Acer Aspire 2012 WLMi Review (pics, specs)

Okey thnx for the info odie but my acer 2012 WLMi has the bluetotth button and the specs says that it's come with bluetooth why do they put it on the machine if you can't use it

thnx

 

Merro - All 2012WLMi's have the bluetooth logo and button on them, however I have not heard of anyone who actually had bluetooth in their 2012. Recently people have managed to install the extra BT module in their 2012's though.

- Odie

 

For those, who are looking for a bluetooth module. I have found one place, that does sell this module. Though it's a bit pricy.
This is an email reply from the company:

==============================
Thank you for your inquiry.

PT# 54.A14V5.004 NEW $99.00
2-3 day lead time after order is placed.

Pricing doesn't include shipping/handling to your location.

We accept major credit cards for payment.

If you would like to make a purchase, please contact me at
800-999-4409 EXT 21.

Please refer to our web site for warranty and return information
www.capitaldatausa.com
==============================

PS. Please do not consider this as an ad - kust trying to be helpful

 

1. Yes, it's still working perfectly....and no I've not had any problems at all with it so far (I use it for about 8 hours a day and have had it running 24/7 for a couple of months now... with about 4 or 5 restarts for software/driver installations)

2. Definately worth it.

3. I've played UT2004, Far Cry and Doom3 without any problems. The last two needed details to be turned down a little bit, but the games still look great and are quite playable.

4. Wireless lan performance is good, I'm using it with a Linksys WRT54G and get a good signal all around my house.

5. The plastic feels solid, metal might have been preferrable.... but certainly the plastic hasn't been a problem.

6. I am not familiar with the 4501WLMi. The price you quoted for the 2012WLMi is a good deal, although keep in mind that technically the 2012 is now a discontinued model (warranty and service are still valid though, so it shouldn't affect your buying decision too much)

7. 1280x800 should be good enough for your usage.

 

first off congrats on a great review Odie, right now im very interested in buying a 2012WLMi, ive found it for £938 here in UK. i just want to ask you a few questions about it, if theyve already been answered im sorry:

1. now youve had it for a while how is it? is it still working ok, have you had any problems with it etc?

2. so far do you think your purchase was worth it?

3. have you tried any of the latest games on it yet (e.g. Doom 3)? if yes do they play ok?

4. hows the wireless LAN? have you had any problems with it?

5. hows the build of the laptop? because its plastic does it feel badly made or whatever?

6. do you think i should get the 2012WLMi or should i go instead for the 4501WLMi?

7. last but not least, any chance you could send me a screenshot of the laptops screen on 1280x800 resolution? i will be using the laptop at university and my course is multimedia design, right now my computer has a 1280x1024 resolution and this is perfect for my work but i was just wondering if 800 instead of 1024 would be sufficient enough. my email address is [email protected]

thanks for your help [ ]

 

well everything there is great, definately helped me, hopefully since the models discontinued the ste im buying from wont sell out before i can get one (in a couple of weeks). ill keep looking around for others but i think maybe ive found my perfect machine [ ]

 

Wireless LAN has some problem, but I can't pinpoint it.
I'm using it with Netgear WGR614 router, I get good signal all around my house, but I also get random disconnects. I get fewer disconnects when I disable Microsoft's wireless management software and use Intel's PROSet utility (it's on the Acer CD, not installed by default). However. I DO get disconnects even with the PROSet. To get it working with NO disconnects I had to disable the builtin wireless hardware and use a Netget WG511 pcmcia card instead.
Bottom line: I think something is wrong, but I don't know what.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by ThomasCrowne

 

Hi,

I have had this laptop for three days now and I have a couple of problems.

1) When I donot use the laptop for 30 min, it goes into standby mode ( as per settings). When I click the power on button , it tries to resume windows, but hangs. I have to forcebly shut it down and restart. It has happened twice. Any ideas why this could be happening?

2) I went to the Windows update site and applied the suggested patches except SP2. Suddenly my touch pad stopped working. I tried the Fn+F7 toggle. But it did not work. I dont know if windows update has got something to do with it. Any ideas?

Thanks

 

I did not have the problem before I updated the patches . Now, I found out that, the Synaptics touchpad is not even listed in the list of devices.

-Kiran

 

Did problem 1 happen also before you applied all the updates?
I haven't applied any MS updates, but I find that when my acer goes into standby (or is it just screen off, I wonder) I can always bring it back pressing the space bar instead of the on button.

 

As I mentioned in my review on this forum, I had the same problem. Reboot your machine in safe mode. This should force it to recognize the touch pad, and everything should be honkydory on the reboot in normal operating mode. Goodness knows why this happens, but at least it is an easy fix.

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by kkg

 

Thanks for the suggestion rovingdriver. I tried to boot the notebook in safe mode and boot it normally. But it did not work. So, I did a full system recovery. It still did not work . So, called up Acer and arranged for shipping it to their repair center.

Today in the morning, just to make sure that I didnt leave any disk in the CD drive, I booted the machine, and suddenly the touchpad started working.

Dont know how to explain this.

