Medion Akoya P6612 notebook launches

16-incher on sale in Aldi

Medion Akoya P6612 Launches  1 View more images

27 October 2008 11:55 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Medion has announced the launch of the Medion Akoya P6612, a 16-inch notebook with "top-end" features.

The P6612 offers Intel Centrino 2 technology, a 320GB hard disk, 4GB RAM and WLAN capabilities.

With a sleek black gloss finish with blue backlighting, the P6612 gets NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GS DirectX 10 graphics card with 256MB GDDR3 memory for multimedia applications.

The 16-inch widescreen display has a resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels, and there's a multi-format DVD/CD burner and HDMI port.

The notebook is sold with a digital DVB-T Freeview TV-Tuner with remote control, that means channels can be watched or recorded on the laptop, or connected to an TV via the HDMI port.

There's an integrated multimedia control panel with backlit, touch sensitive icons in the casing while other features include Bluetooth 2.0, webcam and microphone, biometric fingerprint reader, three USB 2.0, an eSATA connection and a four-in-one memory card reader.

Complete with a carry bag, DVB-T tuner with remote control and USB optical scroll mouse, the P6612 comes with Windows Vista Home Premium edition.

The Medion Akoya P6612 notebook is available in Aldi stores across the UK and Ireland priced at £579.99 and 799.99 euros, while stocks last.



Comments

  • Mine is working well. The fingerprint reader also works as a scroll wheel, allowing zooming in Google Earth - Very neat! The supplied mini optical USB mouse works nicely. The bag is not worth keeping, far too flimsy. It is very quiet and doesn't get hot. Vista crashed, fatally, three times the first day! This was when I was importing photos and rotating them in MS Picture Viewer. No joy with the Freeview card yet. But then the signal is very weak where I live.
    Overall, as tasty a buy as the Aldi stollen - mmmm
    Posted by Rycharde Apps, UK
  • had to take mine back,it refused to connect to the Internet, customer service was diabolical no one new what they were talking about very bad english
    the deal sounded too good to be true and it was for me
    Posted by harry, uk
  • but aldi was fab no quibble money back no problem, and im still gutted mine had a fault ,but unlike pc world and the likes when it goes wrong no one can help Posted by harry, uk
  • When I first started using my Medion Akoya P6612 , it crashed several times before eventually settling down. (I found It needs time to boot up, wake up and get out of bed! You have to wait for it.) I then found I had problems with the memory on the hard drive. Large chunks of memory, several GB at a time, were being used up for no apparent reason that I could see. I contacted the Medion tech helpline and someone there told me, vaguely, after checking with someone else at his end, that the problem was probably due to a virus on my computer and I should reset it to the factory settings, which I did and which, as everyone who's been there and done that knows, can be a lot of hassle if you've installed lots of programs and data, etc, on your computer. The actual resetting of the computer is user friendly and straight forward, providing there are no complications with your computer. The experience itself could be described as a bit like being reborn again, almost religious, in fact.

    However, eventually I found out, all by myself, why huge amounts of memory were being used up. It seems the system restore takes it to create a system restore point! So there you have it! Having solved that problem, lots more problems occured (surprise, surprise!) after that, for example, I found that the t.v. tuner was working erratically, causing stuttering of sound and freezing of picture and crashing, preventing me using that function and not allowing me the watch t.v. or listen to radio programs.

    Again I contacted the Medion helpline and was informed that they'd had quite a few complaints regading that matter. I was told, once again, to reset my computer (yes, standard answer, yawn!) and this time to disable automatic updates from Microsoft as the updates could be the cause of the conflicts with Windows Media Centre. Also, I was told some of the software I was using could be a contributing factor.

    I did as was suggested by the advisor, reset my computer and disabled automatic updates, and found the t.v. was now working properly. I then installed all my software and checked laboriously, after each separate installation, whether the t.v. tuner was working properly. It was. I then found if I forgot to switch off the tuner while installing software there could be conflicts which caused problems with it. The solution: when installing software or downloading, etc, make sure the t.v. tuner is turned off or, better still, removed from its slot until you have finished doing what your doing. Then you can replace it and watch t.v. without any problems. If any individual t.v. channels are not working as they should be, try uninstalling and then reinstalling the t.v. signal. I found this worked for me.

    Just to prove to myself whether automatic updates were causing this last mentioned problem, bravely or stupidly one might say, I turned Microsoft updates back on, after waiting a week or so, and, immediately, the t.v. tuner stopped working properly, which proves the point. Needless to say I then had to reset my computer again for everything to work properly!

    As for Microsoft updates in general, I've found if you have a good firewall and antivirus programs installed and running and use them regularly to scan your computer, chances are you don't need Microsoft updates if your careful about which web sites you visit. But make sure you have regular back-up copies of all you important data, just in case.

    One last word about Microsoft updates. I've not used Microsoft updates for awhile now and my computer seems to be working ok. There're lots of free software online to combat security problems. Better than the paid-for versions, in most cases.

    To summarize, I found the help given me by Medion helpline to be varied. The persons I spoke to on the phone, on first contact, the ones who took my details and then passed me on to a technical support advisor, were, without exception in my experience, polite, helpful and usualy friendly and could be reassuring. The next in line, the persons giving the actual technical support, the advisors: their help could be either good and straight forward or mediocre or sometimes poor and not very helpful, depending on who it was. Sometimes an individual would go out of his way to be helpful. Another time I was told they don't give tutorials! Overall, I'd give Medion 7 out of ten for team effort; although some individuals deserved 9 out of ten for giving that little bit extra and showing patience, while others I'd give 2 out of ten or less, as they weren't very helpful, bearing in mind we're, all of us, only human and can't expect to get it right all the time and we have our 'off ' days.

    To continue, after resetting my computer at least ten times since first using it three months' ago, it now seem to have settled down and works just like any other appliance, eg, t.v., washing machine, fridge, etc, and does, more or less, what it's suposed to do. After all, it's only a machine! What can you expect?

    I found the accessories supplied by Medion to be all right and, personally, think the bag for carrying the computer in is strong, not flimsy as some would suggest. It's padded inside, which fact presumable will enable it to take a few light knocks while carrying the computer in it, though I've not put it to the test and don't intend to. One more little thing, trivial as it may seem: the cleaning cloth supplied for cleaning the computer is fantastic. It cleans the computer top, and screen, really well, leaving no smudges or marks, and is useful for cleaning spectacles just as well. And it can be washed.

    I've had several computers at one time or other over the last 16 years but don't claim to be an expert user, just an experienced one. (A bit like being a good car driver but not an advanced one or a motor mechanic.)

    Finally, I've not had time to try all the many different functions on this latest computer of mine from Medion; it'll take me forever and life's too short. Now I've got used to it, however, and we've got used to each other as one might say, I think it's fun to use and there's no excuse to be bored while using it. I think it has been good value for money and I'd buy another one from Medion, when the time comes to replace my present one.

    Well done Medion. Keep up the good work.

    P.S. One final word about Aldi: My daughter called to Aldi to buy my computer on my behalf for me. When she got there, first thing at opening time, the four computers allocated to that store had been snapped up within seconds. However, the manager of that store (Beeston, Leeds) took my phone number from her and, after ringing another Aldi store, phoned me next day to say he'd managed to get one for me. Hows that for service!? And all she went in for was a loaf of bread! Yes, they even sell stuff like that, as well.

    Kind regards,

    Chas

    Posted by Chas , UK
  • is this lap top good 4 playing games? Posted by ak-47, Iran

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