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Acer Computer Aspire Timeline AS3810T-6415 13.3" Notebook PC Review from Dirk D De Lor. Best thin and light laptop for the money, I recently purchased the Acer Timeline 3810T with the Core 2 Duo processor and I must say that it is by far one of the best purchases I have ever made.

First, the laptop’s construction is incredibly good for the sub-$1000 price and the 3.5lbs weight. The case is an attractive gun metal gray and feels really solid. If you’ve used the business-class Dells then this is very similar in color and feel. The best part is that you get this really solid computer and it is surprisingly light considering how sturdy it feels. The keyboard is really nice also, the keys are smooth and have a very light sound with good feedback and good spacing. I have been typing on it regularly without any problems. There are also 3 touch-sensitive buttons at the top for turning wi-fi on/off, starting the backup program, and turning the eco-mode on/off.

The battery life is really the reason I bought this. As a law student who lugged a 7+lbs Dell to and from school weight was really important. When I saw that this would allow me to function all day at school surfing the web and typing in Word and OneNote without having to plug it in I knew I’d never have to carry a huge power adapter with me again. And it really does work as well as advertised, sometimes better. In balanced power mode with screen brightness at a high level I can get 7 hours out of it. With the computer in eco-mode, which still gives you good performance and a bright screen I can get 8+ hours from the battery with regular light use. If I start playing music or videos the battery will go down to 4+ hours. What surprised me was that during a typical day I could get 9+ hours out of the battery because even though it’s on, I’m not necessary doing anything with it (like when I’m listening to the lecture and not typing or surfing the battery life benefits). Factor in the battery savings from putting it to Sleep or Hibernate and you’re talking about true all-day computing.

Now, for performance, I opted for the Core 2 Duo because I feared that the Solo and Pentium would simply be bogged down by Vista with Office and IE running all the time. I can tell you that the display model of the Core 2 Solo at Staples did show quite a bit of lag in everyday tasks. The Core 2 Duo however works great. I have a Quad Core desktop also and this performs my daily tasks, including multi-tasking, just as fast. If you’re looking to do some heavy file transfers, video coding, or anything that is really processor intensive then you may want to look elsewhere. But I have been able to surf in IE with multiple tabs open while using OneNote and Outlook and Messenger all at once without a hitch. And I have also had no problems with HD video performance on YouTube, Hulu, or Netflix. This isn’t designed to be a desktop replacement, but it’s close. Bloatware was fairly minimal, the few Acer programs can be useful for backups and the webcam and they don’t seem to bog the system down at all. I uninstalled a ton of Acer games that came with it, but that was about it. Overall, I would feel comfortable recommending this to just about anyone. I have a 50+Gb music library and 30+Gb pictures with maybe another 20+Gb in videos and I have had no problems working with any of them. Keep in mind that you’re also getting 64-bit Vista with a free upgrade to 64-bit Windows 7 which will use the 4Gb of RAM very well and should allow this system to perform very well. If you wanted to keep this system for more than a couple years then when RAM prices come down you could add another 4Gb and get a couple more years out of it.

The two complaints I’ve heard the most are from the speakers and the mouse button. The speakers are somewhat terrible, I can’t stand to listen to certain songs on them becaue they’re so bad, but the sound quality through a good pair of headphones is fantastic. Basically, the speakers will suffice and are certainly nowhere near a deal-breaker. They are plenty loud, which is another complaint I heard. I just wouldn’t expect to hear them in the next room. As for the mouse button it is a little difficult to push. I find myself occassionally trying to push too close to the center of the rocker and not getting any response until I move closer to either end. However, if you’re like me and prefer to just tap the pad then it’ll work just fine. I doubt even a power-user would notice after awhile. The trackpad’s touch features are very nice as well. The swipes and scrolling work perfect for me. Zooming is a little difficult because the pad is kind of small so you only move in small increments, but it works.

This is a well-built, solid performing, thin and light laptop that actually allows you to work all day without having to plug it in…and it’s $900 MSRP (also look up Acer Timeline on Bing and save $47 when you buy from JR Computer World with Bing Cashback). You could easily spend $2,000 on another system and get the same performance without the weight, construction, or battery life. It’s the best deal out there right now and for the performance junkies who want to do a little gaming I hear there’s a model coming with switchable discrete graphics. If you’ve never tried an Acer (like me), this is a good time to start.

To check price or purchase Acer Computer Aspire Timeline AS3810T-6415 13.3-Inch Notebook PC.

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