Customer Reviews

Acer Aspire Timeline AS4810TZ-4508 14-Inch Aluminum Laptop - Over 8 Hours of Battery Life (Windows 7 Home Premium)

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A week ago my home laptop died. Can't concentrate worth beans once my computer environment is trashed so embarked on massive research to pick a replacement. I ended up with this machine after looking at a range of models from 11.6" to 14" displays, had trouble deciding on tradeoff between size/weight and screen size. I did not order from Amazon because I had to go look at machines first hand to test keyboards etc., and once I fell in love with this baby I couldn't wait, so I bought it from Frys yesterday and have been on it for hours since.

How I intend to use this:
- Use it when I work from home, to both do stuff directly and to log into my desktop machine via Citrix GoToMyPC and remotely run stuff there. At home I have a huge secondary monitor on my desk.

- Use it when I travel on business - to be able to keep working including lots of document editing, powerpoint creation, web access, lots of multi-tasking, with no second monitor available, so had to be sure I could do my kind of work tasks on it with just the laptop screen available.

What I was looking for as backdrop:
- Battery life rated at least 8 hours (specs) because then I figured I'd get at least 6ish sitting around doing Word documents and light surfing, and at least 4 with more intense movie watching use.

- No more than around an inch thick. Weirdly, I have found that the thickness matters to me more than the length and width in terms of portability. The one that died was a 12" HP that was small but thicker and it bugged me even though it too was reasonably portable.

- Keyboard with keys not stiff or cramped - I'm a fast typer plus I hate stuff/ high-travel keys.

- Preference for an included CD/DVD but not mandatory

- No more than 4.4 pounds. Nirvana would be 3 or 3.5 but not mandatory, other stuff matters too. I had a previous 15" 4.4 lb laptop that I travelled with a lot and it was fine esp because it was 1.2 in. thin.

- Dual-core processor. I'm not an expert on such things, but read enough reviews here and on review site on the single core processor laptops -- performance issues when multi-tasking programs -- to rule out anything with single core processor. I am an abusive multi-tasker with 10 programs up at a time plus multiple windows in Word, IE, etc. so I just decided to take the reviewers' word for it That meant I had to do a search each time i found a model to consider, look up the processor model listed, to see if it was single or dual core.

- At least 4 G of RAM and preferably expandable to 8 later.

- At least 250G drive.

I looked at a range of netbooks and notebooks up to the 14" size. Had thought it would be cool to get a netbook for the portability, especially because I have this big monitor in my home office. But the more I looked, and started finding bigger machines that were light enough for me, AND battery life, I started gravitating to 13.3 in or 14" machine.

I narrowed down to HP Dm3 (13"), Toshiba T135 (13"), Asus UL30 (13"), and this Acer Timeline (14").

Why I chose the Acer timeline out of this set:

- HP looked fine but didn't have a drive, so Acer had an edge there.

- The Asus got great reviews from people here, but I couldn't find one to test and i just hate buying without trying out the keyboard for myself. And it didn't have the DVD built in...

- Toshiba T135 was about to win with me until I found this Acer. Toshiba lost because its case was incredibly high-gloss plastic that just kept bothering me a little .. and when I saw the brushed aluminum on the Acer, well, the Toshiba was toast.


What i LOVE LOVE LOVE about this machine:
- Battery life appears as rated. Last night I was on track for 8 hours doing surfing using our wi-fi network plus some editing work, set to balanced mode and with screen brightness turned about half way down. During the surfing I also played some video off the ABC website and the system looked like it was projecting more like 4 to 4.5 hrs if I had kept going with that use mode.

- I really like Windows 7. I was on Vista and I liked the interface fine but the program itself was a pig. So far so good on Windows 7. I also like the control actions available through the keypad, including being able to quish or expand text size like on an iPhone. I am very picky about font size when I'm surfing around and love being about to adjust with a flick of the touchpad.

- The case is gorgeous. I didn't think I cared about this until I compared this one to the Toshiba. That machine is a nice one, but this Acer alumnimum case makes the Toshiba look like a toy in comparison.

- The 1 inch thickness along with very flat brushed alumimum lid is wonderful. And the battery along the back edge is contured so i gives a grip when you carry the thing like a real notebook under your arm.

