Acer 6920G

While this new design does look stunning in its own right, it’s not without issues. Firstly the keyboard is oddly located, causing typing issues. It took a few hours of practice to reduce the typos. Secondly the physical profile of the laptop is, to put it mildly, BIG. The 6920G is aimed at the workhorse market and in this respect it fails. It’s a good deal bigger and thicker than standard laptops in this range and weighs in at a bit more.

However, that’s where the negatives end. Despite being on the thicker side, the laptop is made of solid plastic that does not squeak or flex. The hinges are firm and rock-solid. The heat vents, which many users had complained about in the past, have been repositioned to avoid causing 'laptop rash'.

When it comes to performance, the keyboard and the LCD panel are both a joy to use. The keyboard has smooth glossy keys that making typing a real pleasure. The keys have just the right elevation and more than compensate for the odd keyboard placement. The LCD as advertised is a 16-inch affair with a native resolution of 1366 x 768 (16:9), 8ms response time, and an enhanced color profile that displays about 92 percent of the color gamut.

While all this may seem a lot of technical hogwash, what it means is that the LCD is superbly designed with some of the best color, contrast, and brightness levels one can see in a screen this size. Whether you're into multimedia or just working on a Word document, the screen really shines. The touchpad is of a decent size and thanks to a good textured finish, is easy to use.

The 6920G is fairly well-equipped with regard to peripheral connectivity. It sports a dual-layer DVD writer, 4 USB slots, a VGA port, and the standard array of Ethernet and telephone jacks.