The laptop is only 350 quid for a reason; it's not that great. I have sent mine back to the manufacturer for repairs because my sound wasn't working, only to receive it back with more problems (such as the unit powering up whilst closed and hibernated, therefore draining the battery). Also games will not run on this system very well.

However if you just need a basic laptop with decent power (it runs vista very well) for the internet and documents, then look no further.

The keyboard is nice to use and the unit itself looks pretty good, with good hotkeys witch can be set up to open webpages (email etc) for your convenience.

I think Steve1969 already said enough about this laptop. I just wanna say, I still feel sorry for the Graphics Card and the weight. In China, you can find a much better one at this price with a same spicification (well, but we are not in China so... :S). In additional, The speaker sounds not even as good as Dell Inspiron 1520.

All in all, except the Graphics card and the sound speaker plus the weight, I would say, this is an OKAY laptop.

As the reviewer before me stated, this laptop looks big, even the screen looks bigger somehow than the 15.4" screens i looked at in various shops.. Neat looking machine with good specs for everyday use.. the speakers are weak but you cant expect deep powerful bass thru tiny speakers, the dolby digital live just seems to make the sound weaker but tweak the settings and im sure you will find a sound that you can live with..

The screen is stunning, mine suffers quite a bit from backlight bleed but its nothing i cant live with and you only notice it on dark screens or scenes in movies.. where the screen really shines is on bright pictures or bright colourful parts of movies, its gorgeous.

This machine is fast and handles multi-tasking with ease but there is a lot of bloatware (bundled programs) which take up hard drive space, i uninstalled alot of these things and jusr kept the acer software that could be useful.

this version does have a web cam and it works great.

PROS

Price
Looks
Speed
Gorgeous screen

Cons
Backlight bleed on my screen
Faint clicking sound can always be heard (probably the hard drive)
too much bloat ware
small hard drive and its split into two parts

if you want a good laptop for very little money then this is worth thinking about, im so happy with this machine and would buy another for this price without hesitation

Just recieved this laptop today and i am very pleased with it. Great value for money and would recomend this to anyone, wont find a laptop with this spec anywhere this cheap. Only thing is a lot bigger than i expected for only a 15.4" screen. None the less brilliant!

Fab machine with a great display and Vista is a joy to look at. Be warned however, that software designed for XP WILL NOT LOAD onto this machine! You can only install Vista stuff. That aside......a great buy!

If your looking for a middle range laptop then this offers that for a great price. The 1.5ghz Duo really is quite powerfull, and will meet your every day needs. Havent tested the graphics card, but with it being integrated I wouldnt expect too much. Stylish looking design also.

Very happy with purchase

Brilliant Vista laptop with a great spec. Will do almost everything (apart from playing the latest games).
Got mine just after Christmas but there was a slight fault with the display, however Play.com were great about it and replaced it immediately.
If you aren't wanting to play top games then I would seriously consider this as not only does it look great, but for under £400, it is serious value for money.
The lack of Bluetooth might disappoint some, but if you can live with that then buy this today!

I was bought this by my wife for Christmas; she certainly did her research!

Fabulous machine, very nippy to use. The 2GB of RAM certainly makes Vista more usable. The built in graphics are not suitable for hardcore gamers (the embarrasinly slow 3d mark score of about 200 shows this!) BUT for normal everyday use (and possibly older games) its fantastic. Leaving the pc to run in "balanced power" mode you really do get 2 hours use from the battery; yet it still fires the CPU to full power if needed.

The integrated webcam is a bonus, nice and clear in most lighting conditions.

Dont worry about the cual core CPU being "only" 1.5Ghz, this machine feels so responsive.

I agree with the other reviewer that the missing bluetooth module is a penny pincher; I noticed the Bluetooth button in the front and though "BONUS", pressed it and got the message on screen that it was not fitted. Searched the net for a retrofit module, but none yet listed for this model.

Overall a very well balanced specification for this machine; and delivered to your door at under £430 its a bargain!

Watch out if comparing this model with other retailers; the 5720 is available in many different configurations.

Was not entirely sure if the Acer was my laptop. I have been proven wrong! I am loving it. Core 2 Duo, 2GB internal memory and 2M Cache L2 make a huge difference!

Entirely satisfied on what comes in the box, although the bluetooth should have been included ...... couple of quid nowadays, but a bit of an unpleasant surprise when you press the bluetooth button on the keyboard .... no bluetooth device found ....

Would buy again!

I splashed out on this machine after considering a number of different laptops from different suppliers. To get this spec from any other manufacturer would cost quite a few more of your hard earned pounds. I was dubious about going to Windows Vista due to compatibility issues but I actually like it and haven't had any problems so far, plus with a dual core processor and 2GB RAM it runs a treat. The build quality in this new Gemstone range seems to be quite good, although I don't know how it would stand up to heavy usage. Overall, I'd definitely recommend it, in fact I already have to 2 of my friends..