About me:I'm just a lowly student in Manchester trying to make his way in the world...please rate my reviews ...
Member since:16.12.2003
Reviews:3
Review rated by 11 Ciao members on average: very helpful
This review received a counterstatement by a party concernedRead Comment
When I first got this laptop I read all the documentation and noted a few things to my suprise, firstly for an expensive laptop the battery life is not spectacular, a measley 1.5 hours of normal use, also it takes ages to recharge - about 3.5 hours. The other thing i noticed was that despite being sold as a devastating businessman's laptop, designed for complex presentations etc. the bundled software leaves much to be desired.
That being said, once I finally cracked her open my petty complaints were soon forgotten...the super-quick 3.066GHz processor purred into life with a sense of urgency and the desire to please. Windows XP Home edition (the bundled OS) sorted itself out quickly and with the minimum of fuss and I was soon on my way to Laptop heaven. Since my first encounter I have not lost my enthusiasm for it, far from it. The GeForce FX Go5600 graphics card is efficient and reliable (originally a slight concern given the modest 64MB of VRAM) and the 1024Mb of DDR ram has proven to be ample for anything I can throw at it. Also worth noting is the gigantic 120Gb of HDD capacity which I have been positively rattling around in thus far. Other hardware features such as 100Mbps LAN connection, 8x DVD + 24x CD-RW combo drive, 56k modem and FDD all perform with perfectly adequate speed and reliability and the integrated speakers and sub are a particularly nice and useful touch giving an excellent quality sound from the top to the bottom of the range.
The only other noteable piece of hardware is the glorious 17" TFTLCD screen. It is clear and bright, with a maximum resolution of 2048 x 1536 @ 75 Hz, however i find that 1280x1024 is just perfect for the screen. In my opinion this LCD screen is really second to none in the mid-range laptop stakes. The keyboard takes some getting used to if your a PC kind of person but after a few days it just become second-nature. Incidently I would recommend if you choose to buy this laptop that you invest in a Genius mini netscroll optical mouse as it is relatively cheap, small and a complete time saver.
As for the software side of things I have been slightly let down here, given the quality of the hardware I would have thought that they may have included a few decent programs...Microsoft Office XP or even Works would have been good but no such luck I'm afraid. I have a home cinema system too but since getting this i have to confess that the majority of movies have been watched on the Acer. This is because of the great advantage of being able to watch anywhere, especially when on the train or in bed and the headphones are entirely satisfactory.
Overall I could not be happier with my buy and with the exception of a few minor gripes I think that its close to the best of this category of notebook PCs. I would recommend this laptop particulary for students and business people who want to be able to give decent on-the-spot presentations and the like mixed with the desire to be able to relax with a movie or game at the end of the day.
One last point to note is that while I havent had to try the 1 year "collect and return" warrantee I am told that it is a friendly and efficient service
hey, your "about me" touched me! I was once a lowly student not so long ago and probably still fit into the category of "please help me make some money!" I graduated in 2003 and then spent a year in QUebec and in Jan I'm going travelling round the world. After that, I might start to be a real person! Anyway, great review about a laptop. I'd love to get one but don't have the money at the moment and even if I did, the guy who thinks he's Spartacus (someone tell him I'm Spartacus!) is adamant we shouldn't buy ACERs!!! Amy
Please Please learn from My experience - the technical help from acer is a joke... I bought a Acer Travelmate 240 for £700 from dixons, it suffered a screen problem - dixons told Me to deal with acer direct. They arranged a pickup - but from here it went down hill... took them several days to acknowledge they had it... then it took them weeks to fix it - THEN they "lost" turns out it was mailed to Me withou them keeping a record of it. A lecturer on My campus received it... but it had been returned without a hard drive - so all My data was lost. They sent a replacement hard drive though.
Now it has been sent in again for the SAME fault - it has been a month, I am not confident I will get My laptop back, and I have been mislead/lied to for a long time... am now giving them a week to respond before I have to get a solicitor involved
PLEASE DO NOT BUY AN ACER LAPTOP that is My advice
by (91%):
by (9%):
03.11.2004 01:51
hey, your "about me" touched me! I was once a lowly student not so long ago and probably still fit into the category of "please help me make some money!" I graduated in 2003 and then spent a year in QUebec and in Jan I'm going travelling round the world. After that, I might start to be a real person! Anyway, great review about a laptop. I'd love to get one but don't have the money at the moment and even if I did, the guy who thinks he's Spartacus (someone tell him I'm Spartacus!) is adamant we shouldn't buy ACERs!!! Amy
05.09.2004 20:52
Please Please learn from My experience - the technical help from acer is a joke... I bought a Acer Travelmate 240 for £700 from dixons, it suffered a screen problem - dixons told Me to deal with acer direct. They arranged a pickup - but from here it went down hill... took them several days to acknowledge they had it... then it took them weeks to fix it - THEN they "lost" turns out it was mailed to Me withou them keeping a record of it. A lecturer on My campus received it... but it had been returned without a hard drive - so all My data was lost. They sent a replacement hard drive though. Now it has been sent in again for the SAME fault - it has been a month, I am not confident I will get My laptop back, and I have been mislead/lied to for a long time... am now giving them a week to respond before I have to get a solicitor involved PLEASE DO NOT BUY AN ACER LAPTOP that is My advice
17.12.2003 13:21
Good review that everyone can understand.