- The screen is brilliant and beautiful. Every time I look back it from my big HD 22" monitor, I still gasp a little at the crispness and beauty of the screen. (and I am not usually this effusive about anything....)

In short, this one had the magic combo for me: 8 hr battery life spec, 4.2 lbs good enough portability for me, 1" thick, DVD included, keyboard I liked, nice screen size, 4G of Ram expandable to 8, big enough disk drive, and beautiful professional sturdy-feeling brushed alumnimum case. Bonus points, discovered when I set it up, the speakers actually sound verygood to me compared to other laptops... and the way they're spaced I do get decent stereo. Wahoo all around!

Only con on the hardware I can come up with is this - I'll echo another reviewer's comments that the keys are a bit slippery. I didn't notice this playing with it in the store, but did once I got home and started using it a lot. But it is nowhere close to a showstopper or even a moderate annoyance. I've adjusted already and I don't find myself slipping so much that I hit wrong keys. I just feel the difference between these reall flat surfaced keys and the sculpted keys on my other keyboards. I do like the action on these keys and the separation (personal keyboard preferences).

SETUP experience notes:
Came up fine. Only issue I had was when I accepted Acer's prompt to use their backup management program to create recovery disks. For reasons I couldn't figure out, that program locked up the computer, couldn't get response to other programs, so I finally did a hard power down. And when I came back up, I used Windows' own backup and restore program to make my recovery disks, which it did incredibly quickly.

No issues hooking up peripherals like usb mouse and keyboards (which i DID have on my Vista machine at work. Cross your fingers, maybe Windows 7 really HAS fixed the driver issues of Vista.)

Other people have complained about lots of Acer loaded crapware on some machines. I didn't find that much. Deleted the McAfee and Norton stuff that came preloaded (more piggy software) plus a few Acer odds and ends --- that took all of 15 minutes. Within a couple of hours I had made recovery disks, loaded up all the software I needed (antivirus, MS Office, spam filtering, some work access programs, iTunes, etc.) and tested all the hardware components (made sure all the USB ports worked, etc.)

Sorry so long, I just spent so much time researching models and deciding this stuff in the last week, thought I'd try to spread the info and hopefully save someone else some time.

Overall I am WAY WAY happy with this notebook! If something bad happens later I'll be sure to come back and post an update :-) but I am very very happy with this purchase!

I ordered the Acer Timeline 4810TZ-4508 to replace my two-year old Lenovo Thinkpad T61, and I love it!

Getting started was very easy. It only took me about two hours to register Windows 7 Home Premium, upgrade to Windows 7 Professional (through the Anytime Upgrade feature), create factory default backup discs, remove some bloatware, and install some of my favorite programs. After reading some of the reviews of the older models, I was worried about the prospect of flashing the BIOS or updating the VGA/LAN drivers, but my computer has worked fine without those updates. I suspect that Acer may have fixed those problems for this model, since it's a new release with Windows 7.

Although the processor is ostensibly slower than the Intel Core 2 Duo processor in my T61, I had to underclock the T61 because it tended to overheat and shut down. With this Timeline, I'm able to run the processor at full speed without any heating or cooling problems. The computer is surprisingly zippy. I found that I was able to listen to music, convert tracks on iTunes, surf the web, and install programs all at the same time, without any noticeable lag in performance. Full screen streaming video on [...] and [...] also looked fantastic, without any jerkiness or skipping. (In fact, video playback was better than on my Thinkpad which, notwitstanding the faster processor, had less RAM and a slower video card.) The screen is very bright, and even at the dimmest setting, I was surprised with how much clearer it was than my old Thinkpad. It is a glossy screen, however, which means that it looks great indoors but is very difficult to use outdoors. I have found the glare a bit distracting, but not a deal-breaker. I don't play computer games, so I can't say anything about its performance in that regard.

Of course, one of the main reasons I purchased the Timeline was for portability, and it really doesn't disappoint. The laptop is noticeably thinner and lighter than my T61 - I think the total weight is about 4 lbs. and it's just over an inch thick. Acer wasn't kidding about the battery life: I spent 4.5 hours today at Starbucks surfing the web, listening to music, and using Microsoft Word with the screen at medium brightness, and still had 45% battery by the end. I am sure that I could get about 8-9 hours of total battery life, if I minimized all the settings. After fighting for power outlets and worrying about tripping over power cords with my Thinkpad, this is a refreshing change.

