First takes on Acer Travelmate 3242WXMi

Taking a quick break right now from reviewing the gadgets to post my first notes about the Acer Travelmate 3242WXMi, the first model I’ve tried.

There’s a ‘Travelmate 3240’ tag at the lower right side of the monitor. This indicates the series, and ‘3242WXMi’ is the model within that series. I think there are 27 different series from the 2400 to the 8200, with several different types of models falling under each.

It’s unclear how many are in the 3240 series, as neither the Taiwan or Philippine Acer website neglects to mention it. In fact, the Philippine Acer site doesn’t even list the 3242WXMi at all, instead offering 10 other models.

From what I’ve discerned, there are four Series, namely the Travelmate, Tablet PC, Aspire, and Ferrari . I haven’t really determined the diff between Aspire and Travelmate, but I’ll get there soon enough.

Travelmate 3242WXMi specs:
Intel Core Duo Processor T2300 (1.66GHz, 667 MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache)
14.1 WXGA wide TFT LCD
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
60GB HDD 5400rpm
DVD Super Multi double layer
(Support DVD+R Double Layer / DVD RW)
512mb DDR (support dual channel)
802.11a/b/g Wireless Lan
Windows XP included

At PhP 79,900.00 it’s the most expensive of the bunch, a little more than the Php 77,000.00 of the NEC Versa that arrived yesterday (yes, there are now five notebooks in my room. And to think last week I was pining for just one to use so I can work downstairs away from the heat).

What I like so far:

Truth is, I’ve found myself reaching for this Acer instead of the two Asus models and especially the Amoi model, which suffers from build quality issues (review underway). The 3242 has an ergonomic keyboard, which I usually loathe, but it’s not so skewed so as to require a change in typing habits. It’s nice to know it might actually be helping me avoid carpal tunnel issues as I use it.

I’ve yet to take the NEC out of the box, but so far this has the best looks of the bunch, decked in a nice silvery finish with gray undertones. The lid has only one clasp in the middle, so you can open it with one hand unlike the Asus models that have two clasps at either end requiring two hands to open, like a briefcase.

The screen is big and bright, although it loses clarity at the brightest setting so it was hard to use in a brightly lit summer room like earlier. The best thing I like is that it doesn’t get as hot as any of the others, but again I’ve yet to try the NEC.

What I don’t like so far:

The speakers are tinny, produce a hollow sound and are at the front area, along with the input plugs for speaker, microphone and headphones. This is a bad idea, since if you use it in bed, you put in on your lap. It’ll then slide down to your stomach, and the plugs are going to get in the way. This means if you plug in anything, you have to have ample space in front. The wifi switches are also there, but at least they’re flush with the rounded front area, so that’s ok.

The shiny Acer tag on the front lid is a cheap sticker, and it’s going to come off sooner or later, likely leaving an ugly spot where it used to be. Finally it’s only got three USB ports, a modem and LAN port, which along with wifi, are it’s only connectivity options. This is pretty basic, so future buyers need to be aware of that.
Overall

Overall it’s a solid notebook and I’ve yet to put a finger on why I seem to prefer it over the Asus pair. I’ve yet to test the battery too, and since it has the smallest of the bunch it probably doesn’t last long.