Customer Reviews

Acer Aspire Timeline AS4810T-8480 14-Inch Aluminum Laptop - 8+ Hours Battery Life

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Weight: At 4.2 pounds I wouldn't call it light as air but it is very portable and I have no problems carrying in hand. If it's in a backpack I hardly even notice it there. My books are heavier and more cumbersome. The slim design definitely helps in making it that much more portable also. If you want something that so light it wows you every time look for a laptop weighing 3.5 pounds or less. Again, I have no problems carrying this laptop around with me all day. I weight 135 lbs as a reference point.

Battery: This is really where it shines. You really do get a little more than 8 hours if everything is turned down. But since I don't work for 8 hours straight on a laptop I turn up the brightness, stream video, browse websites, use Word, listen to music and still get an amazing 6 hours plus. The AC adapter is small and light weight if you need to carry it around.

Design: The lid is made of aluminum and unfortunately is a finger print magnet (maybe I just have oily fingers). The notebook is in a very conservative gray. It won't turn any heads but that's perfect for me in a meeting or in class. The keyboard is flat surfaced but feels great, took almost no time to get used to it. Overall the notebook feels very sturdy with a little bit of flexing if I press hard on the side of the keyboards. Hinges have a good feel to them.

Performance: It won't play 3D games nor can you do intensive video editing but it's more than fast enough to do your basic tasks. Basic meaning email, web browsing, music, occasional DVD, using Microsoft Office 2007. I can have Office, Firefox with multiple tabs and music running with no slow downs at all. This is probably 80% of consumers anyway. It also loads and runs Photoshop just fine. However it will not run YoutubeHD since it is flash based and depends solely on the processor. DIVX and videos codecs that can offload to the GPU work just fine. I was able to watch videos in 720p just fine.

Important notice: You MUST MUST update the video driver, LAN driver, and Bios to get it to function correctly. The initial drivers caused the machine to run very slow and crash often. After the update it runs perfectly. If I could take a half star I would. I ended giving it five stars because it comes with a free upgrade to Windows 7, which makes this machine last even longer, run even faster, and would not have had the initial driver problems. Can't wait for the retail release!

I bought this Acer 14 inch for it's battery life and ease of mobility for college. I like it so far. I did delete a bunch of trial ware and games because I don't need that. I downloaded my copy of MS Office 2003 in place of the 60 day "free trial" of MS 2007. It is fast for me. I found out it doesn't have a modem for my dial up internet. Yes, I live in a cave. It does have wifi b/g and draft N. I haven't tested the battery life just going by what others have already said. I really won't push this computer much but for me an everyday student I think it's going to be fast. I mainly will use it for taking notes, writing term papers and in between classes maybe getting on the internet at a hotspot. One thing I don't like is the shiny black plastic of the keys. It does show alot of fingerprints. I guess I just like my old Toshiba keys better. The keyboard is nice but I have large hands and it takes getting used to.

In the box came a CD with driver updates. Thanks for everyone who complained because it made my life alot easier since I couldn't immediately connect to the internet. I would have given this computer 4 1/2 stars. If it had a modem then it would deserve a full five stars. It has everything a college student could ask for. I hope it lasts at least three years. By then hopefully I can afford a better computer.

I have used this computer for a week now and it has exceeded my expectations. I understand now that this class of notebooks doesn't come with a modem because it's in the ultra portable class and that would defeat the purpose of having the modem installed. I love it so far.

Great computer for the price- outpaces the $1000 Dell I bought last year in every way. A nice light weight pairs with a very sleek look; the whole layout is very efficient without sacrificing familiarity. Quite a lot of bloatware that was easy to remove. The touchpad is small but feels good; the left/right click buttons are just one bar that seesaws, but it works well. The keypad is nicely responsive, I like the pressure and depth, though of course it's a highly personal preference. I haven't pushed it in terms of performance yet, but so far it does as well as the specs would lead you to expect. All in all, for this price, it's one of the best deals around.

Pros: A twice long (real time) battery life, super light weight for 14" screen laptop w/internal DVD player, & glossy screen w/ great colors. Aluminum chassis & metal lid vs. molded plastic. Wireless easy to set up. Great price + Windows 7 upgrade.

