X-bit labs

Acer TravelMate 6463WLMi Notebook: Performance and Security (page 3)

Category: Mobile

by Alexander Britvin

[ 05/28/2007 | 07:37 PM ]

Design and Ergonomics

Although belonging to the TravelMate series, this notebook shows all the specific features of the Acer Aspire brand in its appearance. The front part is rounded off, although the lid doesn’t transition smoothly into the base. Stereo speakers are not conspicuous on the front panel, either.

The light-silver top and the black bottom create a typical image of the most demanded notebook form-factor. There is a manufacturer logo on a chrome plate in the near left corner of the lid.

Unlike the Aspire series, the TravelMate 6463WLMi has a blunt front panel that carries some switches and connectors, including (from right to left):

• Bluetooth switch (this switch enables/disables the integrated Bluetooth interface; when enabled, the appropriate indicator begins to shine)
• Bluetooth indicator (alight when the Bluetooth interface is on)
• WLAN switch
• WLAN indicator
• IrDA port
• Microphone input
• Line audio input
• Line audio output for headphones or speakers

To the left of this group there are Power and Battery indicators – you can see them irrespective of the position of the lid. They are labeled on the lid as well as on the notebook’s body.

Two sliders work as lid locks – you will find them at the back of the integrated web-camera. You can move one of them to open the notebook up – the other slider will move along, too.

The notebook is fully black inside. The silvery touchpad bezel and the chrome logo of the brand under the screen stand out against this uniform background. There are rubber pads set around the screen bezel for softer contact between the lid and the notebook’s body.

A 1.3-megapixel Acer OrbiCam camera is placed in the center above the screen. It can be turned around within an angle of 225 degrees, thus allowing to shoot objects both ahead and behind the LCD panel.

The camera turns around counterclockwise and captures images at an angle of 45 degrees.