Acer laptop claims 8-hour battery life

We’ve yet to see a Windows laptop with battery life longer than  5  7 hours, unless we add an extended battery to the system. But when Acer launched its new series of laptops this week, one big push was for longer battery life.

[UPDATE: As one of our readers pointed out, we previously had in our Ratings a 13-inch Sony VAIO laptop (in the company's Z series line) with a tested battery life of over 6 hours. Our current Ratings of laptop computers (available to subscribers) also details several recently-tested Windows notebooks that also run for more than 5 hours, but those used an extended battery. —Ed.]

With its Aspire Timeline, Acer is claiming 8 hours of battery life. That’s the same time Apple claims for its MacBook Pro 17-inch laptop, a figure we recently put to the test.

Behind the Aspire’s longer life, says Acer, is the combination of Intel Core 2 Duo ultra-low voltage processors and Intel Display Power Savings Technology (Intel DPST), which Intel says “reduces the display backlight with minimum visual impact.”

Acer had the longest battery life in our recent netbook Ratings, (available to subscribers) with its 10-inch Aspire One lasting 9 hours in our tests. We’ll see if its new 11.6-inch Aspire One netbook, also launched this week, lives up to its predecessor’s battery life as soon as we get our hands on one.

Where there’s power, of course, there can also be heat, especially now that batteries are cramming more power into less space. The Timeline laptops will use another Intel technology to reduce heat by redirecting airflow to the bottom side of the chassis and the wrist rest areas.

While we of course can’t yet say how well that cooling technology might work, when it comes to heat, Acer laptops have run cooler than the competition in our tests in recent years. (Our laptop testing actually includes a “lap test” that measures the temperature of the bottom of the laptop after it’s been stressed; see minute 3:10 our Laptop Buying Guide video. The hottest laptops, thermally speaking, have been models from HP and Apple.) — Chris Lam

Testing MacBook Pro’s 8-hour battery life

When you’re on the road or just trying to work without being tethered to a plug, you want the longest battery life you can get from your laptop. So when Apple claimed that the battery on the MacBook Pro 17-inch laptop lasts 8 hours, we wanted to see for ourselves.

We can’t verify Apple’s claims because the company uses a proprietary test protocol. But when we put the MacBook through its paces in our own tests, we found that it ran for 6.5 hours—not quite the 8 hours Apple claimed, but still the longest life for standard batteries in any of the systems we tested, Apple or Windows. (Extended batteries generally run longer, but cost more, weigh more, and can stick out beyond the edges of your laptop’s case.)

And that’s a full hour longer than the prior version of the MacBook Pro 17-inch, whose battery lasted 5.5 hours in our tests. — Donna Tapellini

TechTalk: Netbooks

Computer categories used to be straightforward: A desktop sits on your desk; a laptop can sit on your lap (although men might want to keep it on their desks). So what’s with this relative newcomer, the “netbook”? It’s gaining in popularity, so you’ve probably seen them in coffee shops, airports, electronic store circulars, or on this blog.

Netbooks are essentially downsized laptops. Ultra-portable, a netbook is about the size of a hardcover book and weighs only 2 to 3 pounds. They’re extremely basic, designed mainly for Internet use and light word processing, with small screens and keyboards and no built-in optical CD/DVD drive. Because they’re so simple, netbooks are inexpensive, usually not more that $400.

Netbooks have become so popular that ConsumerReports.org has just posted its first ever batch of Netbooks Ratings (available to subscribers). See how several of these super-lightweight computers tested for performance speed, portability, display, and ergonomics—a particularly important category given netbooks’ condensed size.

What's in a name? In this case, several lawsuits. The term “netbook” has generated its share of legal wrangling. The company Psion Teklogix, registered owner of the trademark “netbook” since 1996 (according to Psion) has sought to force manufacturers to re-brand their mini-laptops with a different descriptive name. The cease-and-desist letters prompted a lawsuit from Intel and Dell and, not long after, a countersuit by Psion.

Psion opponents at SaveTheNetbooks.com argue that requiring the electronics industry to find a new name for netbooks “could raise prices, cause confusion and ultimately limit consumer choice.”