Cons: Speakers - tin sound unless I use headphones then really improves. Bloatware and a bunch of driver updates and potentially bios too. Acer customer service reps no help for soft or hardware issues and their web page for driver updates is a mess.

I did extensive research before purchasing at Office Depot for $549 mid October. I primarily wanted a laptop (not netbook) that was this weight or less and that would last at least 6 hours while travelling, if not more. While I use Office software, it's secondary so while not super fast, still faster then my last LT which was 4 years old.

There were some very helpful reviews on Tiger and Amazon about what needed to be updated to prevent crashes. Thus, I was willing to take on the hassle of having to load a bunch of driver updates and potentially flash the bios (which I have not yet had to do). I did most of the driver updates but not all of those related to the wireless or other optional features as there is no help on Acer's site to determine if they are relevant.

I did have some freeze ups until I turned off the sleep function. Most were then eliminated but I updated the bios to 1.28, and most drivers, as many reviewers at other sites said it was needed. So far so good but the Acer site is very un-user friendly for finding the latest driver. They just keep adding new ones in no particular order. Also, before using wireless, turn off the Windows Security Functions (as much as it lets you) assuming you are using Internet Security Software.

While the customer service is very weak (compared to Dell - most of my computers including current XPS One) or Gateway (4 years ago)), they did send me a free recovery CD set (since I was unable to make them after wasting 5 DVDS). I like the feel of the full size key board but am not a touch pad user so cannot comment - use a wireless optical mouse. Volume could have a bigger range so louder option.

Finally, yesterday I used the free software to upgrade Windows 7 and was fairly simple (esp since did not add much software except Office prior). Acer update disk helps - only problem was at end after install was done. The new OS did not recognize my DVD drive; needed to finish the process by inserting Acer disk back in after Windows. Restarted once and it was there which was a nice surprise as there have been problems reported about this on the Windows 7 microsoft blog.

This is my first Acer computer, aesthetically speaking it is the nicest looking laptop I've seen so far and one of the thinnest -- measuring at a mere 1" thick. The 14" screen, weight and dimensions are just a fraction more compared to an ordinary Netbook, but you get much much more. For one; you're not getting an Atom processor but an Intel Centrino Core2 Solo CPU. Yet small, but it also comes with an integrated DVD Burner -- almost unheard of for a 14" size notebook, as opposed to having an external unit dangling around. These are only a few good reasons why I bought the unit, but...the ultimate deal was the long battery life! Acer claimed that it can pull more than 8 hours. Reading my reviews here on Amazon (also from various other sources) most reviewers seems to have stood by their claims. So for this I am willing to sacrifice the trade-off of not purchasing a Dual Core or Core 2 Duo CPU system but instead opted for the ultra low voltage 'Solo' core for its battery life;

Although the 8480 was deemed versatile for most apps but it wasn't user-friendly "out of the box". Acer did not update their Timeline series with the latest BIOS and necessary drivers before rolling out to the masses which resulted the computer in a constant 100% CPU spike and ultimately rendering the unit to freeze, therefore a forced-shutdown/restart is the only solution. For this, it has caused a large number of confused day to day 'Average Joe' and the typical novice computer consumer letdowns, not to mentioned; the numerous negative feedbacks as to why their newly purchased computers did not add up to the mfg claim.
Some of the folks that bought and researched should know what has to be done to get the unit running in tip top condition, but for those of you who haven't, here's what you MUST do before using the notebook for the first time:

1.) Have 3 blank DVD discs ready for burning and making the recovery discs because Acer (and most Manufacturers these days) does not provide any.
2.) Go to Acer's support site and choose your model, but here's the trick; in between the top part of the page and the drivers' lower part of the page, there is very tiny drop-down box for you to choose your Operating System -- make sure you choose the right one. For example: choose "Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit" if you are using this OS. Most people tend to miss out on this part because it is pretty hard to see on the page.
Update to the latest Bios (there are two released simultaneously; one is the regular and the 'OE' stands for "Olympic Edition"
3.) Update to the latest Video Driver
4.) Update to the latest WIFI driver
The rests of it are optional.

