The Acer Guy

This is going to kick up a storm…

I honestly don’t know how they get away with this.

I can understand everyone’s right to freedom of speech. I myself am a staunch supporter of Chris Locke’s troubled view on the modern world, but there are times when professionalism just seems to turn right and hurl itself out the window, either that or it is thrown out by prejudice and mis-information.

A case in point is the way CNET UK has just torn the Aspire 5920 to shreds. Literally. You can read Rory Reid’s review here.

If you’re not happy with that, then have a look at the video.

I personally think Rory took one look at the Aspire 5920 and wrote the entire review around that first split-second judgement but hey, I’m biased.

If it’s quality journalism you’re after look no further than my long-time favourite, ShinyShiny who’s “toilet-needing excitement” comment wins it a lifetime membership to the shallow reporting hall of fame. I can hear William Strunk turning in his grave.

Not everyone thinks the new Mini is cool. Some people hate it simply because it is. I don’t have an issue with that. What I have an issue with is when quality information is cast aside in favour of a throwaway comment, particularly if this drop in standards comes from an authority site like CNet.

When was the last time you read a good (quality) car magazine that criticized a new car with such vehemence yet without any consideration of the long-term goals of the manufacturer, its heritage or current direction and without any insight into the reasons behind a particular design or feature?

Call me naive but I personally believe that there is a difference between intelligent, informed journalism and generalized trash. The former is an art. The latter nothing more than a cheap way of generating above-average click through rates.

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I’m a little bit upset.

I had no idea the ShinyShiny crew were at the Gemstone/ProFile launch.

It would have been fun to meet up and try to find out why they can’t stop slamming Acer’s products. We could have talked about the importance of industrial design and how it was applied to both product lines, or about the international focus groups brought in to make them better all round than they are already.

Remember the headline “Performance is in the details”…? I’m beginning to be irreversibly convinced ShinyShiny doesn’t look that deeply.

Or maybe, for one night only, we could have put our differences aside and just chilled in the bar afterwards and talked blogs/gadgets/martinis/whatever…

Still, they were good enough to bring their video cameras along and this is the result.

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I’ve been a bit slow off the mark lately. I’ve just tracked down a vlog on Shiny Shiny’s site this morning. Susi Scarlett gave a quick one minute overview of the Ferrari 1000 which I think deserves a mention.

I like the Shiny Shiny site. It’s quick, easy and very girl-oriented and a lot of fun to keep up with. Thing is, quick and easy doesn’t always paint a proper picture.

I know I run the risk of getting flamed by a lot of girls over this but this isn’t an anti-girl thing. Quite the contrary…

First of all, while I can fully understand that car-branded products don’t exactly tick every girl’s desire box, given a bit of thought, there’s more to the Acer/Ferrari co-branding than cheap products and car sounds.

Acer and Ferrari may or may not be cool in your part of the world, but they are recognized the world over for their technology-driven values and share some serious appeal, proven year in and year out by their unstoppable growth.

Look even closer, you’ll find that “cheap” is in fact a cruel interpretation of “value”, with Acer delivering more features per pound/euro/dollar/yen etc.. than almost everyone else, again yet another reason why Acer is so popular.

Acer is an official sponsor of Scuderia Ferrari and anyone who saw Schumacher’s final fling in Brazil will always remember the car he did it in. Not a bad team to be involved with if you ask me.

Susi also mentioned brand popularity amongst her male friends. I’d love to have sat in on that top trumps conversation. Bentley and Aston Martin… both undisputedly great brands but suitable for PCs? Really? They may be fast but they’re hardly light (one of the most important decision makers when choosing a notebook). Ferrari gets weight down with carbon fibre, Bentley adds weight with chrome, walnut and wilton – all magnificent for cross continent adventures, but hardly the sort of values you need when your job requires you to haul your notebook around all day.

Audi I agree with. It shares values that are closer to IT standards but does anybody seriously think Audi could out-brand Ferrari? They may win at Le Mans but it’s not as high profile as F1. Besides they win with diesel engines which even Susi’s ultra-high-fashion male friends would have a hard time associating with cool. And let’s not even begin to talk about the appeal of an estate car…

Brand issues aside, I also would like to point out that the “Bluetooth adapter” Susi mentions is in fact the first integrated Bluetooth-enabled VoIP phone on the market, designed specifically to make internet phone calls a reality and to avoid having to wear those bundled headphones you get with webcams or even worse, leaning over at weird angles to shout into the built-in microphone. Oh, it also has hands free capabilities to you can talk and type, for free.

It’s the little details like these that makes technology easier to use. Making technology work is what Acer and Ferrari represent, and is why it’s a perfect match.

A one minute video may be quick and easy, but it’s nowhere near enough to show the plusses and the minuses of a serious product and all too quick and all too easy to get it wrong.

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