Acer is really firing on all cylinders this year. First came its excellent "notebook replacement" AcerPower 1000, and now we have its first attempt at a Santa Rosa laptop in the Acer TravelMate 6292. And it's very good.
Design
Build quality has been an issue in the past for Acer, particularly for its desktop range. But there are no such issues here -- in fact, apart from its Ferrari laptop, this is one of the best built and best looking Acer's we've seen. Gone are the lurid, metallic green and silver colour schemes, replaced by a classy gunmetal finish -- this is a business notebook after all.
For strength without the weight penalty, the Acer's LCD cover is constructed from magnesium alloy, and it's quite rigid -- which is what you want to protect one of the most expensive parts of the notebook.
The TravelMate comes with a decent selection of ports, even if they are arranged unusually at first glance. On the left side you get a PCMCIA connector -- not ExpressPort -- and this is supposedly due to the large selection of legacy PCMCIA devices still available -- and the relative lack of ExpressPort add-ons. There's also a LAN port and a single USB connection. The back of the notebook houses the battery, power connector, VGA and an S-Video port. Running your hand over the right hand side of the notebook you'll find the DVD Super Drive, a card reader, two USB ports and a modem. If you need extra connectivity, there is an optional port replicator available.
Using the notebook is a pleasurable experience -- the keyboard has a decent amount of tactile feedback and the touchpad, though small, doesn't grate on your finger tip the way some metallic touchpads do.
The dedicated wireless and Wi-Fi buttons are very useful, and only the lack of multimedia buttons -- hey, business people listen to music too -- works against the laptop.
Features
Though this laptop is aimed at business, it is based on the consumer version of Santa Rosa -- Centrino Duo. This means it's missing the virtual PC management capabilities, but still has most of the other features that Santa Rosa offers.
The Acer uses an Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 which runs at 2GHz, and this is backed by 2GB of memory (running at 667 MHz), a 160GB hard drive and a DVD Super Multi drive. And being a Centrino Duo there is a draft-N adaptor under the hood -- augmented by Acer's own SignalUp antennas behind the LCD display.
Unlike the Fujitsu LifeBook S6410, the Acer lacks an LED backlight, so while not exceptionally bright, the 12.1-inch screen is still perfectly legible. The laptop's not designed to be used for multimedia applications, and so it lacks the high-contrast coating, but this doesn't affect every-day use.
The only feature missing from the Santa Rosa blueprint is Turbo Memory -- the dedicated mini-PCI module which works in the same way as ReadyBoost does for memory keys. However, we've been less than impressed with the performance we've seen on notebooks that feature it, so its lack is no great loss. It's also interesting to note that manufacturers like HP are also refusing to incorporate it.
Like most notebooks released recently, it has a fingerprint reader plonked right in between the mousing buttons. This can be a little annoying because you only need it once per session at most, and it can get in the way. The upcoming Dell XPS m1330 appears to place the reader just beneath the keyboard -- a much more sensible position.
Performance
Given that the Acer eschews two of the (supposedly) most effective battery savers -- an LED backlight and Turbo Memory -- the TravelMate performed exceptionally well on our battery benchmark. Using the reader test from BatteryEater Pro, the 6292 managed a very healthy 3 hours and 19 minutes with the LCD at full brightness.
As a performer, the Acer was on a par with other notebooks of its size. Using the PCMark 05 benchmark, we were able to retrieve a score of 4181 marks. This makes the notebook a good all-rounder, but due to the onboard graphics it shouldn't be the first choice for games enthusiasts.
There is very little we can say about the TravelMate 6292 that could be construed as negative -- it's built well, it performs well, and it's quite portable. We think that this is one of the strongest business notebooks the company has released.
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Ej Ano
30/07/2008, 09:36 PM
rating
9/10
Really really nice value for money. Though it has low graphics card, it can still accomodate most games. Well-built for its general purpose. Fast and realiable.
Pros: High points to acer for the good design on this ;) (i.e. how it looks, its size, its components)
Get this if you want a notebook that's cheap but don't want to sacrifice everything else.