Coming from using the T61's fantastic keyboard, I was kind of nervous about this chiclet-style design, but I easily got used to it. The keys give a lot of tactile feedback, and they are well-enough spaced that you don't hint the wrong keys. The touchpad, however, is a bit difficult to use, and I'm still getting used to the stiffness of the touchpad button.

Overall, this is a fantastic computer, and a great value at the price. I think if you are considering the different 14 inch models, the 4810TZ-4508 has some advantages over the cheaper/older models: more RAM, faster processor, 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium, and newer drivers.

I've owned 7 laptops from Toshiba, Dell, HP, and a few others over the last 12 years and this one is the best I have owned by far. The battery life is outstanding however not the 8 hours Acer advertises. It averages closer to 5 hours which is still excellent. Performance wise, it is only average but its light weight and the advantage of not worrying about running out of power while working away from an outlet more than make up for it. I have only had this laptop for a week but I am very happy with my purchase. Being the best laptop I have owned to date, it makes me smile to know that it has also been the least expensive. I recommend it wholeheartedly. I bought my wife an Acer netbook last X-mas and she loved it so I gave Acer a try when it came time to replace my Dell. My only problem now is my wife now wants my Timeline laptop because it is as slim as her netbook but with a bigger screen.

Amazing laptop. Long battery life. I went from an older 14 inch Acer to this one. Twice the CPU speed, less than 1/3 the power usage. It's quiet, cool, light and runs a great OS with 64bits. You can get a machine smaller, lighter, or faster but nobody has beaten this package. Also, it looks great. Sophisticated and clean no shiny plastic that shows every fingerprint and scratch. The keyboard seemed a bit strange at first but I'm up to full speed on it after about an hour.

This model has a dual core CPU. Don't bother with the older Acer Timelines with the 2700 or 3500 single cores. That was just a warm up until the real stuff came out from Intel.

I like this machine so much, I'm thinking about spending another $300 on a solid state drive.

The only negative I found is the crapware that comes installed and having to waste an hour or more uninstalling software.

This is my second experience with ACER, and both have been good. I travel a lot in planes, so my priority for a laptop is the weight, even over the features. One year ago I bought an ACER ASPIRE ONE, and it has been a great tool. However, the small screen and the lack of DVD sometimes were a problem, especially when I was installing software since I had to transfer from DVD tu USB memory on another computer. So I needed a new laptop that had a DVD unit, and a larger screen, without sacrificing the weight priority. ACER ASPIRE TIMELINE was the perfect solution. First of all, I wanted to try the new Windows 7. For me it was clear that Windows Vista has been so far the worst OS after Windows Millenium, and despite Windows XP still does a good job, I decided I should give a try to Windows 7 and test all its new features. I was not disappointed. When opening the box I was greatly surprised to see how beautiful it was. The aluminum cover is really appealing and elegant. The laptop is indeed quite thin, and its low weight really satisfied me. It has the thinnest DVD unit I have ever seen on a Windows-based laptop, and you can even compare the ACER with a Mac Book Pro. Turning it on for the first time was straightforward, no problems here. You can feel its 4 GB of memory immediately, OS and applications run very smooth and fast. I opened 4 to 5 programs simultaneously, played a DivX video, and it never froze. The video quality is amazing, crystal clear, and colourful. So far so good. Then I dedicated some minutes browsing the internet and learning how to use the multi-gesture touch pad. It was literally amusing. The multi-gesture touch pad worked just as promised. It is definitely the feauture that I love the most. I am a "mouse" user, and I hated touchpads in any laptop. Not anymore. I am quitting my mouse to become an addict of this new touchpad. The wifi connection is very stable. I installed the enteprise version of Microsoft Office 2007, and it was a quite fast installation, and have been using the latest versions of several other programs with no problems at all. And the battery life, wow! I didn't need to charge it 24 hours before first use as other laptops, I could enjoy the 8 hours battery time after a 2 hour charging wait. I would recommend that you buy a neoprene bag, because the laptop is so beautiful that you don't want any scratch on the aluminum lid cover ever. And the 320 GB hard disk is really handy. I still don't understand why other brands like HP offer you only 16 GB of storage in a time like now when you also use your laptop as an entertaining system and you NEED space for movies and videos. Watching movies, videos or listening to music in the ACER TIMELINE is a "must" experience. The audio quality is unbeatable, better if you own bass headphones. And then another feature that surprised me: When I connected the laptop to my LCD flat screen TV, I didn't need to activate the screen or press any function key, since it transfered the video signal to my TV immediately withouth my intervention, and automatically adjusted the screen resolution. So, I am a very satisfied customer. All the feaures that I wanted on a laptop are condensed in the ACER TIMELINE.

