ACER Ferrari!!! or PowerbooK?

[HazelGirl]

I am looking for laptops and the more I look...the more I get attracted to Apple. I think I am starting to come back down to earth though and I am really liking the Ferrari again. It has everything I want in a laptop EXCEPT 1. It's not a widescreen and 2. It has poor battery life and 3. Overheating problems....other than that, I like everything about this thing (besides the bright redness...i don't care about cars or Ferrari...I just like the specs on the laptop--not into "fashion statements").

Anyone own this thing? This looks like my best bet for under 2k.

Will the overheating mess up the machine??? I tend to be on it for a long time and I like to use multiple programs at once....browser, instant message clients, word documents, music playing.....will this give me the power I need?

how's the speed compared to a Centrino/PM Processor?

Does it have an extended battery?

Will the 802.11g work also with a and g networks? My wireless network at home i think is b and the one at school is b....thanks.

Also, how is Acer customer service and support? I will be in Europe for a year so I need to be covered and covered well..

And finally....is it worth the price for those of you who bought it?

Anyone use this and also an Apple PowerbooK? How's it compare?

[Bjorn]

I just like the specs on the laptop--not into "fashion statements").


And yet both laptops you are asking about are fashion statements. Being neither powerful, portable or even a decent compromise between them.

Not saying a fashion statement laptop is wrong. But if you're buying a fashion statement be honest with yourself about it.

For mobilty get a laptop based on either a Centrino or AMD64.
For power computing get a laptop based on either a P4 or AMD64.

For fashion, buy what you think looks the best.

[HazelGirl]

I dont care about it's looks...as long as the screen is large and bright enough for me to see, has all the specs I want (60GB, 512MB, 802.11g/b, CD-RW/DVD-RW, USB ports, ETHERNET, pc card reader, bluetooth option, weighs preferably less than 7 lbs)....battery life is desired and so is performance mainly for internet, word processing, SOME photo editing, and downloading music--not into games or fancy graphical stuff.

I really like the specs on the Ferrari because it has everything I want. If I were to only go by looks, I would actually prefer the Acer Aspire 2000 series as I prefer that to bright colors. Btw, I don't even know what a Ferrari looks like....now do I care since I am not into cars. I just want a good reliable computer for what I want to do and one from a company that has good international customer service and reliability included with all the above features I mentioned.

[MARQUISDARQUIS]

The 802.11g WiFi will play nicely with both the 'a' and 'b' flavors, though, of course, it will only work to their lowest common denominator. For the 'b' that means the 11 mbs transfer rate. I am not all that familiar with the a, I think its speed is the same as g but perhaps something to do with range differences.

Can't help you with the other questions, though I believe Acer does have support in Europe, best to check on their website for that, email them if need be. It would be most discomforting to find you need to send your machine back to have it fixed being you'll be over there for that long of time. However, most notebook repair and service is done at the factory only so no matter what, you'll probably be mailing it somewhere unless you just happen to be sitting right next to a service center. I'd also check with resellersratings. Its not perfect but its the best you'll get in impartial reviews on service, quality, etc, short of actual user experiences. You might try doing a search in these forums for the Ferrari, I know there was a very active thread for quite a while on it.

[HazelGirl]

Thanks...I know Acer has One Year of International warranty service....Apple has I think 2 year Applecare or whatever...and it is worldwide so that is a plus i fI leave the country more than once in the next three years. Thanks.

[HazelGirl]

My sister had to send her Gateway back when she got it because of a poor screen and it took weeks fo rher to get it back :( I will have to research these two companies and the others I am looking at (Sager, Dell, Toshiba, IBM) so see how their return times are or if they have drop off centers in France in my area. This will be my main computer while away... Also will have to maybe even consider getting a store warranty from wherever I get it (compusa, etc ,etc)