Aspire 1681WLMi vs Aspire 2012WLMi

I wonder if anyone can answer a question. After about 6 hours or looking into laptops, reading reviews and researching into processors and benchmarks last night, I've decided that the Pentium-M processor is definitely the way to go. In my opinion a much better choice than the P4 in a laptop which overheats, eats the battery and is in no way lives up to the performance it's clock speed suggests. A lot of the benchmarks I've seen have the much slower-rated Pentium-M matching if not beating the P4 in 3D tests. Plus you have the bonus of better battery life, and a cooler, quieter laptop.... (Sorry for my ramblings - I'm just trying to convince myself I'm chosing the right processor!!!)

So onto my problem then....I'm looking at the Acer Aspire 1681WLMi.... Which sounds like a bargain for the spec you get. However, the acerlaptops website quote a lowly 2hour battery life - for a centrino laptopo this doesn't seem very good. However, some other sites quote upto 5 hours. I know its the difference between 4/8 cell batterys, but non of the websites actually say which battery comes in the laptop. Im just concerned that the sites quoting 5 hours are only quoting that because its a centrino laptop.....can anyone enlighten me??

My next question....the Acer Aspire 2012WLMi is very similar to the 1681WLMi. The one difference is an additional £80 in price and the other is that the acerlaptops website quote a 5 hour battery life.

However, after reading the review of its bigger brother, the Acer Aspire 2023WLMi with 128MB GDU, Im not convinced its the right one to buy. Especially after the comments on the location of the volume etc, which I think could be annoying, and the fact it doesn't quite meet it's paper specs in the performance stakes. Plus the 2023WLMi is £254 more than the Aspire 1681WLMi.

REVIEW: http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=642

In my mind I want to go for the Aspire 1681WLMi, however if the battery life is correct at 2hours (although some sites say 5) it seems pointless buying it as a "centrino" laptop....

Any comments and help welcome!!

 

In Answer to my own question!! - I phoned an Acer dealer and the 1681WLMi does only come with a 4 cell 32W battery (and I live in the UK too) Although he said he thought it would be revised soon. So If I'm spending £865 on the laptop plus extra for a new battery it's probably not worth it....

Does anyone have any comments on the 2023WLMi review? This is the only thing putting me off buying a 2000 series....maybe I should look at different brands now...any suggestions?

 

Hey, if you can get the 2012WLMi (and its 140 US cheaper?) go for it! I believe the 1681 series is replacing the 2012 (I don't know why), but I've only read good things about the 2012, but nobody carries it here in the US anymore. The 8-cell battery for the 1681 is going to cost you about 140 US as well so in a sense you're saving 280 US by buying the 2012WLMi.

As for the 2023WLMi...I bought the US version - the 2025WLMi (it arrives today!!!). I bought it over the 2012WLMi for a few reasons:
1) I hate to skimp on anything and I feel like I would regret not getting all of the features I wanted (which follow).
2) Multi-write DVD AND slot-loading.
3) Dothan 1.8 GHz processor - faster, cooler, longer battery life.
4) Aluminum casing - tougher than plastic.
5) Arcade seemed pretty cool - I watch a lot of DVDs and listen to a lot of music - and I can do that now without draining my battery.
6) 9700 128Mb GPU - faster graphics processor
7) Bluetooth
8) Subwoofer - better sound

Anyways...those are some of the reasons and I knew I would regret it if I didn't buy the 2025. So it all depends on what you can live with. Personally, I will be using a small optical 'laptop' mouse and the buttons in the front sound like they will not bother me (they're only a bother when you use the touchpad).

Hope this helps you [ ]

~Jiff