Acer Aspire Ethos 8943G review

While the silver lid is pleasingly minimalist, opening it reveals a mish-mash of design elements. There’s the Sony Vaio-esque tubular hinge, which incorporates the power buttons at one end and a couple of shortcut buttons at the other. Above the keyboard is an odd speaker assembly, prominently advertising Dolby’s Home Theater technology. Then there’s the black wrist-rest, raised above the level of the keyboard, with its curiously glossy touchpad.

We liked the keyboard, with its separated Chiclet-style keys. They have a light action, with a distinct bite in the stroke that provides feedback for touch-typists. There’s plenty of space, so no compromises have been made in the layout, even with a four-column numberpad on the right.

The speakers are a triumph of style over substance, however. Volume levels are low, and rely heavily on Dolby’s technologies to produce a wide soundstage. Turning these off results in the sort of tinny sound we’d expect from a much cheaper laptop, but the effect on the sound is over-processed and unnatural.

A glossy finish on a touchpad seems counter-intuitive: your fingers are more likely to stick on a glossy surface than a matt finish and it wasn’t as responsive as we’d like. The buttons are beneath one strip of plastic, which is large and set close to the edge of the case where your thumb naturally rests. There’s an extra button in the centre that activates LED multimedia controls that appear on the surface of the touchpad, while a volume wheel sits underneath the buttons on the edge of the case. You also get a Media Centre remote control in the box.

Despite the odd design touches and mediocre speakers, we can’t help but be impressed by the Aspire 8943G’s performance and features. It’s great value for money, and wins our Best Buy award.