Acer Aspire 1353XC - Athlon XP-M 2400+ 1.8 GHz - 14.1" TFT

Author's product rating:   

Speed	Average
Look & Feel	Good
Comfort & Portability	Good
Robustness & Durability	Good
Value For Money	Good

Advantages:	Good price, well spec'd and reliable .
Disadvantages:	No floppy, could do with more memory, Antivirus is a 3 month trial only .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

If you are looking for a reasonably priced, reasonably specified laptop, you won't be disappointed with this.

It's worth shopping around for prices as at the moment Acer are offering resellers a "buy 5 get one free" deal. This means there are some very attractive prices around whilst this offer lasts.

The laptop comes packed in two sturdy boxes. The outer box has a manufacturers seal that states "If seal is broken check contents" and a "void" sticker is shown when the seals are removed. My advice would be don't accept it if the seal is broken! You simply do not know what it's history is!

You'll need to fit and charge the battery when you first unpack it. The first time you switch on you're greeted with a Windows XP Home welcome screen. You have to configure (simple) and register the software. This involves either online activation or calling a free 0800 number. Once done it should not have to be repeated.

In the box you get the laptop (of course!), a "just for starters" quick setup guide, battery, mains charger and lead and a modem lead. The paperwork and software consists of an OEM Windows XP Home CD and booklet, various warranty details (including a useful International option) and Norton Antivirus. An excellent User Guide is provided that is refreshingly "English" and comprehensive. It this day and age the omission of a carry bag in the package is unusual and disappointing.

You will need to install the anivirus yourself - it is strangely not pre-installed, but this is simple enough.

And that's about it. If you were hoping to get started on a Word document or a speadsheet, forget it! Other than standard Windows components (Wordpad etc.) there is no bundled software. Remember what I said about deals to resellers? Well there's an opportunity there to haggle for some software with your purchase! Expect at least a copy of Microsoft Works, or better still Works Suite.

Having only 256Mb of PC2100 memory and sharing up to 64Mb of this with the onboard graphics card means this laptop won't break any speed barriers, but it is perfectly adequate for routine PC duties. Be warned, though, playing DVD's you will find a bit jerky in full screen mode!

On the plus side, the laptop is easily upgradeable with standard SODIMM memory. Your local computer shop will supply and fit that at a very reasonable cost, I'm sure.

We have sold a number of these laptops and I can safely say that all purchasers have been very pleased with them.

One a final note - why oh why are more and more laptop manufacturers omitting the 3.5" floppy drive? OK, it's old technology, but it's a fast and easy way to transfer files, disks are cheap and above all to a technician sometimes it's a necessity to flash a BIOS.

So go haggle a bargain from your Acer supplier and tell them to throw in some software!