Laptop paint finish is not what it used to be
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Laptop paint finish is not what it used to be
And manufacturers couldn't care less
By Chip Mulligan: Tuesday 22 August 2006, 09:28
IN A PREVIOUS JOB, the IT department were generous enough to give me, when I asked for a laptop on which to do engineering work, a stone-aged Dell based on a Pentium 200, upgraded to 256MB of RAM.
It was bruised and battered from having gone all over the world and had even survived being hit during a game of office football, however worked surprisingly well. Having installed Win2K and disabled all unnecessary services, it proved pretty snappy – ironically seeming at times quicker than a desktop P4 I was using at the time.
But I digress; the astonishing thing about this laptop was that, abused as it was, the paint remained the colour it was intended to be, and the casing still held the electronics together in a fairly solid fashion.
Likewise my current colleagues have ancient and decrepit IBM ThinkPads (from the days when IBM was IBM), and they too have stood up well to the test of time.
However, when I posted a picture of my TravelMate 4600 (AcerÂ’s business series) in another article, several people wrote in to point out that the paint on my trackpad had faded, revealing the bare white plastic, and that their Acers had suffered the same fate.
On closer investigation, I discovered that this wasn’t the only sign of premature aging – many of the commonly used keys had lost their matt effect finish, and were now as shiny as the head of the bald man sat next to me on this train as I type this.
I got in touch with my father, who also owns a TravelMate, and his has gone the same way. So this seems to have the signs of something above and beyond than general ham-fistedness.
In this photo, not the clearest (I apologise), you can particularly see how right hand side of the space bar has become glossy, as have letters such as “I” and “C”
Furthermore, all the corners of the laptop have suffered with the silver paint rubbing, not scratching, away to reveal bare plastic, and on the rear panel, two screws have broken through their plastic leaving the hinge cover flapping in the wind.
Now clearly some of the blame for this has to go down to our desire to have “fashionable” laptop styling, while expecting the cost to continue dropping, but is it really acceptable to expect people to put up with expensive product that, after just three months of normal use, look tattier than a tramp’s special brew-stained coat?
But it’s not just Acer – a friend’s two-month old Dell also suffers from this, and we’re sure that many other brands manufactured in the large ODMs will likely be going the same way.
So it’s over to you: our intrepid readers. Do you have a laptop that is aging as quickly as a Big Brother "celebrity"? If so, send us some pictures and your story to [email protected] and I’ll get on the case. ì -
victim of rapid mass production....
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thank goodness my lappie's keyboard isnt painted on.
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My laptop is an Acer. Touchpad buttons as good as new, keyboard showing small signs of 'balding'
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balding? as in words coming off or becoming shiny?
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Lucky my laptop not spray painted one.
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It also depends on the finishing of the keypads as it was meant to be during production/ design. If the surface started off as matt after prolonged period of contacts (with the fingers) and wear, the 'rough' uneven surface shall be smoothen and thus the gloss thereafter. If the keypads were meant to be even/ glossy to start with, the wear after a while may not be that obvious.
Generally but not always keypads with smoother glossy surface will cost more as the inner walls of the mold has to be polished to maintain the gloss of its molded product. Its either that or after treatments to make the molded products look glossy.
Some generic plastic material comes with limited colors and feel as compared to another with paintwork applied but will not show obvious gradation in wear as compared to plastic with spray over paintwork. Depending on the environment, handling of the end user etc, the rate of wear may vary and the results will usually mean baring the base plastic material and showing a contrast.
We must also understand that our hands may sweat and its a process that can rapidly cause certain decorative agents to peel and loses its adhesiveness from the surface after some time. -
Er... becoming shiny... But not very obvious unless under a certain level of lightingOriginally posted by nightzip:balding? as in words coming off or becoming shiny? -
how come all acer travelmate?
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My laptop's touchpad is worn out. I've got to rely more and more on using my mouse.
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Haha, same here. Acer Travelmate also. After some knocks here and there, paint came off. Everyday in school use, keyboard become quite shiny also.
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My acer travelmate, after 3 years, cannot see thw w,a,s, and d buttons. Coz too much CS.
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i agree with you on the touchpad thing. if only manufacturers can improve on it. once after prolonged use it becomes bloated (you can feel) it and the whole touchpad loses its feel and accuracy. for mobile users on the move they'll appreciate the touchpad wihout having to carry a mouse around no matter how small it may be.Originally posted by fudgester:My laptop's touchpad is worn out. I've got to rely more and more on using my mouse. -
t_T i tot is common for a labtop. cuz when i play cs too long finger will sweat cuz abit nervous. den perspire = salty = rusty? so the labtop will start to bald?
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Mine is Acer Aspire 5502WXMi. Only a year old though.Originally posted by R3SsH|n:how come all acer travelmate? -
mine is acer too. dunoe wad model tho.
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Mine's Toshiba Tecra M2V.Originally posted by troublemaker2005:i agree with you on the touchpad thing. if only manufacturers can improve on it. once after prolonged use it becomes bloated (you can feel) it and the whole touchpad loses its feel and accuracy. for mobile users on the move they'll appreciate the touchpad wihout having to carry a mouse around no matter how small it may be.
Totally NOT recommended. It has given me nothing but headaches. -
my travel mate doing well after 1 1/2 years
keyboard looks brand new
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You need to take it out and use it more often.Originally posted by dark_snowboy:my travel mate doing well after 1 1/2 years
keyboard looks brand new -
i bring to school everyday, at home everydayOriginally posted by ditzy:You need to take it out and use it more often. -
Originally posted by dark_snowboy:i bring to school everyday, use it at home everyday