Corporate is the first word that springs to mind when you take Acer’s
Travelmate 6293 out of its box. The 6293’s solid build and no-nonsense
design makes this the sort of laptop that IT bosses love…for their fellow
employees if not for themselves.
Its old-school black casing will win it few design plaudits and the decision
to place the wireless switch and audio jacks at the front edge is pragmatic
if not pleasing to the eye.
The solid build makes the 6293 the Danny DeVito of laptops – it’s a little
stocky but the performance is good. The model I reviewed was powered by an
Intel T9600 chip, running at a speed of 2.8 GHz, and it handled running
multiple applications using power-hungry wi-fi at the same time with no
major problems. However, this set-up is not widely avilable in the UK, where
the T8400 and T5670 powered versions are more common.
Theoretical battery life with the supplied six-cell pack is 4.5 hours and
there is an optional 9-cell pack that boosts this to seven hours.
The wide edge around the 12.1 inch screen gives the 6293 the feeling of being
a netbook but without the weight advantages. The backlit LCD panel (1280 x
800 resolution). On the question of weight, the 6293 is rather too lardy for
my liking, tipping the scales at around 2 kilos with the battery in place.
This is not an ultraportable by any means.
The 6293 comes with a good selection of corporate-friendly features – gigabit
Ethernet for speedy connection to the company network, fingerprint security
(on some models) and a base dock for use back at the office. There are also
a wealth of ports – three USB 2.0 ports, a 5-in-1 card reader, PC card slot
(type II) and a VGA port for linking to an external display although there
is no FireWire port.
The keyboard is hit and miss. The keys have just enough travel and are
substantial enough to make touch typing feel natural. I also like the rank
of quick launch function keys at the top right. However, the cursor keys are
annoyingly small and cramped.
The spec
Dimensions: 30.6 cm x 22.7 cm x 3.7 cm, weight: 2 kg, 12.1 WXGA LCD screen,
2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive. Intel T9600 CPU, battery life: 4.5 hours, gigabit
Ethernet, DVD-SuperMulti, 5-in-1 card reader.
The hype
They say: “The Travelmate 6293 emphasises professional style, ultra mobility
combined with personal productivity”
The reality
We say: The 6293 is certainly professional – it has a whiff of the corporate
about it. Ultra mobility I take issue with, since 2.4kg is not ultra mobile
in my opinion. With this processor, personal productivity is not in
question.
The bottom line
£631.87 including VAT from Digital
Fusion for T5670 model with 250BG hard drive. £862.09 including VAT
from PC World
Business for T8400 model.
The verdict
The 6293 is something of a corporate workhorse and, at this very good price,
should command a market among IT heads wanting to equip the company’s
travellers with a no-nonsense laptop that will be robust on the road and
deliver good if not exceptional performance.
The roadwarrior rating
8 out of 10
