Customer Reviews

Acer Aspire Timeline AS1810T-8638 11.6-Inch HD Display Black Laptop - Over 8 Hours of Battery Life

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Let me preface this review by stating I am not a computer/tech person. I am a 35 yo housewife and nursing student who needs something that is powerful (fast), small, light and handy that I can take with me everywhere I go. My first stab at reaching that goal was a 10.1" Acer Aspire One over a year ago. I got some good use out of it but grew tired of the limitations and slow speed compared to an awesome desktop at home (my husband IS a computer/tech guy). So I'd been waiting for an 11.6" model to hit the market that actually had true notebook features - not the lame atom processors, etc. It's finally here.

What I like:
-quiet
it is super quiet, fan noise barely audible

-screen is really sharp
the definition and clarity of the screen/graphics are great; color is vivid as well

-keyboard
full size, and also quiet with low profile keys

-handy buttons
there are a lot of handy one-touch type features like one that will black out the screen (could be used to thwart that nosy neighbor in the seat next to you, as well as being a great power saver during downtime)

-setup was easy
it is pretty self explanatory: put battery in, plug in, turn on, follow instructions, uninstall pre-installed garbage.

-speed
it boots up quickly and switching windows or webpages is almost instantaneous

-touch pad
it is matte, slightly textured, and makes for easy use with average sensitivity. It also has some neat extra features where using different strokes across or in a circular motion will switch between windows and zoom in or zoom out... there are several of these and I don't know them all yet. Also, it is not so sensitive that if your thumb pad rubs over it while typing the cursor will jump around - I've had that problem before and I'm glad I don't have it now!

-surfaces
the inside surface hand rest, aside from the touch pad, appears to be a brushed metal type that does not show fingerprints (nice). The outside is typical onyx - it's black with a little bit of barely noticeable sparkly-ness if you look closely.

I have not used the Bluetooth feature yet... need to set that up for my Blackberry Storm. Also am ordering a BT mouse but have seen so many mixed reviews about the available models so will need to do more research.

The computer comes well packaged and had no signs of damage. However, I think the cold made all the sticky plastic protectors leave a gummy residue on the case. It was easy to peel it off though -but initially alarming just the same.

No case or cover - it came with a fabric cover that is similar to the stuff that's used on the bottom of box springs. So if you get this computer, you might as well order a bag/sleeve at the same time.

Windows 7 - works like a charm.

Weight - it's light and easy to handle.


The bottom line: I love it and would highly recommend it. Thanks for reading my review!


Addendum: I wanted to mention how long the battery lasts. I am notorious for rapid battery consumption on all devices (have to take cords with me always) ---this computer is changing that. I take it to school and it is on from 1:30-8:00 intermittently running MS office apps like Word, Excel and Powerpoint, plus an internet browser (I use Firefox). The use is not constant, but it's still on and ready the whole time. I don't even bother taking the cord with me, becuase on average after this usage I still have between 70-75% battery remaining when I get home! Amazing!

I got this for my daughter who is in college. She did not want to carry the bulkier Macbook Pro. She needed a Netbook variety for her daily use. After extensive research, I decided it was better to to go with something that she can use beyond her undergradtuate years. I ordered the blue color. This had the perfect combination of technical and functional specifications.

The product was on pre order for three weeks. Amazon mentioned that it will arrive by Dec 1st and it arrived on Nov 17th. Amazon does set low expectations and tries to beat it :)

Now to the product itself - the quick setup guide said it will take 30 minutes to set it up. It took less than 10. Windows 7 was up and running in a jiffy. Prompted me to select the netowrk. (which was refreshing for a change, as I expect this behaviour generally from only Apple products).

The processor speed is awesome and can do more than traditional office productivity and web browing activities. Loaded statistics software and it blazes. My daughter will be using it for running complex complex graphics and stats algorthims for her neuro research projects.
The keyboard, screen is beautiful. The fullsize keyboard has lots of one touch special funtions that makes navigation easy. I miss the trackball. I have not gotten used to the touchpad. The pinch and swivel motions does not feel natural to me (I am not an iPhone user).
The screen is sharp. HD like quality. It is not full matt screen, as one can still see reflection. The web camera is OK.
The laptop has enough ports for normal use - USB, HDMI, Ethernet, audio jacks etc.
Battery - it is close to the advertised life. Gave me about 6 1/2 hours of moderate to heavy use. Still new, want to test it further before making judgement on this. Still a vast improvment over traditional laptops.

