e.g. reading e-mail) due to its low power consumption. Current models are based on PortalPlayer’s Preface technology and Microsoft Windows SlideShow (a Vista component), and so will Acer’s upcoming models.

This has been confirmed recently by an announcement by PortalPlayer that it will partner with Acer to incorporate its PMDs onto Acer’s upcoming notebooks.

However, no deadlines, release dates, or pricing details were revealed, though that really isn’t surprising given the lack of a proper release date on Windows Vista itself!