TechRadar Verdict
This machine is perfect for the average user who is looking for a compromise between power and portability
Pros
- +
Good power
- +
Strong battery life
- +
Lightweight chassis
Cons
- -
Some keyboard flex
- -
Integrated graphics
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Packard Bell's rejuvenation, following its acquisition by Acer, continues apace. The EasyNote NJ65-AU-020UK is further evidence that the company is heading in the right direction and it is a great all-round machine with good performance and a unique design.
The 14-inch screen is a pleasure to use. The 1366 x 768-pixel resolution provides an especially detailed image, while colours are vividly reproduced.
The 16:9 aspect ratio also makes the laptop suitable for viewing your favourite movies, but the Super-TFT screen coating is extremely reflective in bright or changing light.
A honeycomb-effect adorns the lid, making it stand out in the crowd, and we were surprised that, despite its shininess, the lid didn't attract too many fingerprints or too much grime.
The chassis is constructed from hard matt plastics and features a line of touch-activated hotkeys that give you quick access to various applications, including a My BackUp key for saving your data to an external drive.
The keyboard is the only part of the machine that slightly disappoints. It has been mounted on to the chassis at its edges and, therefore, isn't supported in the centre, which causes quite a bit of flex. It isn't a deal-breaker though and you'll still be able to type fluidly without too many issues.
The touchpad is large and responsive, while the large, dual-click mouse button looks great, having been embossed with the Packard Bell logo.
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Pentium processor
An Intel Pentium T4200 processor is joined by 3072MB of memory and the result is surprisingly sprightly performance. You'll have no problems running and multi-tasking office applications, but resource-heavy multimedia programs will struggle.
The integrated graphics card means that, if you try to run complex photo and video editing suites, there won't be enough 3D power for them to work smoothly.
The 320GB hard drive is generous at this price and will hold all of your digital content, while providing a degree of future-proofing. The optical drive is also capable of reading and writing DVDs.
Highly portable
Portability is another strength. The weight is only 2.4kg and the battery lasts a decent 230 minutes between charges.
802.11n Wi-Fi provides the fastest wireless networking currently available, while Gigabit Ethernet is sufficient for high speed wired networking.
Three USB ports are in place, and VGA and HDMI ports let you connect to both analogue and digital external monitors and projectors.
We like the EasyNote NJ65-AU-020UK a lot. It's stylish, usable and will provide enough performance for the average user, at a price that's right.
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