Acer AS1410-2285 Black Friday Deals!
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Acer AS1410-2285 Black Friday Deals!.
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The Acer 1410 with Intel dual-core SU2300 and Windows 7 is a useful, general purpose mini-notebook. It is cramped and light enough to be carried around all the time, yet substantial and lickety-split enough to do most ordinary work. Word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail and Web browsing are all responsive, although there have been reports of some performance limits showing HD video. These units are being delivered with 64-bit Windows and 2GB of memory. For about US$80 one can install 2x2GB of PC2-6400 memory, reselling the delivered 2x1GB of PC2-5300 memory if that proves possible. Race becomes faster and battery life longer when using the Windows Classic theme and setting "Adjust for best performance" in Control Panel, System, Advanced system settings, under Advanced and Performance. Even with maximum power spend the unit remains frosty, with only limited warming approach left-side ventilation exhausts.
The point to provides about 135 color pixels per scamper, while the human glimpse is friendly of resolving only about 70-90 per tear. Small-size text will be unreadable without a magnifier. However, all commonly feeble Windows displays are readable, unaided, for a person with normal to somewhat near-sighted vision. Prove software provides an option to boost text dimensions 25 percent at the expense of reducing convey of application windows. A 50 percent brightness setting is adequate for indoor expend and extends battery life. Even 100 percent brightness cannot overcome reflections from the glossy conceal for outdoor exercise. Visibility angles are exiguous to around 30 degrees in practice, slightly more from above, and color proceed begins at about 15 degrees.
The keyboard do provides tubby US spacing of 9 inches across a row of 12 keys. Tactile feedback is adequate for rapidly touch-typing. The touchpad is adequate, but its many options may confuse novel users. It is best to open by visiting Control Panel, Mouse, Map Settings, Settings, and disabling all options except Buttons, setting the PalmCheck and Touch Sensitivity options to the second lightest. Later the span of options can be adjusted as familiarity with the unit grows. The touchpad software is unresponsive. Even with options disabled, the pointer movement on the point to is advantageous to surge and freeze. Acer's case accomplish worsens those problems by providing unpleasant tactile feedback for touchpad boundaries.
The WiFi interface performs creditably and connects speedy. WiFi can be disabled by a switch under the front edge to effect power when it is not needed. There is also a Bluetooth switch, but the 1410 does not advance with Bluetooth. The audio is adequate for typical office spend, where most Windows sounds are usually disabled. Battery life in normal employ is likely to be around 5 hours. The power adapter delivered provides only 30 watts, maybe because of safety issues and recalls Acer has experienced. Battery recharge time with the computer off is around 2-1/2 hours and twice that with the computer on. Windows 7 performs without the reliability problems and the annoyances of Windows Vista. There are minor functional improvements over Windows XP, nothing that adds grand productivity for office employ. Utilities like Notepad and Calculator have not changed function since Windows 95.
The 1410's rich cousin, the 1810, is expected to be available in quantity by mid-November, 2009. Its SU7300 processor will be about 20 percent faster, and it will be delivered with 4GB memory and a bigger disk. For most office uses there will be no added succor to explain a 50 percent higher label. Some customers may be attracted by around a 25 percent increase in battery capacity. Overall the Acer 1410 is a reliable candidate for performing typical office work in a mobile setting, but no portable computer delivers the productivity of a mercurial desktop computer with a colossal reveal, mouse and freestanding keyboard.
Some reservations: Acer's documentation is unsatisfactory, only available on delivered machines, not on the Web. It consists of a "expeditiously guide" to a category of machines, in this case both 1410 and 1810 models, equivalent to five typewritten pages, and a "generic guide" to the Aspire family, mainly on proprietary software, written in a CYA style and in a British dialect of English. As an example of the low-grade advice, it recommends carrying a spare battery but nowhere specifies appropriate batteries, or for that matter, specifies any other replacement parts or product options. In the case of the 1410, this can be disastrous, because the same 1410 model number was outmoded by Acer for an earlier portable computer, which requires different batteries. The battery is Acer portion number UM09E31, but as of October, 2009, there was no source for that battery. Acer's warranty requires a lawyer to decipher, saying to contact a "Call Center" but providing no telephone number.
I agree with the previous reviewer: I chose this model with the SU2300 because of the additional performance associated with the dual core CPU. Since I reflect anything less than 13" a netbook (such as this) I had no need for a 250GB hard drive the other model came with. The version I am reviewing is Dark in color.
The Pros of this model:
-Windows 7 Home Premium runs, in my understanding, faster than XP would. Astonishing!
-AERO runs great
-The stout graphics card and HDMI-out works titanic for watching HD movies on HULU or Youtube and putting them on a expansive conceal TV with HDMI
-2GB RAM!
-Decent webcam
-Draft N wireless
-Nice sized and sturdy keyboard
-Lightweight and the size of an 8x11 fraction of paper (thicker of course)
-The battery does not stick out the help like other netbooks
The Cons:
-Speakers didn't sound loud enough when sitting on my lap, but headphones do the trick
-Touchpad is a puny square, I wish it was a bigger rectangle
-No bluetooth yet the button to turn it on and off is aloof there, kind of odd
-Glossy shell leaves finger prints
-Acer Pre-installed Bloatware (games, norton backup, google toolbar, MacAfee trial, etc)
-NO Windows OEM DISK! This drives me nuts if you ever need to reinstall but I consider Acer has some backup partition (Alt+F10 or something at launch up)
In all, this computer is blazing mercurial, has Windows home premium, spacious for school, or work. I have not tested the battery life yet, but I lift it goes for about 4 or 5 hours of regular exhaust since it is 6-cell.
Ignoring colors, Acer now has two different AS1410 Windows 7 laptops at the same $400 brand point: Dual Core SU2300 with 160GB hard drive and a Single Core Celeron 743 with a 250GB hard drive. I chose this model with the SU2300 because of the additional performance associated with the dual core CPU.
Pros: 3.1 lbs, compact size, 6 hour battery, SU2300 performance, keyboard, 1366x768 LED-backed point to, Intel GMA4500MHD graphics, 802.11n Wi-Fi, HDMI, webcam
Cons:
- Touchpad buttons too stiff, also, left button does not always register a click
- Glossy top conceal attracts fingerprints
- No dedicated volume control (have to exhaust arrow keys)
- Glossy hide shows reflections (I would engage a matte mask)
- No bluetooth
- No esata
- 2 GB of memory comes as 2x1GB SODIMMs so if you want to upgrade to 4GB, you have to chuck the existing memory. Heed that specs on Acer's website incorrectly show that the 2GB comes in a single SODIMM leaving a slot empty for upgrading.
In summary, the AS1410 could be better but for $400, it is a fair kindly ultra portable laptop value. Amazon did a great job of packing it and shipping it like a flash. Recommended.
