Throwing a pinch of innovation into the troubled Tablet PC mix, Acer's newest convertible has a tendency to confuse those used to the old swivel-and-tilt paradigm. Shedding the swivel in favour of slide, the C200 sports a display which slides backwards and tilts upwards to a 125-degree angle to reveal the keyboard; it's an eye-catcher, and also feels surprisingly sturdy despite a somewhat flimsy look.
The 12.1-inch XGA display of the unit delivered the goods - indoors, at least - as far as display qualities were concerned, but what really catches the eye is the option of having the C200 configured with an Nvidia GeForce Go 6200 chipset with 256 MB of VRAM. As much as my inner geek is salivating, however, the more sensible option of a bog-standard Intel 915GM chipset is probably the better one as the processor of the C200 could never keep up with the Go 6200 anyway. Oh, and lest I forget, the Intel chipset can draw up to 128 MB of memory from the main banks.
Speaking of memory, the C200 can be configured with up to 2 GB of DDR2 533 MHz RAM, which runs in tandem with a choice of Intel Pentium M processors. Fitted with Acer's Disk Anti-Shock Protection (DASP), a 100 GB drive spinning at 4,200 RPM further enhances an already powerful setup, and the inclusion of an Acer Media Bay also allows for the option of either a DVD Dual Layer drive or combo DVD/CD-RW drive.
Connectivity is impressively comprehensive, with Gigabit Ethernet and a 56K V.92 modem on hand along with three USB 2.0 ports; FireWire; Infrared; and VGA out. Additionally, the C200 also harbours a PCMCIA Type II slot along with a four-card memory reader supporting SD/MMC, Memory Stick and Memory Stick PRO, as well as a choice of either Wi-Fi 802.11b/g or 802.11a/b/g - and Bluetooth.
Measuring in at 315 x 238 x 35 mm, the TravelMate C200 is reasonably small - but does have a slight weight issue. Configured with a weigh saver in its media bay, the starting weight with a standard battery is 2 KG; not worst in class, but certainly not best, either. Three batteries can be had with the tablet, providing battery life ranging from 1.6 to 8.5 hours, depending on which configuration is applied; the ability to include a 2nd battery in the media bay is a godsend as far as longevity is concerned.
In summary, the C200 is a welcome breath of fresh air in a category which was supposed to be all about innovation - yet has become woefully stagnant due to the lack of software fully exploiting pen based input capabilities. Granted, it won't run Doom IV, but at least future owners are sure to raise an eyebrow by the mention of it having 256 MB of VRAM.
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