Editorial Product Review:

Item Description:
The Aspire 1660 series was designed to meet the growing business needs of employees from small and medium companies, and to provide a fully loaded multimedia workplace for the outbound operations of self-employed professionals who also want to use it occasionally to serve up fine digital tunes and widescreen video entertainment back at home. It is also ideal for private users looking for a compact and powerful computer for home use complete with DVD capabilities, rapid Internet access and a host of home entertainment features in a fraction of the space of traditional PCs.

Amazon.com Item Description:
The affordably priced Acer Aspire 1662WLMI combines the power of a 3.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4 Processor with advanced multimedia functionality for your small-to-medium business or for home use. It offers a large 15.4-inch panoramic display, 802.11 b/g wireless connecitivity, a DVD+/-RW drive, 60 GB hard drive, and 512 MB of installed RAM.

The Basics

• Hard Drive: Though not world-beating in size, the 60 GB hard drive offers more than enough capacity for storing documents and productivity software for road warriors.
• Processor: The 3.0E GHz Pentium 4 processor with Hyper-Threading technology (which allows a single CPU system to behave in some aspects like a dual-CPU system) is one of the fastest processors currently available on the market. It's based on Intel's next generation 90 nm process technology, which delivers faster transistors and increases performance. It also has a 512 KB L2 cache and a decently fast 400 MHz front-side bus speed.
  
  A Hyper-Threading processor helps a PC to run multiple demanding applications at the same time. This technology enables the processor to execute two threads (a part of a program) in parallel, boosting performance during key high-drain procedures. This results in more efficient software performance (such as faster reaction times in gaming applications) and enhanced multitasking.
• Memory: The installed 512 MB of RAM (PC-2700 DDR, 333 MHz, 2 x 256 MB) is sufficient for starting out, but you'll want to add more memory power to take full advantage of the 1662WLMI's multimedia capabilities (it's expandable to 2.0 GB).
• CD/DVD Drive: It is equipped with a combo DVD+/-RW and CD-RW drive. For DVD-RW discs, it has a 2x write/rewrite speed, while for DVD+RW discs it has a 2.4x write/rewrite speed (DVDs are read at 4x. For CDs, it has a 24x write/10x rewrite/24x read speed.
• Keyboard & Mouse: This notebook has a touchpad with four-way scroll key and an 84-key keyboard, inverted T cursor layout, embedded numeric keypad, and international language support. It also has two programmable easy launch keys.

Sound and Graphics
The installed ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 video/graphics card is a strong 3D graphics renderer, and it has 64 MB of video memory. The 15.4-inch XGA TFT active matrix LCD has a widescreen 1280 x 800 pixel display. It features two integrated stereo speakers and Sound Blaster Pro and Microsoft DirectSound compatibility.

Connectivity and Expansion Slots
You get a good range of multimedia connectivity options, as well as built-in 54g wireless (802.11g/b) connectivity:

• 4 USB 2.0 portsfor connecting a wide range of peripherals--from digital cameras to MP3 players
• 1 FireWire (also known as IEEE 1394 or i.Link; 1 4-pin in front and 1 6-pin in back) ports for connecting digital video camcorders and other peripherals
• 1 parallel port for connecting older printers and scanners
• 1 VGA monitor port
• 2 S-Video (1 front)
• 1 line output/headphone jack
• 1 line input/microphone jack
• PC Card slot (one Type III or two Type II cards); 32-bit PC CardBus architecture

It also has an integrated 56K modem (V.92) and an RJ-45 LAN network port (for a 10/100 Ethernet connection to networks and DSL/cable modems).

Preloaded System and Software
This 1662WLMI notebook comes with the Windows XP Professional operating system (which adds Microsoft's IIS Web server, back-up and recovery utilities, Remote Desktop, and other enhanced business features). It also comes loaded with Adobe Acrobat Reader, NTI CD-Maker, and Norton AntiVirus 2004.

Dimensions and Weight
This notebook measures 14.2 x 1.8 x 11.5 inches (WxHxD) and weighs 7.9 pounds.

Power
The included rechargeable lithium-ion battery offers an average battery life range of 1.5 hours (depending on usage). It has a 2-hour charge time with the system off, or a 4-hour charge time with the system in use.

What's in the Box
This package contains the Acer Aspire 1662WLMI notebook PC, rechargeable lithium-ion battery, AC adapter, and operating instructions. It's backed by a 1-year warranty for parts and labor.

---

---