Acer Aspire AS8943G Series Packs Core i7, Blu-Ray, Full HD And Dolby Home Theatre

Acer has unveiled its latest multimedia behemoth, the Acer Aspire AS8943G Series, a range of 18.4-inch Full HD aluminum-clad monsters each packing Intel Core i7 quadcore CPUs and Dolby Home Theatre support.  There's also ATI Mobility Radeon HD5850 1GB graphics and a nifty trackpad that doubles – thanks to some backlit icons – as a media controller.

Connectivity includes HDMI, eSATA, WiFi b/g/n, gigabit ethernet and Bluetooth, together with a 1.3-megapixel webcam, fingerprint reader and a 500GB hard-drive.  Standard RAM is either 4GB or 8GB, but the AS8943G Series will support up to 16GB if you're feeling flush.

Of course there's Blu ray along with a five speaker and sub setup all integrated into the notebook itself.  Pricing kicks off from $1,549.99 with the Acer Aspire AS8943G Series showing up in stores today.

Press Release:

New Acer Aspire AS8943G Notebook Computer Turns Any Room into the Ultimate Personal Theatre

Sleek new industrial design personifies elegance and performance;

Unique dual mode touchpad/media console puts movies and music at your fingertips

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 22, 2010 – Acer America, part of the world's second largest manufacturer of notebook PCs (1), today announced the immediate availability of new models in its top-of-the line multimedia notebook series, the Acer Aspire AS8943G. With a completely new modern and bold industrial design, the AS8943G notebook PCs are defined not only by their advanced capabilities, but by a dramatic, simplistic industrial design befitting a notebook so powerful.

Packed with leading technologies and world-class entertainment and usability features, the new models are sure to please the most demanding power user. Whether they are used for creating multimedia content, watching movies or dominating the latest PC games, the Aspire AS8943G notebooks deliver high-end styling and world-class performance for a wide range of productivity and entertainment applications.

On the exterior, the new Aspire notebooks sport an aluminium cover that not only looks sharp, but also protects the seamless, frameless display. Upon opening the lid, consumers will be wowed by sharp design lines that scream precision and performance. A host of well balanced contrasts, including glossy and matte finishes and silver and black accents, surround the new chiclet style keyboard (keys with straight edges vs. slanted sides) which extends to a dedicated numeric keypad.

"The Acer Aspire AS8943G Series of notebooks are first-class multimedia centers that deliver an unparalleled high-definition personal theatre experience," said Ray Sawall, Acer product marketing. "Designed for the most discriminating and style-conscious consumer, these new notebooks combine an elegant, simplistic design with top-of-the line technologies and usability features, taking PC-based entertainment to a whole new level."

Stunning High Definition Visuals

These multimedia powerhouses deliver the ultimate high-definition personal-theatre experience. Featuring a brilliant CineCrystal™ 18.4-inch edge-to-edge glass LED back-lit display with full high-definition (1080p) resolution, consumers have a front row seat to all their entertainment and computing needs. Delivering stunningly rich lifelike audio and visuals, the Dolby® optimized Acer CineSurround sound system with five built-in speakers and a dedicated subwoofer deliver clear tones and deep bass beats, while a Blu-ray drive delivers razor sharp visuals on the display's 16:9 aspect ratio.

For those connecting to PC speakers, headphones or a home audio system, Dolby® Home Theatre® Audio immerses you in the action, making TV shows, movies, sports, music, and video games sound amazing. An HDMI port allows for quick and easy hook up to an even bigger high-definition TV for movie nights.

Only the Best for Power Users and Gamers

Designed for hardcore power users, the Aspire AS8943G Series notebooks are powered by the Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, delivering advanced performance and incredible system response. Already loaded with 4GB or 8GB of memory, the notebooks can support up to 16GB for extraordinary speed.

Boasting the world's fastest and most powerful mobile GPU ever designed(2), gamers looking to lose themselves in an ultimate fantasy world will thrill to the intense video computing power delivered by the ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD5850 Graphics with 1GB of dedicated video memory. Full DirectX® 11 support enables incredible gaming and stunning

3D visual effects. Photographers, videographers and graphic designers will see their creative ideas spring to life with increased visual detail and stunning realism.

Digital packrats with massive amounts of photos, videos, music, documents and emails will find the 500GB(3) SATA hard dive provides plenty of room for their digital data. With dual hard drive support, consumers can add another drive for backups or to increase their overall storage capacity. And to make data transfer painless, both models include an eSATA port to speed up large file transfers, while a FireWire port moves videos quickly from the latest digital camcorders.

User Friendly Features for Today's Digital Lifestyle

In addition, a new dual-mode touchpad with integrated, capacitive touch media controller icons allows you to switch between multi-gesture mode to media console mode. At the flick of a finger, consumers can go straight to their favorite movies or music. Integrated into the touchpad, the backlit media console icons glow underneath the pad, providing a clean simplistic design. In addition, a convenient scrolling volume wheel directly under the touchpad makes it easy to control volume levels.

Connecting to the Internet on the road or at home is fast and easy. The Aspire AS8943G Series includes 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ wireless for the road and ultra-quick Gigabit Ethernet for those who want an even faster connection at home. In addition, Bluetooth® makes it easy to connect cordlessly to smartphones and printers.

For those who like to stay in touch face-to-face, a 1.3 megapixel HD webcam and digital microphone provides clear high-quality online chat sessions. It also takes still pictures and videos that can easily be shared with friends.

Providing top-notch security for consumers' digital data, the notebooks also include a bio-protection fingerprint reader, preventing unauthorized access to or use of the PC.

Configurations, Pricing and Availability

With prices starting at $1,549.99, the Acer Aspire AS8943G-6190 and the Acer Aspire AS8943G-6782 are available now at leading retailers.

All models come with a standard one-year parts and labor warranty, which can be extended to three years with the Acer Advantage service. Additionally, some models have longer warranties offered through specific channel partners. All Acer notebook PCs are backed by toll-free service and support.