33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent laptop for the price, May 31, 2009
This review is from: Acer AS4530-6823 14.1-Inch Blue Laptop (Personal Computers)
I bought this laptop about a month ago (April 2009) and so far it has been a great computer.
This is my first ACER, I think it is worth mentioning that my HP dv6000 gave me 2 years of pain since the very first 3 months, so, after the HP did not want to turn on I was on an emergency situation. I also want to mention that I have had VAIO, Compaq and ASUS between my wife and I.
Normally I sell them used, in very good condition -excepting the last HP... I consider these brands very good, but for the sake of evaluating this device I might compare them with the performance of the other brands. For reference I paid more than $1200 for the less expensive of the brands mentioned above, and less than $550 for this one.
What I like about this ACER Aspire:
1.- The computer has a full size keyboard, so that is a good start.
2.- It does not come with lots of bundled software (normally I delete most of it anyway)
3.- It boots fairly quickly, compare to HP and VAIO more expensive laptops.
4.- The screen is clear, fairly bright, not reflective, and, to my preference, it has a 150° or so angle of view.
5.- It is fairly light weight, (actually lighter than a 14 inch HP or VAIO)
6.- It does not get hot at all, and those of you who have tried the HPs know what it feels to burn the fingers while using the mouse.
7.- The fan is low, actually so far I have not heard it yet. Now, although I keep it turned on for most of the day and part of the night, I normally don't place it over soft surfaces like beds or couches, since that covers the vents.
8.- For those of you who know about the Windows Experience Index, it scores 4.0, what is fairly fast for the price.
9.- The webcam is really sensitive to low light conditions, so you can chat with the lights off in your room and illuminate yourself with the light of the screen. Microphone is good.
10.- Speakers are loud, forget about HP or VAIO or ASUS low volume ones
What I dislike (but still acknowledge that I paid less than $550):
1.- Keyboard feels less solid than Vaio or Asus
2.- Battery life is around 2 - 2:30 hours
3.- Does not have bluetooth (I bought a little IOGear Bluetooth 2.0 USB Micro Adapter)
4.- Honestly I don't have any other dislikes so far...
So bottom line, I am very impressed with this laptop, and although hesitant at the beginning for the price "too good to be truth", I would definitely recommend this computer to anyone; it is fast, lots of memory, good ram and great video experience.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, Solid Machine, May 29, 2009
This review is from: Acer AS4530-6823 14.1-Inch Blue Laptop (Personal Computers)
I bought this machine based on several criteria: 1) Light weight. It's a nice, full-featured laptop that won't cause me to drag my knuckles while carrying it. 2) Smaller size. I wasn't interested in 16:9, screaming DVD playback, etc. I was interested, again, in reasonable size and weight, not a desktop replacement like my work laptop. 3) Price. I didn't want to pay more than $500 for something that would either die or be badly out of date in a couple of years.
I like this machine. I've had numerous laptops for work from HP (and Compaq), IBM, and Dell. For the money and the features I wanted, plus the ports it has available, I'm pleased. Would I have preferred a better machine with more horsepower and bells & whistles? Sure. But I'm happy, and I'd buy it again.
My only quibbles are: 1) It's light enough (not flimsy; just light) that the bottom of the case rocks slightly when it's sitting on an absolutely flat surface. It's not a problem because the weight of my hands pins it to the work surface as I type and it doesn't rock. 2) The two-speed fan is noisy. The low speed is almost inaudible, but the high speed can get pretty annoying in a quiet environment. And, unfortunately, the high speed seems to be on quite a bit.
This is a much better product than the eMachines eMD620 that I purchased for my wife a few months back.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No