kenprospero's Full Review: Acer Computer Aspire AS1410-2285 11.6" Notebook PC...
Introduction
A few years ago, a new class of laptop was released -- the “netbook”. These computers were small and light. Many recent models have 6-cell batterys with excellent battery life. They are great ‘on the go’ machines, good for web-browsing, email and light tasks. However they are slow, and lack computing power. Essentially, they are computers that were designed for a specific purpose.
The Acer 1410, while technically not a netbook, is priced and sized to compete against the netboook. It is more powerful, better ergonomically, with a better screen and more memory. The major trade-off that I’ve found is that the battery, while adequate, will not last as long on a single charge as netbooks with similar batteries.
The Acer 1410 comes in two configurations. 1 -- Dual Core Celeron Chip and 160 megabyte hard drive and 2 -- Single Core Celeron Chip with a 250 megabyte hard drive. I purchased the Dual Core version and consequently primarily discuss this. However, I offer a few observations on the other model.
Bottom Line
Unless the extra battery life in critical -- the Acer 1410 simply blows away the average netbook. It’s a better product, at the same price, Period. Other on-line reviews have referred to this computer as a net-book killer. IMO, they’re right. Instead of a limited-use computer, you get a versatile computer. Keep in mind that at its list price, $399, it by no means a high end machine. However, the price-feature ratio is impressive.
Throughout this review, I will make comparisons to the specs of a typical netbook, and will note the strengths and weaknesses of this unit.
The Stars
Star ratings are a cheap source of information. I always caution readers about putting too much weight into them. Essentially, this is a rating of how the product works for me. Your mileage may vary. This being said, I definitely think this is a 5* product. Under my rating system, 5* is reserved for products that I think are clearly superior to other alternatives in the market place. If it meets your needs, it's a no-brainer. The CPU is at least two steps above similar products in this price range. Likewise, the screen is at least a notch above. Having a full-sized keyboard is wonderful, as one avoids the cramped fingers. And yet, the machine is only slightly larger (and no heavier) than a netbook. The only real negative is that you don’t get the same exceptional battery life as in some netbooks. However, the battery length is quite useable. Overall, the machine is a bargain and should be considered strongly by anyone considering a netbook.
Out of Box Experience
The box; contains the laptop unit, a 6-cell battery, power cord and charger unit, and a ‘quick-start’ guide. Getting started is simple. Insert the battery in the back of the machine. There us no need to remove a panel to install the battery, it plugs into the back. From there, plug the charger into the computer and into the wall, charge the battery up, and you’re ready to roll.
Once you turn on the machine, you will need to go through the ‘windows’ set up. This will pretty much be the same for any laptop. However, for the record, the 1410 comes with Windows 7 Home Premium Edition (as opposed to Windows 7 Starter or Windows XP Home in most netbooks). I found Windows 7 set up to be easier than with past editions of Windows. It was quick and easy. Connections to the internet was intuitive -- follow the directions on one screen), as was adding the computer to my home network, so I could wirelessly piggy-back off of my home printer.
The unit comes with a 6-month trial subscription to Macafee anti-virus. While I am normally not a big fan of trial software that grabs hard-disk space. Virus protection is necessary from minute one, so having the trial subscription in effect makes the machine immediately usable. In addition, installed on the laptop is a trial copy of Office 2007 (Student and Teacher Edition) and MS Works. With these, you can be up and running almost immediately, while you make the decision of what software you really want.
A Quick Tour
Now, let’s take a short tour of the computer, then we can get into the features. Closed, the Acer 1410 is about the size of a sheet of normal typing paper.
Pick it up -- it weights just over 3 pounds with the battery. This is about the weight of most netbooks with a 6 cell battery. The cover is midnight black -- which is a glossy black. Although it looks sharp, the glossy finish attacts finger prints, so keep a tissue or cloth with you to keep it looking nice. Other colors for this machine are Sapphire and Red.
On the front of the machine you see a series of lights, which give information such as whether the machine is ‘on’, whether it’s chargiing, receiving a wireless signal, etc.
The left side of the machine contains, a VGA port for an analog monitor, the port to connect the power supply/charger to the machine, an HDMI output, and a USB 2.0 port. The HDMI output is nice, and not common on netbooks. For anyone who might not know, HDMI is a current standard for using a single cable to transfer video and sound through a single cable. HD-TVs and monitors all have it. The inclusion of this is a nice feature that will assist in compatability.
The rear of the machine is where you have inserted the battery.
And on the right side of the machine, you have a socket for a network cord, kensington locking insert (to enble you to lock the computer to the desk), two more USB 2.0 ports, mini jacks for headphones and a microphone, and a 5-1 card reader (which accepts memory cards from cameras, games, etc) MultiMedia Card, Secure Digital card, Memor Stick, Memory Stick Pro and xD-Picture Cards are supported..
Now we open the lid.
The keyboard is a full-sized qwerty keyboard. This differs from many netbooks in which the keys are shrunk to about 90% +/- of standard size. The keys in the Acer 1410 are flat (rather than the concave keys on most computer keyboards). Overall the size makes typing easy, though the shape of the keys may take some getting used to.
At the front of the computer, is a small touch pad, with both right and left buttons. The touch pad is responsive and includes a multi-gesture feature, which allows certain of the basic mouse functions, such as scrolling rotating, etc. to be accomplished with two fingers on the touch pad.