What say you? Does Psion have a legitimate claim, or has it let the netbook brand slip irrevocably out of its control? (Intellectual property lawyers, this is your time to shine.) — Nick K. Mandle

Consumer Reports: Ratings of new laptops

We've added 29 new models to our laptop Ratings (available to subscribers), in a range of sizes from 13.3 to 17 inches. Prices run the gamut as well, but most of the Windows laptops we tested were well under $1,000. Two bargains: the 14.1-inch Acer Aspire AS4730-4516, available from Best Buy for ($450), and although that model's discontinued you can still find the similar Acer Aspire AS4730-4947 for $500 plus a $50 mail-in rebate. and We also liked the 17-inch Dell Studio S17-162B, also at Best Buy, for $750.

[UPDATE: Best Buy no longer offers the Acer laptop we tested, but a similar model is available at Office Depot. —Ed.]

Battery life on most Intel laptops is 3 hours or more, and Apple's MacBook, MacBook Pro 15-inch (Click on the image for a closer look), and MacBook Pro 17-inch all lasted 5 hours or more in our tests. The 17-inch model had a battery life of 6-1/2 hours.

If you want to squeeze more battery life from Windows laptops, choose a model that offers an extended battery as an option. We tested a 15.4-inch Dell Studio, for example, with a 9-cell battery that lasted 7 hours. A 15.4-inch HP Pavilion laptop with a 12-cell battery ran for 6-1/2 hours.

It'll cost you more for an extended battery. The 12-cell version on the HP system was $50, for example. Extended batteries also weigh more than regular ones. And if you're buying at retail and are interested in an extended battery, check the specs carefully. It's not always obvious whether or not it's included. —Donna Tapellini

Conficker worm hasn't wreaked Net havoc. Yet.

The Conficker worm, an Internet bug that was suppose to activate and cause untold online havoc today, hasn't made much of a peep so far, according to reports from CNN and CNet. Security experts in an eWeek post say Conficker was designed to contact "command and control" servers and begin an update. The fear remains that Conficker-infected computers will create a "botnet" and begin a massive denial of service (DoS) attack. Online security experts and firms are still monitoring the Net for Conficker activity. But so far this report, Conficker Worm Strike Reports Start Rolling In, is the only news of a major Conficker "attack." (And it's an April Fools' prank by The Washington Post.)

The takeaway: While Conficker may have apparently failed to live up to the hype, it's still an online threat. As many as 12 million computers may be infected with Conficker, which could lead to one of the largest botnets ever seen, says eWeek. And with online crime up 33 percent, net dangers aren't to be taken lightly.

Our advice remains the same: Check your computers for possible Conficker infection as well as other vulnerabilities and take the appropriate action. Use protective security software (antivirus, firewalls, and antiphishing tools) and follow the safe-computing tips we offer in our Guide to Online Safety. And keep up to date with the latest news about Conficker and other Net threats with our Online Security Blog.

Internet crime up 33 percent

Is it a sign of these tough economic times or something much more sinister? The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) says it received over 275,000 complaints last year—up from nearly 207,000 reported cybercrime complaints in 2007. (The complete IC3 report is available as a downloadable PDF.) As reported by many web sites (including the Associated Press, Reuters, CNN and even geeky Scientific American), the top complaints were non-delivery of promised merchandise, followed by auction fraud, credit card fraud and investment scams. The estimated loss from such online fraud was nearly $265 million in the U.S. last year—up nearly 11 percent from 2007 ($239 million).

The takeaway: Safeguarding the data on your personal computer (and thus protecting your privacy and identity) doesn't have to be hard—or expensive. Consumer Reports tested the performance of several popular security software programs, and found a few free computer protection programs, easily accessible from the Net. We also offer free tips and advice in our Guide to Online Safety and our Online Security Blog, which warns of the possible dangers of the Conficker worm on April Fools' Day. And if you've been a victim of a cybercrime, we'd like to know. (See: Hit by cybercrime? Tell us your story.)

