Netbook Reviews – Laptop Reviews

Acer’s latest laptops have adopted a new slim design, and the 7741 is no exception. The smart, textured lid opens to reveal a brushedmetal keyboard surround, with none of the gaudy LEDs or touch-sensitive controls of previous designs. It’s not all about looks, though: you can find packed inside the 17.3in 7741 a powerful Core i3  330M processor.

The backlight is bright and even, and the glossy finish adds vibrancy to colours. Colour accuracy was also good, and contrast was excellent, although tight vertical viewing angles mean you have to adjust the tilt of the screen carefully.

There’s no dedicated graphics card, but the Core i3 330M’s built-in graphics processor can handle HD content, and you could use the HDMI output to watch Full HD content on a larger external screen. It isn’t powerful enough for 3D games, although 2D games should run fine.

than one application. The large screen means there’s room for a numeric keypad without compromising on the layout of the main keyboard. There’s a large, double-height Enter key, but the left Shift key is a little narrow.

In terms of connectivity, the 7741 has three USB ports, Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11n WiFi. The card reader supports SD, Memory Stick and xD formats and while the 250GB hard disk isn’t the biggest, it should be enough for most people.