Thursday, April 06, 2006
Acer n311 - package contents
Well I’m still in the middle of a house move with no web access at home so I have decided to write a few textual updates on the Acer n311 Pocket PC in the meantime.
Today I will focus on what you get in the box and the quality of the components.
The surprising thing about the packaging is the size of it, this has got to be the smallest Pocket PC box I have seen and given that this includes the device, cradle and power supply, it really does come as a small shock.
When you lift the Acer out of the box, you immediately notice how small and light this thing is, it seems like a feather weight and when you add the battery it seems to double in mass.
The Stylus included with the Acer is standard issue for current Pocket PCs i.e. a single shaft, shiny metal stylus with black plastic tip and contoured top for extraction from the silo. A nice touch is the laser engraved Acer logo on the side towards the top. At first it proves a little fiddly to pull the stylus out however this has become straight forward after a few uses and now easy to do.
The top end n311 model comes with a cradle which is initially flat packed. This is assembled by taking a transparent plastic section which fits into the base unit to complete the dock. I like this cradle for two reasons; it is designed to be used in either portrait or landscape orientations and also features good functionality above connecting your Pocket PC. As well as the expected charging and syncing of your device, you can charge a spare battery and also plug USB devices directly into the cradle to take advantage of the USB Host functionality of the Acer. The cradle is reasonably well weighted which makes it easy to remove the device when you are on the move.
The full user guide is supplied on the included CD ROM which saves paper but may prove inconvenient for someone new to the Pocket PC platform. The paper based quick start guide covers the basics to get you up and running though and will be enough for the majority of users.
One thing that many vendors do not supply with a Pocket PC is a case to protect your new investment in daily use. The n300 series does come with a case and one would think that Acer should be commended on this however given the type of case supplied, I know for a fact that I would not miss it. The case is more a drawstring bag of sorts which is fabricated from the material used to clean glasses. The instructions included with this bag state one of its functions can be used to clean the screen however it really does offer little to no protection and I would recommend replacing this as soon as possible with something far more suitable.
The Acer carries a standard two year warranty which I find very satisfying and better than many and you also get a one year traveller warranty for use abroad. Acer should certainly be applauded for this and I am always confident of companies that offer these extended forms of standard warranty.
So now we know what comes with the Acer, the question is what is missing? Well, one thing I always look out for is some form of syncing and charging when on the go, I mean who realistically is going to carry a cradle around with them for this purpose? While I don’t expect to receive a second charger, I really do wish more manufacturers would supply a sync/charge cable to offer the ability to do either when travelling or in the office for example. As it turns out, this is one of the first things I buy for a device and wish Acer would include such a cable, preferably at the expense of the so called case as it seems to be a much more practical accessory.
Today I will focus on what you get in the box and the quality of the components.
The surprising thing about the packaging is the size of it, this has got to be the smallest Pocket PC box I have seen and given that this includes the device, cradle and power supply, it really does come as a small shock.
When you lift the Acer out of the box, you immediately notice how small and light this thing is, it seems like a feather weight and when you add the battery it seems to double in mass.
The Stylus included with the Acer is standard issue for current Pocket PCs i.e. a single shaft, shiny metal stylus with black plastic tip and contoured top for extraction from the silo. A nice touch is the laser engraved Acer logo on the side towards the top. At first it proves a little fiddly to pull the stylus out however this has become straight forward after a few uses and now easy to do.
The top end n311 model comes with a cradle which is initially flat packed. This is assembled by taking a transparent plastic section which fits into the base unit to complete the dock. I like this cradle for two reasons; it is designed to be used in either portrait or landscape orientations and also features good functionality above connecting your Pocket PC. As well as the expected charging and syncing of your device, you can charge a spare battery and also plug USB devices directly into the cradle to take advantage of the USB Host functionality of the Acer. The cradle is reasonably well weighted which makes it easy to remove the device when you are on the move.
The full user guide is supplied on the included CD ROM which saves paper but may prove inconvenient for someone new to the Pocket PC platform. The paper based quick start guide covers the basics to get you up and running though and will be enough for the majority of users.
One thing that many vendors do not supply with a Pocket PC is a case to protect your new investment in daily use. The n300 series does come with a case and one would think that Acer should be commended on this however given the type of case supplied, I know for a fact that I would not miss it. The case is more a drawstring bag of sorts which is fabricated from the material used to clean glasses. The instructions included with this bag state one of its functions can be used to clean the screen however it really does offer little to no protection and I would recommend replacing this as soon as possible with something far more suitable.
The Acer carries a standard two year warranty which I find very satisfying and better than many and you also get a one year traveller warranty for use abroad. Acer should certainly be applauded for this and I am always confident of companies that offer these extended forms of standard warranty.
So now we know what comes with the Acer, the question is what is missing? Well, one thing I always look out for is some form of syncing and charging when on the go, I mean who realistically is going to carry a cradle around with them for this purpose? While I don’t expect to receive a second charger, I really do wish more manufacturers would supply a sync/charge cable to offer the ability to do either when travelling or in the office for example. As it turns out, this is one of the first things I buy for a device and wish Acer would include such a cable, preferably at the expense of the so called case as it seems to be a much more practical accessory.