Verizon to offer netbooks with plans

Wireless carrier Verizon is branching out from offering just mobile phones. Last week, Reuters (and other news sites) had reported Verizon would start selling netbooks this year. Those reports were confirmed by a Verizon spokesperson who was quoted on several other web sites such as InternetNews and InformationWeek. There were no details on which netbooks or the prices of wireless data plans that would be available. But many speculate the move would be similar to AT&T's foray with RadioShack—an Acer Aspire One for $99 (instead of $300) with a two-year data plan.
The takeaway: While we haven't rated its wireless data service, Verizon has long been among the better carriers in our Ratings of cellphone service (available to subscribers). On the other hand, while the netbook to be offered by Verizon isn’t confirmed, Gizmodo has it as an HP Mini, and the only HP Mini we've tested scored low in our netbook Ratings; a successor is now in our labs and will appear soon on ConsumerReports.org. Also, many candidates for a supposedly subsidized netbook likely already own a smartphone with a data contract; will they, in tight times, want to take on yet another data bill every month? Would you?

13-inch Dell Inspiron laptop for the price of a netbook?

I got a call from my sister the other day, asking about the Dell Inspiron 13. My nephew was interested in buying it because he'd seen that it costs only $399, and after reading the reviews, he concluded it would be a good computer for him. (Did I mention my nephew is 10 years old?)

I thought the Inspiron 13 couldn't possibly be that inexpensive; he must have been thinking of a netbook. I went to Dell's site, and sure enough, there was a $399 Inspiron 13. Granted, it wasn't a fully loaded laptop (for starters, we'd recommend that anyone, even my 10-year-old nephew, should add another gig of RAM to the 1GB). But it's certainly more than adequate as a basic notebook.

I should have known better than to doubt my nephew's research skills. But what’s going on here? Thirteen-inch laptops are usually among the more-expensive models. Perhaps Dell is trying to compete with its own netbooks, or clearing out the bulkier Inspiron to make way for the ultra-light Adamo.

Bottom line, if you're looking for a 13-inch notebook and haven't considered it because the price was too high, now might be the time to buy.

—Donna Tapellini

News Brief: Dell to deliver a smartphone?

The computer-maker may be ready to take the plunge in the cell phone arena. According to ComputerWorld, CEO Michael Dell recently said in Tokyo that the company is "exploring smaller screen devices." What the devices will look like or when they will be available weren't disclosed. Still, InformationWeek reports that wireless carriers were unimpressed with an early prototype of the Dell smartphone.

The takeaway: Dell's interest in smartphones isn't surprising, given sagging sales of computers (except for netbooks) and the wild success of Apple's iPhone. (As previously noted, Acer is also ready to jump into the cell phone market.) Dell had previously offered handhelds that used Microsoft Windows Mobile software. And as ComputerWorld reported, Dell already has agreements with "many mobile carriers" for its 3G radios in notebooks and laptops. But what do you think? Will Dell be able to deliver a capable iPhone competitor? Feel free to weigh in below. In the meantime, we'll keep an eye out for any further announcements from Dell.

News Briefs

Here are some interesting consumer electronics and computer technology news headlines that caught our eyes this morning:

Apple iPhone 3.0
Today, Apple is expected to hold an “invitation-only event” to give select media groups “an advanced peek” at what the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is building—including a new operating system software for the iPhone. But other news sources are noting a variety of other developments could also be unveiled—including a tablet computer.
The take away: Since we bought and tested the iPhone last year, like many users we have a list of things we'd like to see in the new iPhone. We'll be monitoring what develops out of today's Apple-fest. But what would you like to see Apple develop next? Weigh in below.

Dell launches a notebook to love?
Dell is taking pre-orders for its new Adamo (Latin for “to fall in love with”) notebook computer. Based on Adamo's specs, it may be one of the thinnest notebooks Dell has ever sold. Could Dell have a Macbook Air killer on its hands?
The take away: Adamo could be the PC world's latest reply to the MacBook Air. But such lightness will also lighten your wallet of $2,000—a very hard sell in these tough economic times. We'll be testing the Adamo after we buy one (it's available on March 26) and add it to laptop Ratings (available to subscribers). In the meantime, for help in deciding what to look for in a laptop or desktop, check out our free Computer Buying Guide.

After the megapixel wars
Over at NewScientist's new Innovation tech column, a camera industry insider is claiming an end to the numbers game. In other words, expect more advertisements on other digital camera features instead of focusing on just the digital camera's megapixel, a numbers manufacturers love to tout.
The take away: For a while, we've advised consumers not to focus on megapixels when shopping for a digital camera. (Yes, 6-megapixels is all most consumers really need.) For more shopping tips, see our free Buying Guide to digital cameras.