Acer's Ethos Laptop Sports a Detachable Trackpad that Doubles as a Media Remote

Posted 06/07/2011 at 7:28am | by Paul Lilly

4

Comments

Print

Just when you think you've seen it all in laptop design, Acer comes out with a unique concept that's not only a first of its kind, but potentially useful as opposed to just another gimmick. We're talking about the detachable trackpad on Acer's new Aspire Ethos series of multimedia notebooks. When not sitting snug in the laptop's wrist rest, the trackpad acts as a "MediaRemote for convenient multimedia and content enjoyment at a distance" with an orientation sensor that lets you use it either horizontally or vertically. Pretty rad, no?

Aspire's Ethos notebooks are built for multimedia chores and boast the feature-set to prove it. Acer's Clear.fi wireless home network technology is part of the mix, which automatically connects all of the devices on your home network, including your smartphone, notebook, all-in-one PC, HD media player, and more.

The Aspire Ethos 8951G comes with Acer CineSurround with five Dolby-tuned built-in speakers and Acer Tuba CineBass subwoofer, while the 5951G packs True5.1-channel surround sound output, two built-in stereo speakers, and the Acer Tuba CineBass booster.

Other features include Intel second generation Core i processor options, Full HD (1920x1080) or HD (1366x768) screen resolution, Nvidia GeForce GT500 series discrete graphics, USB 3.0, HDD and SSD options, DVD or Blu-ray drive, and a battery Acer claims will retain 80 percent capacity for over 1,000 charge cycles (more than three times compared to traditional notebook batteries).

Pricing starts at around $1,640 in the U.K. No word yet on when the Ethos will ship stateside or for how much.

Image Credit: Acer