Weight is just awesome. The specs of this power netbook puts in the laptop class and still it weighs less than half. Of course, if you add an external DVD drive, it will increase it somewhat. Still this is a sleek, clean, light yet powerful Netbook!!

Plenty of power and memory. Windows 7 runs extremely well. Set up was a breeze. This computer is faster and more powerful than my desktop. Good things do come in small packages. The screen is quite easy to view despite the small size. It's lightweight and easy to carry with me. That was a concern since my old laptop was very heavy and burden to take along. It also runs very cool and doesn't burn my lap as many laptops are prone to do.

The only negative is the the sounds from the speakers is quite weak. I usually use headphones to listen to sound since with any background noise the speakers are inadequate.

I purchased this because of it's size and weight. I got another notebook, a Lenovo T61 with faster processor so i decided to have a small computer comfortable enough to read e-books and browse thru the internet. I wanted something much faster than a regular netbook with Atom processors. This notebook (I won't consider this a netbook because of it's power) save my project. My Lenovo crushed on me with 4 days before project deadline. Out of desperation, I loaded Autocad on this computer, attached it to a 20 inch screen, no problem. I hardly noticed the difference in speed. The Acer handled the software easily. it's totally Compatible with windows 7. Project submitted on time. This notebook also runs Adobe photoshop without any problem too. I got this computer for $599 last month. Now the price is even higher. I'm not surprised. This computer is really a good buy.

I did some research on netbooks for about 4-6 months before purchasing this one. I was leaning towards an Asus Eee 1005-HA, but decided to wait until after Windows 7 was released and see what new netbooks were released. My main driver for this was to replace my 15.6" Dell with something smaller, lighter, and more portable with better battery life for when I go to coffee shops or travel. Things I wanted in a netbook were Wireless-N, gigabit ethernet, built-in bluetooth, and a built-in webcam. After doing alot of research, I decided that this netbook was the best option, as it included all of the things I was looking for. The fact that it came with 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive, and supported hardware virtualization and 64-bit operating systems was a VERY nice added bonus. One thing I decided to take a chance on was the video card, as I wanted to be able to do light gaming. The only game I've tried so far is World of Warcraft and I only get about 20-30 fps in low-populated areas with all settings on low and no addons loaded.

One thing that I'd like to note is the battery life is amazing. I was surfing the web, while on battery, for about 2 hours before I went to bed. As a test, I decided to leave it on overnight to see what would happen. I was shocked when I woke up and found the laptop was still powered on. I would definitely recommend this laptop to anyone looking for a small, light laptop with exceptional battery life.

Pros
- Size, very portable
- Battery life is 8+ hours (if you have the screen dimmed while on battery)
- Laptop runs cool and my lap doesn't get burnt when using it, like my Dell does
- Comes with 4GB of RAM and 320GB hard drive, no need to upgrade
- Supports 64-bit versions of Windows 7
- Supports Hyper-V/Win7 XP-mode virtualization, although I haven't personally tried this

Cons
- Video card is not that good. While it does play HD movies, it doesn't seem to like high end games well.
- Wireless internet seems to drops off at times. This happened on another Acer laptop I had, so it might be that Acer laptops don't like my router.
- Screen is decent, but the viewing angle is somewhat odd.
- Shiny black finish, while it looks cool, attracts fingerprints and scratches easily.

Overall
This is a great laptop/netbook for someone who wants something small and lightweight with good battery life. If you are intending to use it for word processing, internet surfing, email, and online games (like Yahoo games), this laptop is perfect. If you're looking for something that can do all of this and play higher-end games well, then I'd suggest something with a dedicated video card. Overall, I'm happy with this purchase. I decided to give it 4/5 stars strictly because of the video card.

After pretty extensive research I landed on this one. I wanted something really portable yet not stripped down. What I liked was the Intel Core Duo processor, 4 gig of ram, hdmi output, bluetooth, card reader, 320 gig hard drive and Windows 7. On top of all that, the 8 hour battery life is icing on the cake. Really pleased so far. No issues with my router at all. Really find the hdmi output useful for streaming netflix...a real breeze to connect.

