Review: Medion Akoya P6635
Introduction
The Medion Akoya P6635 laptop is a heavy-specced workhorse, with a bargain basement price. At just AUD$799, Medion has packed in a third generation Intel Core i7 processor , USB 3.0 ports, Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, a 750GB hard drive and 4GB RAM. There's even a spare RAM slot for adding extra memory later yourself, while an NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M keeps the graphical side of things in check.
Compared to a $2,499 15-inch MacBook Pro, or a $1,499 XPS 15 from Dell, that price is exceptionally appealing.
With a price point usually reserved for high-end netbooks, yet internal hardware that could cost you up to four times the price, you have to wonder what the catch is. The answer is style.
The Akoya P6635 is a beast of a laptop, its 2.5kg heft and 4cm height make it significantly less portable than other 15.6-inch models. The glossy plastic covering on the lid is a dust and fingerprint magnet, and looks worn every time you pull the laptop out of a bag.
But as the proverbs always tell us, you should never judge a book by its cover. Once you get past the chunky design, you'll find a solid performer, capable of dealing with almost anything you throw at it.
There's a full compliment of connectivity options, and a full-size chiclet keyboard which incorporates both arrow keys and a full number pad.
While it won't threaten the likes of Asus or Acer in terms of market share, the Medion does seem to offer a good collection of hardware packed into an exceptionally affordable price.
Specifications
Running the show is the latest third-gen Core i7 3610QM processor, clocked at 2.3GHz.
Intel's chipset does a pretty decent job with HD media anyway, but Medion has decided to chuck in an NVIDIA GeForce GT 630m GPU, which actually turns this affordable laptop into a pretty decent machine for design work or gaming.
While the 4GB RAM isn't anything to get excited about, the fact that there's an extra RAM slot for user-upgradeable memory is a nice touch, and allows the cost to stay nice and low.
The 750GB hard drive is a nice balance between capacity and affordability. It's only a 5400rpm hard drive, so it's not the fastest storage option on the market, but it comes down to that ever-important balance between cost and function, which Medion seems to have done well.
Touch sensitive media controls grace the top of the P6635's keyboard, although like most touch sensitive buttons they can be a little unreliable at times. The touchpad also blends into the body, with only the slightest tactile difference between the pad and the palm rest, which can be a little disconcerting to use at first, although ultimately feels good over time.
The keyboard itself is a full sized version featuring chiclet keys, which are pleasantly responsive. There's no backlighting, but that's hardly a dealbreaker.
Despite the Dolby Home Theatre sticker on the palm rest, the Akoya's speakers sound a little bit tinny, especially at higher volume, although are more than capable of keeping you entertained at the office. The 15.6-inch, 1366 x 768 resolution screen is nice enough, although struggles with off-centre viewing angles, which is probably to be expected for the price.
Running down the sides of the laptop, you get two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI output, 15-pin VGA and an ethernet port on the left hand side, while the right hand side houses the power, DVD drive, two USB 2.0 ports, as well as dedicated headphone and microphone jacks. An SD card slot sits at the front.
Internally, the Medion Akoya P6635 has all the standard wireless offerings, from 802.11 b/g/n to Bluetooth 4.0, as well as supporting Intel's Wi-Di standard for beaming your screen to a compatible television (not that you can get any of those yet).
The 1.3-megapixel webcam is never going to change the world, but it does the job for when you need to Skype someone. You probably wouldn't want to record a YouTube video on it though, unless you were desperate.
Performance
3DMark06 - 9124
Cinebench 10 - 14,667
Battery Eater - 150 minutes
The screen, while bright enough, is probably the Akoya's biggest weakness. Not only are both horizontal and vertical viewing angles restricted, but high definition video content can look blocky and jagged, instead of smooth and detailed like they should.
The keyboard, on the other hand, is a joy to type on, while the trackpad is fairly responsive with single finger tracking, although does get a bit temperamental when you try and use multitouch gestures.
The touch sensitive shortcut keys at the top of the keyboard work, although only if you press them in just the right way. Given the full QWERTY keyboard, it's surprising that Medion even bothered including these buttons, although they are nice to have as an alternative.
As the benchmarks attest, this is far from the fastest 15-incher available on the market, although it would be interesting to see how the Akoya performs with an extra 4GB of RAM in there. It would be well worth budgeting that extra memory into the price if you're considering grabbing one of these laptops.
Battery life came in at 150 running Battery Eater, which was far less than you would expect from a laptop of this bulk. Then again, with portability far from a strong point, you'll probably always have it near a power point anyway.
Verdict
Brands like Medion have carved a real niche in the Australian market by taking the latest high quality components and building truly affordable machines with limited distribution.
While some elements of the P6635's performance won't stack up to premium laptops from competitors, when compared on a performance per dollar basis, it's easy to see where the value lies.
We liked
The chiclet keyboard was a pleasure to type on, especially thanks to the full size keys and accompanying number pad.
Connectivity was equally impressive thanks to the abundance of USB ports, DVD drive and wireless options on board.
But the best aspect about this Medion laptop is its price. At AUD$799 for a third generation Core i7 processor with a dedicated NVIDIA GPU, this is practically the personification of value for money.
We disliked
The display was a disappointment, especially after we started watching HD video. While it was fine for documents and browsing the web, the 1366 x 768 screen just wasn't up to par for HD video.
Also disappointing was the design of the laptop. While the plastic sheen on the case didn't stand out in a bad way, the sheer bulk of the computer effectively negated the portability aspect of it.
Battery life was underwhelming at 150 minutes, with the laptop running on high performance mode. Obviously you can get more by conserving power, but other similar laptops do offer more juice.
Final Verdict
The Medion Akoya P6635 is the perfect product for the budget conscious. Affordable, with a few sacrifices to keep price down, but all around excellent value for money.
For graphic designers or passionate PC gamers, this probably isn't the machine for you. But for anyone on a budget looking for a reliable machine with the latest components, this is an excellent value proposition at AUD$799.
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