Travelmate 3270-6569 - A solid dissapointment

My venerable Travelmate 3003 died the other day, and I had to get a replacement fast. I felt comfortable with Acer and decided to use them as a replacement. I wanted something with a larger screen, yet still portable, so I went with the 3270-6569.

Note the -6569! This is definitely not the 3270 listed on the Acer web site. No special graphics card, no web cam. Not that I was expecting them, but I am warning others less savvy for details.

There are really two reasons I am disappointed with this notebook. First, the keyboard layout. After the compromises they had to make on the 3003 keyboard, I was looking forward to a full keyboard. Yes, there is a dedicated Home and End key (a must for programming), but they should have shot the idiot who decided to add € and $ keys around the arrow keys. Come on, how ofter do I need either? I am desperately looking for a way to remap these to an extra set of Page Up and Page Down keys so I can get at least a pittance of use out of them.

Second, I am really disappointed by the penny pinching Acer did on this model. One thing I've loved about both my other Acers is the built in Microphone. This one also has the little Mic symbol about the keyboard and a hole for a mic, but I can't seem to get it to work, so I assume its not there. Am I wrong? I'd love to look at specs for this to tell me one way or the other, but the manual covers 3 different models of laptops, none which resemble mine.

Finally, no bluetooth? There is a little enable button for it, but it appears to not be included. Come on Acer, I didn't even look for this feature as I assumed it was standard on any notebook built in the last 2 years.

Anyway, I suspect I will be looking for a new notebook in the next year or so, and this time I believe I will become more adventuresome and look beyond Acer.

 

Your first problem with the keyboard seems to be a issue on most of the new acers. My 5102's keyboard is setup the same way with the € and $ keys right above the arrow keys, now coming from an older travelmate which wasn't designed like this I have to admit it did take time to get used to. Now I never hit them by mistake at all.

Your second issue with the microphone, did you perhaps check to see if the microphone is muted (check the audio settings), your notebook (like most acers now) uses realtek HD audio.

Third, most acer's on the market have the bluetooth key on them but don't have the bluetooth module in them. This is a very common question on the forums "my notebook has the bluetooth switch but it says no device when I hit it". Bluetooth is by no means "standard" on notebooks it never was, even on the most high end machines these days it is still an option. If you configure a Dell or HP, bluetooth is still an option that you have to pay extra for. What you are thinking about that has become standard now is wireless A/B/G and now draft N network adapters.

 

Thanks, the MIC hint worked, but the keys still bug the heck out of me.

Its not a matter of accidentally hitting the keys, it more a matter of prime keyboard locations being wasted by 2 pointless keys.

If I knew the keyscan codes for the keys I could remap them through windows, but unfortunately I don't.