Cons: On the downside, it is heavy for its size and heats up pretty quickly. I did have problems with vista though but not to the same extent as encountered by other users against other notebooks. Caused my boot time from finger swipe to internet connection around 150 secs - managed to bring it back down to 110 secs though ΓΌ
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Aftermaths
19/07/2008, 12:34 AM
rating
8/10
I have been using my Acer TM6292 for six months particularly for teaching. I must confess that I have had very few problems with it and I think it is an excellent buy. It is ideal for airline travel which I have to do regularly visiting teachers' colleges. Works very well with my multimedia projector.
Pros: Very impressive battery life compared with other laptops I have had (Dell Inspiron 8250 and Acer TM 4200 series). No problems with display. Robust, fast, and generally excellent.
Cons: Gets very hot quickly (very unlike Acer TM42xx). On/off switch could be improved. Finger security system seems to hang up if you wait more than a few seconds before scanning your finger. Have to switch off and restart. I have had no trouble using Windows XP. speakers. Have not been able to get the built-in webcam to work with IMs (maybe I am missing something).
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cmac
26/05/2008, 12:30 PM
rating
9/10
Good Allround business model. Good to see Acer presenting a polished product
Pros: Great speed! So fast to process (am running Windows Vista). Good burn times, nice keyboard layout.
Cons: Perhaps the heating issue - but it's only too hot on a hot day (normal temperature is no problem though)
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Joe Panpetch
18/05/2008, 01:27 PM
rating
9/10
Great laptop. Best business laptop I've ever had. Functions superbly, however I don't use it for gaming. Excellent for presentations and ease of use.
Pros: Processor, small size, quality build , large hard drive, bluetooth, dvd-rw, programs run fast and seemlessly
Cons: Can get very hot when burning dvds. The stacked usb ports too close together. Acer password program crashes often and built-in web-cam has stopped working. Will be taking to Acer to sort out this week.
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Carl-Erik
13/05/2008, 05:07 PM
rating
7/10
Very solid - dropped it from a 1m height, and all it did to it was make a small crack.
The two most irritating things with it is the amount of crapware from ACER (it is buggy and not very useful), and the fact that it gets hot very fast, and thus the fan goes on all the time.
Pros: Sturdy (good build quality).
Very good value for the money.
Relatively light.
Good battery life.
Works nicely with Linux.
Windows Vista SP1 makes it dead stable.
Cons: Gets way too hot.
Uncomfortably hot palmrest.
Fan goes on all the time.
The crapware from ACER.
Finger print software crashes after 10 or so readings.
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Shen
22/03/2008, 10:19 PM
rating
8/10
Just got one, reading the comments....yes it has it's cons but for it's price and features, i'm not complaining!
Pros: All the features and attentionto detail
Cons: "Space" button not very sensitive
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MN Dul
17/03/2008, 12:43 AM
rating
9/10
I have just got the notebook for a couple of days. Have yet to test its full features. So far it has been fantastics. Seamless use and operation. I am running Window VIsta Business. LOve it
Pros: Good looking, well built and feels sturdy. Fast processors. More than adequate connection features
Cons: Keyboard feels could be improved. Page up and page down keys too near the cursor keys.
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old customer
15/02/2008, 06:22 PM
rating
2/10
Fan is too loud
Pros: small, light, metal body,
Cons: screen resolution 800 is not enouht for almost anything, Fan is blowing even it standbay and is loud too loud, sataproplems on installations, drivers wont work(crashes all time)
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replak
09/01/2008, 10:03 PM
rating
6/10
serious Xp problems here.
1. will not shutdown
2. hitting control-alt-delte seems to crash the explorer. No taskmanager or something else.
Pros: powerfull
Cons: not backwards compatible for XP?
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alohaluau
07/01/2008, 07:19 PM
rating
8/10
Do not downgrade the merits of the notebook with OS/driver issue as it is a MS product.
Pros: Decently priced for the features built-in, good battery life, small footprint ideal for frequent travel.
Cons: None so far. I'm using MS Vista Business.
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