I like the size of most netbooks, but the power of them leaves alot to be desired. I came across this netbook (actually, its classsified as a notebook) and thought i would give it a try. The battery life is fantastic, as i have yet to get less than 6 hours of battery life (but usually closer to 7-8). the 11.6 inch screen makes a huge difference from a 10.1. Many of my coworkers have netbooks, and cant compete with this. Its a laptop in a netbooks clothing. The HD screen is bright, and i mean BRIGHT! I usually keep it at 75% of its max, unless im outside. If the screen is in direct sunlight, you wont be able to see anything, but aside from that, it works excellent outside....even on a bright day. I love the 4 gigs of 800mhz ram, and core2duo centrino inside. Makes computing quick. This wasnt purchased for any kind of gaming, but decided to try civilization 4 on it. Actually works very well, very playable. Im a 6'4" guy, and even though this is a smal computer, its not too small for my hands. I hooked up the hdmi to my 52" hdtv, and was impressed by the quality/clarity on screen. streaming movies is flawless. Ive heard some reviews that didnt like the touchpad, but i like it alot. Ive had this for about a month now, and the only thing that would make this better, would be a backlit keyboard. But no biggie.

This is it. I travel a lot for business, and I lug around a 14-inch top-shelf business laptop, (company property). But I wanted my own computer, my stuff, my web browser, my personal email account. And this laptop is now a part of me -- we are inseparable.

I can slip this little puppy into the same case with my $2000 laptop. I download movies off the internet for a few bucks (no optical drive -- DVDs are so 2007) and watch them on the plane. 8 hours on a charge! I can watch a 3-hour movie and a 1-hour tv episode on a plane, play a little chess are solve a few downloaded sudokus, and still show plenty of time left to stop in the airport and check my personal email.

Fast enough, smart enough, and plenty of storage (320GB). As portable as a netbook, and yet I have almost no need for my desktop at home (in fact, I could make due with just this computer and a backup portable hard drive, had I started that way). This fits the bill for my needs. This is my second Acer. Four months, perfect operation. My other is 3 years old and works nicely. Thank you Acer.

I was looking for a 2nd computer to be used for travel, and also to attach to our HDTV via HDMI as a media "hub". It had to be ultra-portable, but yet still function as a capable PC. This computer is the size of some netbooks, but it's performance is far superior. 10" was too small and 13 was too big for what I wanted. Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit runs with no hesitation (including all aero features). I am also running Norton Internet Security 2010 and there is no decrease in performance like there used to be in previous versions. This is one of the nicer processors for this size computer and it really shows. The 4GBs of RAM is great and there is no need for more. I seldom use more than 50% of it. Start up and shutdown are very fast (less than 10 sec to shutdown and about 60-75 sec to start up).
I purchased a remote to be used with Windows Media Center for watching video and streaming Netflix to our TV and it works perfectly. Out of the box the sound is poor, but is greatly improved after adjusting the sound properties. Keep in mind this is an 11.6" ultra-portable so don't expect outstanding sound, but in my opinion it is good. The keyboard is almost full size, but the flat keys may take a little time to get used to. The battery life is great. When watching movies with sound increased with normal brightness it will last 4 1/2 to 5 hours. Under normal use with some music and/or video it will last about 6 hours, but if just surfing the web or word processing with the display dimmed it will last upwards of the advertised 8 hours. The screen is crisp and bright and HD (720p) video looks great. Outside though with direct light it is very hard to view. I have not used the blue-tooth, but it is a great feature to have. It is very capable of multitasking and I have yet to slow it down. As far as specs go the graphics are this computers weak point. I only use low end games, but they play great so it will definitely handle more. It plays the games that I like as well as HD video so it is enough for what I need.
Overall I am extremely happy with this PC. If I could give it 1/2 stars it would be a 4 1/2 just due to the slight downfalls mentioned above. At $600 it is a little pricey, but good performance in a small package doesn't come cheep. It is worth the money. There are others that may be better in some areas (like graphics), but overall I feel this is the best for my use. I would compare its performance to a full sized notebook that is about 2 years old, not the current quad core and higher processors of today.
I have never owned an Acer so durability and customer support for me is unknown, but after 1 month there are no problems.

This is a really nice machine. Small, silent, powerful. It doesn't come with much of the bloat-ware that you usually find on new machines (a few apps, but nothing major). I actually have it running 24x7 as my main computer, with an external keyboard, mouse and monitor connected, and it works great. My only criticism is that the ports are all on the sides with no ports on the back. The way I have my laptop set up, it's not great. But that's more of an aesthetic issue than anything else. But all in all, this is a great buy and well worth the money.