-Kiran

 

Hey Odie,

I was just wondering if anyone had any luck installing the Bluetooth module and if so, how and where did they get it.

 

Hi rayven17,

Take a look at this thread:

http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2745

It contains BT info for people in the USA as well as the UK. I haven't gone for the BT module yet myself.

I hope that helps.

- Odie

 

Thanks for the quick response. Having the option to install a Bluetooth module sounds really good, but the price is pretty high. There has to be places where I can purchase them for cheaper.

 

rayven17, apart from buying the Acer BT module, your only other option is to go for a USB BT dongle, which is probably much cheaper than the module.

- Odie

 

[ ]Thanks a lot for the info....It had us going for a while till we saw this message.

-Arvind

[ ]<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Odie

 

Hi All,

I was looking for the 2012 wlmi [ ] it seems to be replaced with 1682 or 4501 series [?].

The technical characteritics seems to be similar but i noticed that these new models don't have the buttons on front side which allow to use the CD Player without booting up the system (as ASUS M6BN/M6BR models have for ex.)

I don't know why they removed them [ ] but anyway can somebody tell me if we can launch DVD or MP3 Cd's on the 2012 without booting the machine, or it can only play Audio CD ?

Thanx

 

the 2012 does not give you the option of 'boot-less' audio or video, that function though present on the 2000 and 2020 series, is absent on the 2012.

would you really use it that much?

hope this helps,

todd

 

The 2012 can't launch CD's or DVD's without booting ! Damn ! [xx(]

All right can someone who own other models from this series can tell me if he can use this functions without booting [?]

It seems to be a good function in my opinion because we can use the laptop to leasson to music or watch DVD's, by linking it to External Speakers and to TV.

I don't wanna use separate HIFI systems and DVD Player beacause the laptop worth it [ ]

 

just because you cant do it by not booting up doesnt mean the laptop cant play cds or dvds, it can.

i dont even think the idea of not having to boot up is that much of a good one cos the buttons are on the exposed part of the laptop so if you had it in your bag they could easily be accidentally pressed.

 

Yes djjimmy sure it can play them [ ] it was only to avoid booting the machine when i wan't to only play DVD's or CD's

it's time saving... battery saving, and i think a cool plug and play feature, which avoid to buy an additional Home DVD/CD/MP3 player [ ]

it's nevertheless a cool machine, thanks to Odie Review [8D]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Odie

 

Hi,
Need help pls. I am trying to upgrade the RAM for my 2012WLMi. Upon removing the memory compartment cover on the back of my laptop I found only one memory module of capacity 256MB.
1. Can only one RAM slot be replaced?
2. Where is the other RAM module/ slot?
3. Is there any specific brand or RAM that I should look for (samsung? infenion?)
4. What is the best RAM replacement (in terms of capacity) to suit the 1.5MHz Pentium M processor that is there in 2012WLMi?

Thanks in advance for the info.

Regards
Arvind

 

1. Can only one RAM slot be replaced?

You can replace the memory in either slot, assuming you have two (check with Acer).

2. Where is the other RAM module/ slot?

If you have one, it might be under the keyboard, check your owner's manual.

3. Is there any specific brand or RAM that I should look for (samsung? infenion?)

I'd recommend Kingston, Corsair, Crucial, for value brands. Low cost and reliable.

4. What is the best RAM replacement (in terms of capacity) to suit the 1.5MHz Pentium M processor that is there in 2012WLMi?

What is the maximum you can put in your notebook, and what do you have in there now?

 

Check out this link for upgrading your memory:

http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=35482&highlight=acer+2012+memory+upgrade

 

Thanks Chaz and Robokam.

The link for upgrading memeory seems to be of great help.

I have decied to change only one module - the one that is the easiest and I have decided for a 512 or 1 Gb depending on the deal I get for the brands mentioned.

The max is supposed to be 2Gb with 1Gb on each slot and currently there it is 2 * 256 MB. I wanted to know if there was any optimum spec, I mean, whats the point in going for a high RAM when processor speed is low.

I currently use my laptop for office and multimedia applications apart form some gaming (like Counter Strike )

Cheers
Arvind

 

The 'ideal' range for gaming is 768MB-1GB. I'd suggest 1GB if you can for CS:S, because Steam itself takes up a large portion of your system memory.

Your best bet is to add a one gigabyte module, as they are not that expensive right now, and you won't have to get rid of it if you ever upgrade to two gigabytes.

 

Hi again,

As I mentioned currently I have 2 X 256 MB of RAM.

1. I would like to know if there would be any problems if I replace just one with a 1 GB RAM. If yes, will a 512MB be better?

2. Also will there is any problem if I have a different brand, say Crucial or Kingston (ofcourse with the same specifications as the existing) - I guess I dont have a choice here becos I noticed the one I have now is not branded .

Thanks & Reg
Arvind

 

If you can, I'd go for the 1GB stick, because it's not that much more than a single 512MB, and you'll get better performance out of 1.25GB, rather than 768MB.

It won't matter if you mix brands, as your memory is not dual channel. I've had notebooks with two different brands of RAM, and I've never had an issue.