After much research and trekking around town looking at laptops I finally got this one and I am sooooo happy with it. It took about 2 hours to create the backup disks. The instructions were not good. Be prepared: you need 3 blank DVDs. When I first turned on the machine a prompt came up to make the back-ups but by the time I got the CDs it had disappeared. I was unsuccessful at using the back-up manager, so shut the unit down, and after re-booting the prompt came up and I was able to do it with no trouble.

I removed some of the bloatware, which was also not too difficult. I am not very technical w/computers. I love the windows 7 platform too. I bought this primarily to have a lightweight travel laptop and needed a DVD player. It is perfect. I do a lot of photo editing in Photoshop and it runs very smoothly. I haven't timed the battery, but have so far been able to do a few hours of photoshopping on the battery with no trouble. It is so much faster than my old Toshiba Satelite it feels like a dream.

I like the touchpad and keyboard very much. We also make a lot of powerpoint presentations but have not done any on this yet.

Be forwarned about MovieMaker in Windows 7 - it is not great. I tried to make a 13 min. video in MM and it crashed the computer while saving it. The MovieMaker in Windows XP is much better but won't run on 7.

My only slightest complaint is the screen size is a bit small for photographs, but this is not the fault of the laptop. I need this size for traveling. The resolution is excellent - also better than my old toshiba.

I appreciated all the other detailed reviews that I found here on previous versions of the Acer Timeline, as they helped me make the decision. This model is so far EXCELLENT.

Enjoy,
ND

I love the computer! I don't play computer games on it or anything, but it has all the power for what I use it for. The size and weight are perfect. The battery life is great; of course it drops if you play video or music on it all the time but it's still better than any other laptop I've seen. I generally get about 6+ hours out of it and I don't run it on super power-save mode. Windows 7 is excellent. Card reader and DVD optical drive is nice. I also really like the touchpad controls. They're super easy.

UPDATE 1/7/2010:

I've now owned this computer for about 3 months and I still think it's the best laptop I've seen for the price...period! I've even had Mac users at school ask me about the computer's specs while I've been in class and they've been impressed with everything it comes with; especially the price. The Mac user I spoke with paid double what I did for a similar Mac with only 2 Gb RAM.

The computer still performs wonderfully. I was having a battery life issue for a bit but figured out that the problem was due to my anti-virus software running scans every time I turned the computer on, not due to a faulty battery. Now that I've fixed that the battery life is still 6+ hours; not the 8 advertised but still much better that other laptops on the market.

The one improvement I would make is in the speakers. They are weak so the volume won't increase past a certain volume, making them hard to hear if there's any background noise at all. Having two headphone jacks would have been nice to get around this problem also. My wife and I sometimes watch movies or Hulu before going to bed and sharing a pair of headphones is kind of a pain. This isn't a deal breaker for me by any means though.

I love the touchpad! Right after we bought the laptop we bought a nice wireless laptop mouse to go with it; however, the touchpad is so perfect I hardly ever use the mouse! I also really like that the computer never gets hot (as long as you don't block the vent). I've used other laptops that felt like I was holding a stove after a short while because they were so hot.

Over all we are EXTREMELY happy with this computer and feel it's been one of the best purchases we've made. We now own an Acer desktop and laptop and are really happy with both of them. I had never heard of the Acer brand before purchasing our desktop over a year ago but it would be really hard to convince me of another brand that offers the same features for the money.

If your on the fence about this computer, BUY IT! You won't be disappointed.

I decided to buy this laptop based on several characteristics: Battery life, portability, style, noise pollution, and Windows 7. The laptop I owned previously was an ASUS with much more processor and graphic power than this one. However, that laptop could not last more than two hours on battery and produced a lot of heat and noise. It is important for many buyers to recognize that if you want a gaming laptop, those are the common symptoms.