Upon my updates, the unit has performed flawlessly, there are no more 100% CPU usages but in the 10-30% range and applications seems to run much smoother like it supposed to. The one thing that still hinders is the 'Sleep Mode'; if you closed the lid and reopen it, the unit tends to freeze up a bit and takes time for it to completely come back to its original state. This happens mostly if you have a browser opened at the time of closing the lid. Acer needs a new BIO for this, or perhaps Windows7 will rectify this dilemma.


Pros:
*Light Weight
*Thin
*Battery Life (8+Hours)
*Screen resolution and bright enough
*DVD Burner (Integrated)
*4GB DDR3 RAM
*320G Hard Drive
*HDMI port
*Keyboard (quiet, very nice play and solid feel with no diving/caving while typing -- unlike my Toshiba Satellite)
*Mouse Pad (very responsive and non-erratic)
*Design/Beauty
*Very solid feel -- no flexing or creasing of any sort

Cons
*Single Core processor
*No 'Caps Lock' light
*No 'Number Lock' light
*Tiny Power Button -- tiny meaning it is designed to work only with the tip of your fingernail (needs to press twice to power ON or hold for 3 seconds -- only if you are using the AC cord with the Battery detached, otherwise just press once with Battery attached)
*No Express Card slot
*No eSata
*No Phone jack (couldn't use Windows Fax)

My best friend has one of these. She fell down the stairs with it on her back (in her non-padded backpack). She says it probably saved her months in traction as she slid down the entire flight of MARBLE stairs with only this Acer between her and the stairs. Of course when she reached the bottom the screen was smashed and one of the corners crushed. She plugged it into an external monitor and powered it on - WORKED 100% FINE NO PROBLEMS. She then bought a new screen and had a friend install it and is still chugging away. Most durable laptop EVER. BTW, I have had this positive experience with other Acers.

I bought this laptop this past October. The main selling point, for me, was the price. I needed a new laptop with great battery life, so when I found it for a great price, I ended up purchasing it. I did not have great expectations for this laptop, but it has surprised me with its power and reliability.

The best thing about the Acer AS4810 is the battery life. Running Windows 7 on the "High Performance" setting, the laptop can run for a little over 6 hours.

I don't play games on this laptop, so I cannot comment on that. I do, however, watch a lot of high definition video. Using the right codecs, such as CoreAVC, the Acer AS4810 has no problem running high definition video.

Overall, it's a fantastic laptop.

I bought this last week at Staples for $499, but they are selling out quickly. My experience has been similar to the rest of the reviews. As soon as I got the unit home, I flashed the BIOS and installed windows 7. The system is great for listening to music, word docuemnts etc, but as soon as you start really multri-tasking the system gets bogged down. It has also had trouble gracefully shuttiong down in 7, but that could be a non-hardware related issue. I had originally bought the 11.6" Aspire 1410 which was way too small and was going to have to purchase an external drive. Tis model was bigger, had a better battery life and a DVD burner and only weighted 1 pound more. It cost an additional $50 at the $499 price so it was ano brainer to switch. I am wondering if I can over clock it.

the left click button only works about 60% of the time. Its slow, speakers are wayyyy to quiet, its not worth the money, you can get one that is better for about the same amount of money if not for less.

The first thing you will notice is the sleek aluminum case. This Acer is lighter than a Macbook Pro, runs 20 degrees cooler and the HD screen is superior to the Macbook Pro. You can average a good seven hours watching videos, surfing with multiple tabs open and working on documents with the balanced power option. Windows 7 64 bit will make this CULV laptop boot within 60 seconds even with a Core 2 Solo processor. It is important to note that you must update the BIOS (1.31) and the Windows Vista 64 bit drivers (WLAN and Chipset) for this Acer to become fully functional. Additionally, look for the "Application" on the Acer website for Power Management which illiminates any issues with the optical drive.

Pros
*Battery Life (Watch 2 DVDs and have 2+ hours battery left)
*Light & runs extremely cool
*Clarity of the HD screen
*Trackpad is excellent especially for schrolling long pages
*HD videos look and sound awesome (Use the right codecs)
*Crystal clear surround sound speakers (not powerful)
*Optical drive included

Cons
*Not ready out of the box
*Single Core processor
*Not for a gaming

Take a look at all of the features for the Macbook Pro and you will quickly realize all the value that the Acer Timeline AS4810T has to offer.