The
TravelMate 730 Series, Notebooks by Acer
|
Features
|
The
unit
|
- Pentium III Mobile
CPU
- Intel® 440BX
AGPset
100MHz System Bus
- 15.0" or 14.0"
TFT color LCD
- 10/100 Mbps Fast
Ethernet,
- 56K ITU V.90
data/fax modem
- ATI Rage Mobility-M1
with 8MB SDRAM
|
|
Notebooks, introduced in the late 80's have made
a big hit all over the world, being the first mobile computer with unlimited
possibilities. Actually, the first laptop computer wasn't so mobile when compared
to what's available today; they were 4 times larger than a notebook computer
of these days. The fast growing technology lane sure did improve in the last
years, as everything is getting smaller and smaller and at the same time much
more powerful.
Acer Corporation of America, one of the best-known
computer brands in North America for their quality computer products, introduced
their new notebook product line in late January 2000. The 730 series, powered
by the mighty Pentium III Mobile processor from 450-500MHz, and available
with the SPEED STEP technology from 600 to 650Mhz and soon to come 700. We
received a unit of the 730TXV model, powered by the 450Mhz PIII CPU. This
review will focus on all the 730 series.
The TravelMate, your long term friend
The Acer TravelMate series are now available
for quite some time, since the first release, their notebooks were always
built under the high end terms, quality and durability are two simple words
that could describe their product line. When Acer releases a new product,
they always manage to manufacture an affordable and high end line for those
with the budget, this is a big plus, compared to some other well known manufacturers
who are having problems applying this technique.
| Model:
|
730TXV
|
732TXV
|
734TL
|
736TL
|
| CPU:
|
Pentium®
III 450MHz |
Pentium®
III 500MHz |
Pentium®
III 600MHz with Intel® SpeedStep™ Tech. |
Pentium®
III 650MHz with Intel® SpeedStep™ Tech. |
| Display:
|
14.1"
TFT XGA |
14.1"
TFT XGA |
15"
TFT XGA |
15"
TFT XGA |
| System
Memory: |
64MB
PC-100 |
64MB
PC-100 |
64MB
PC-100 |
128MB
PC-100 |
| HDD:
|
6.0GB |
9.0GB |
12.0GB |
18.0GB |
| CD-ROM/DVD:
|
6X DVD |
6X DVD |
24X
CD-ROM |
24X
CD-ROM |
A deeper look
The 730 TravelMates offer much more than good
looks, Acer decided to use two major moves to keep the prices reasonable for
their clients. First, they manufacture two different types of LCD display’s,
14.1" and the 15" display, a reasonable price difference is present
between both. The other interesting move is the use of two different kinds
of Pentium III Processors. They offer the well-known Pentium III and the new
Pentium III with the Speed Step feature, offering an improved energy saving
engine, more on that later.
