Acer Aspire 9800 to be next HD DVD-equipped laptop

Toshiba's Qosmio G30 may be the first laptop to launch with a built-in HD DVD drive, but it certainly won't be the last. And as of now, it looks like Acer will be next to market with the Aspire 9800, a media-centric semi-portable due to hit Europe next month. The Acer laptop, in addition to its HD drive, will feature a mammoth 20-inch 1680x1050 display, NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600, digital/analog hybrid tuner, 1.3 megapixel webcam, DVI-D out and up to 240GB of storage. No official pricing yet, but word on the street puts this baby at over $2,600. Oh, one more thing. Acer has three asterisks next to its claim that the box will include HD DVD, leading to a footnote indicating the drive will be an option "when available." So, depending on whether or not the drivemaker (which may well be Acer itself) gets the units in on time, this may arrive next month sans HD DVD.

[Via Stuff]

[peter @ Apr 7th 2006 9:57AM]

Please can you not start most of your articles with a great big picture? This one is much more user-friendly. If you start with a great big picture, all that shows up on my RSS reader is the great big picture, and I have to scroll down to read what you've written, which kind of defeats the purpose of using an RSS reader.

[Jeff @ Apr 7th 2006 10:36AM]

Peter: this is a web site. Get over it. RSS is a bonus, an extra thing. If you don't like the way the site looks in your reader, tough cookies.

Next we'll get people complaining that the site doesn't look good on cell phones.

The proper way to browse the web is through a web browser on a PC, just as nature intended. You can do it other ways (and I browse the web on my phone and with RSS readers too), but you really can't complain if those methods don't look exactly right.

Anyway, damn, a 20 inch laptop. And is that $2,600 with or without the "optional" HD-DVD drive?

I have to say I just purchased an Aspire 5300 and while it's serving my purposes, I probably wouldn't buy another one. I needed something cheap with good specs to quickly replace a laptop that had just broken, and it was by far the best I could get for the amount of money I had. But Acer does some really weird stuff, including formatting my 100GB hard drive (running Windows XP Pro, mind you) as two 50MB FAT32 partitions. The lids on their PC's (including the screen) are also literally bent backwards in the corners by design - I thought mine was defective when I noticed the curve in the top of my lid when closed (it doesn't meet up with the base) but then I searched around and all the review photos I've seen of these laptops show the exact same thing.

I definitely wouldn't spend $2,600 on an Aspire laptop. It may be great spec-wise but I want premium quality for that price.

[hj @ Apr 7th 2006 10:48AM]

I love the price of the aspire series but acer seriously needs to impove their case designs. Theres far too much noticeable flex in the case and while it's not alarming it does give the impression of a fragile design.

[max @ Apr 7th 2006 12:24PM]

comment sparked by comments 1 and 2:

Does anyone else ever have trouble viewing engadget with firefox? Sometimes I get weird things happening like the ads flashing on the wrong part of the page or long loading times. I had to switch to IE this morning beacuse I couldn't handle the ads being displayed over the articles' contents.

[peter @ Apr 7th 2006 3:56PM]

Thanks for the illumination, Jeff. Websites are generally about users. User comments are valid. Even mobile phone users, especially if they ever become the majority.

Nature didn't intend any browsers, and if she had, IE wouldn't have made it past the 2nd trimester.

[Saif @ Apr 7th 2006 6:00PM]

To Max, #4:

Actually, if you're using Firefox, you can avoid all problems with ads on Engadget (and many other sites as well) by using AdBlock and filterset g. Gets rid of most of those pesky ads, so the flashing and position doesn't get in the way.

Oops, sorry about that, Weblogs, Inc. What I meant to say way, "Please continue to view the ads as usual."

[Chris @ Apr 7th 2006 9:59PM]

Is it just me or are most of the laptops out now really tacky looking. I looked at a bunch at CompUSA recently and the designs kinda remind me of the boom boxes of 10-15 years ago. Like they have been ghettoized. And do people really like the shiny screens? I personally don't like glare.

[jazzay @ Apr 7th 2006 11:59PM]

Chris: thank you!

You are the first other person that is logical about those nothing-but-glare bright ass screens. I don't want a screen thats twice as bright, c'mon, get real advancments, like twice the colors, not the marketing BS

[Jenni @ Feb 12th 2007 1:00AM]

Can anyone help me with my SHINY SCREEN?! I've been shopping for a new laptop for four months and finally got a nice acer, but it's giving me a headache. It seems like all the new laptops have these MIRRORS for screens, and I'm afraid I'm going to have a perpetual migraine. Is there anything cheap and easy that I can do?! I have a return option on this one, but haven't found anything I like better (and in my price range), so I want to keep it if I can. My only thought so far (I don't want a privacy screen, the only thing I've found at computer stores, Staples, etc.) is to ask my auto glass guy for ideas. ANY ideas much appreciated. PLEASE HELP. Thanks.

[Mahmood @ Apr 12th 2006 5:22AM]

Hi this is a good,but I like a laptop with more than 64 bits

[Eirik Holgernes @ Apr 12th 2006 12:15PM]

umm, what about the screen res? This is very disappointing for such a huge laptop .. I mean, com on, honestly, if you have 20" you would at least try to get about 2000 ...

what a waste ...

[julian l @ Apr 28th 2006 9:09AM]

i think this looks good for acer, i mean better specs than the competition (qossmio g30 �1650)and a better price of �1400 i may just get this.

[Gerard @ Sep 21st 2006 2:25PM]

This laptop looks soooo goood that i have to have it!!!! 20 incch wide screen and hd drive for around $2500! yesssss, yessss, yesssss!!!!! Now when i go to starbucks or just in any public place everybody is going to be looking at my nice big laptop and wishing they had it lol. but anyway i was checking it out at CompUSA and man! this thing is the bomb!!!
i was look ing at the 20 in Dell 2010 but it does not come with a hd drice or tv tuner, and the are asking 3700 for it! are they nuts? but acer 9800 has ruined is for all laptops. now when i go into a coputer store and look for laptops all i wanna see is the acer 9800. it's like when you find that right woman and you dont look ant the rest any more.

[Christy Aranda @ Jan 18th 2008 12:58PM]

I have had my Acer 9800 for more than a year, It's great I have not had any problems at all, Beautiful screen, very fast. I have not tried the TV yet. Give me a little more time. Thanks, TT