I've had this laptop for a month now and I can say that the battery power varies depending on how you use it. With power saving mode on, this laptop can last 8 hours if you're just surfing the net or typing up a word document. I also tested the battery life by playing a game that the computer could handle: ROME TW. I played for four hours and the battery life had gone down to 10 percent.

This laptop is very portable. At 4.4 lbs, it offers all the functionality of a heavier laptop. It has a DVD player/burner, 3 USB ports, etc. I would also like to note that the DVD drive eject button is on the keybord face rather than being on the drive. This is a very good design because you won't find yourself fumbling around to get the drive to open or accidentally push the button just as you close the drive. A small detail that has proved annoying on many other laptops.

The metallic casing is a definite plus. Unlike plastic cases, it's easier to clean and doesn't produce smudges just by resting your hands to type. You can barely hear this laptop running and it adds to the comfort of use when you are concentrating on more important business on your laptop. As advertised, this laptop is at or near room temperature when you touch it. Even after hours of gaming, it remains a constant temperature on the outside.

Like I said before, this isn't the best gaming laptop but the Intel GMA 4500M can perform very well. I've tested a few games and noticed that this graphics card can handle a decently high polygon count and med-high texture rendering. However, like most weaker video cards, it can't handle complex lighting and shadows. I played FEAR without any problems and with a good frame rate. (31 avg) I turned off volumetric lighting, reduced lighting to minimum, turned off Anti-alaising, and turned off shadows. You can play games with this laptop but be sure to choose games that gives you a in-depth graphics control on what you can turn on and off.

Lastly, Windows 7 has been great. There are so many new features that I haven't explored them all. I haven't run into any real problems just yet and all my old programs work for the home-premium edition. I don't see a point in upgrading because you can still turn on older OS compatibility by right clicking on the program shortcut. I don't plan on upgrading and I don't really need to. If you are looking for a quiet laptop for work, school, and the occational gaming, you can't beat the price or the satisfaction of this laptop.

I'm not going to leave a technical, exhaustive review, I will leave that for the others who get into doing that.

Let me just list the pro's and con's.

Pro's:

...battery life is for real
...never gets hot
...keyboard is awesome after you get used to it, and I type 50-plus words a minute
...light
...closest to a macbook without paying $1200
...most laptop for the money period!

Con's:

...the crapware

P.S. This one star guy who got a laptop with a broken seal from Amazon supposedly? That's an Amazon shipping issue, not a Acer Laptop issue!

If you want an awesome laptop. Buy it!

If you want a crappy one, there are plenty to choose from that will save you 1-200 dollars.

Well first off I couldn't have bought this without the very extensive reviews that had already been written here on Amazon. This computer does exactly what you need it to at a perfect price. I was looking for a good battery over 4 hours, hdmi port to hook up tv to watch movies in hd from youtube or hulu, good processor that could tackle all those papers and reports, lots of ram to help multitask, a quiet computer that doesn't burn my lap when using it as a laptop, and a great price tag. Well the timeline has it all. Finally a pc that has the future written all over it. Only 4.4 lbs, quiet, barley warm, very long battery(I get 7 hours the first 3 times through) without a bulky 12 cell found on Hp's, and very clean streamline design with a great feeling keyboard. Also has a beautiful 720p resolution led screen and wireless N, not to mention Windows 7.

Cons
No light for cap locks for some reason, no installed bluetooth but easily fixed with an adapter, some bloatware, and I can't think of anything else.

Summary
If you have never heard of Acer, it is the 2nd biggest computer company in the world. They build a solid product and so far are the leaders in the PC revolution of finally delivering a product comparable to the MAC as far as size, functionality, and design at half the price. All I can say is that it is about time they finally started building a more efficient computer that maximizes battery life and still has the power to tackle an everyday pc user's demands. (They had been selling us 2 hour battery lives on laptops for ten years which really made me mad)

Final Thoughts
Windows 7 seems to be great. Loads in under a minute, shuts down in less than ten seconds, and hasn't crashed yet. The computer straight out of the box only needed to be plugged in first and once it started you enter the router password for your internet and "whah lah." Already ready to browse and register product online.
You don't need a black friday special to buy this product, it is priced to sell and please. Now go get yourself one!!