In front of you is the screen -- 11.6” diagonal with 1366 x 768 resolution. This is larger than most netbooks (which run in the 9”-10” diagonal range). The size of the screen is what leads many to classify this as an ultraportable laptop, rather than a net book. Personally, I’m not big on labels and classifications, I’m much more concerned with whether the product does the job.
On top of the screen is a web-cam and a microphone, meaning the Acer 1410 can be used for conferencing/skype, etc.
The “Guts”
1. Hard Drive. On the bottom of the machine are two access panels. Open the first, and you’ll find the hard drive. In this model, a 4400 RPM 160 gig drive. This is a bit slow, compared with other notebooks‘ hard drives, but unless you’re heavily accessing the hard drive, shouldn’t be much of a problem. Also, I note that many notebooks and netbooks are now equipped with 250 gig drives. Another version of the Acer 1410 with a slower processor, has the larger hard drive. However, Acer apparantly chose the smaller drive for this machine in order to keep the price at the $400 level.
The second panel at the bottom exposes the memory and the CPU.
2. Memory. The Acer 1410 has 2 memory slots, each accepting a module up to 2gb. So, the maximum memory is 4gb. (Twice the amount in a netbook). Per the Acer website, it should come with one 2gb module, and a free slot. Actually, mine came with two 1gb modules (no free slot). Although this won’t immediately affect performance, should I later decide to upgrade, I will need to buy two modules, doubling the cost. I have contacted Acer about this, requesting that they send me a 2gb module. I will edit this review should I get a favorable response. Given the fact that they've changed the specifications on their web-site in the past two days, since I've complained, I'm not optimistic.
3. CPU The Acer 1410 comes with one of two CPUs, the Celeron 743 (a single core chip, clocked at 1.3ghz), and the Celeron SU2300 (a dual core chip clocked at 1.2ghz). Most netbooks come with the Intel Atom, clocked at 1.6 or 1.66ghz.
This is one of the confusing parts about buying computers. While, as a general rule, faster clock speed is better. It’s far from the whole story. Techie reviews suggest that the SU2300 is about 3x as fast as the Atom in most netbooks, and the 743 is about twice as fast as the Atom.
The extra speed of either the 743 or the SU2300 chip is considered major. Essentially, the net book is considered to be a word processing machine, ill-suited for other tasks. The Acer 1410 is considered to be a full featured (albeit bare bones).
Where will you notice this: housekeeping tasks, such as virus scans will be quicker, programs will download quicker and run quicker, many programs will not run well at all on an Atom-powered net-book, but will run easily on this machine. When combined with the graphics set, more videos and graphics-based applications will run on this machine.
Additionally, the Acer 1410 (with either processor) is a 64-bit machine, and it comes with the 64 bit version of Windows 7. There are not a lot of 64 bit programs out there now (and to be honest, if you were using 64 bit software you’d probably want a more powerful machine) but for what it’s worth, the technology in this computer is a step ahead of netbooks.
Ultimately, this means that the Acer 1410 is considered a different, higher class of machine than the netbook. I don’t mean this as a knock of the netbook, and many have concluded that these machines meet all their needs. However, given that there is no real price difference between the two, unless you need the extra battery life, it seems that the extra computing power cannot hurt.
Choosing between the two Acer 1410 models is somewhat more difficult. Techies will tell you that the Dual Core SU2300 is far superior to the 743. However, the 743 comes with a larger (250gb) hard drive. (the SU2300 So, it comes down to a little extra speed, vs a bit 50% more storage. Most techies will recommend opting for the speed, and this is the way I went. Since this will not be my main computer, I don’t think I’ll need the extra HD space, so I think it was the right choice, but it’s something to consider.
4. Screen/Video. Graphics are provided through the Intel GMA 4500HMD graphics chipset. This is an integrated chipset (meaning it uses some of the system memory for graphics -- another reason to upgrade). While not as good as most stand-alone graphics cards, this is one of the newer, better integrated boards and the set has won generally favorable reviews. You probably won’t be happy with graphics intensive gaming, but for everything else, this will be fine.
The screen is an 11.6” diagonal using a 9x16 ratio (to help you visualize, new HD televisions have this ration as opposed to the older model tvs, which are a 4x3 ratio) with maximum resolution of 1366x768.
I find the screen to be crisp, and for text to be very readable. However with this size screen and resolution, text can be small, so, depending on the user’s eyesight, you may have to enlarge type.
Using a web browser, in general, the entire width of a screen will fit, but some scrolling may be necessary for the length of screens. Overall, the view (I.e., amount of text, graphics, Website, etc) on this screen is very similar to my 19” desktop, which has 1280 x 768 resolution, though everything is much smaller. The takeaway point -- how much you get on the screen is a function of resolution. The size of the image, print, etc, is a function of the screen size.
I’ve tested the screen/graphics on Hulu, and was very happy. It should be fine for movies of 720p or possibly higher.
The screen is a major upgrade over most netbooks (10.1” -- 1024x600 resolution). Fromwhat I’ve read, video viewing is spotty especially with movies in higher resolution (note that the new Windows 7 basic for laptops does not even come with a video viewer -- it’s Microsoft’s little hint). Though many users have indicated that they are happy with u-tube viewing or movies on the netbooks.
Features
Ok, we’re familiar with the look and feel of the Acer 1410, let’s move on to the features and performance.
1. DVD-DVD recorder. Briefly put, there isn’t one. This is common in ultra-portables and netbooks. What it means, is you’ll probably have to buy an external unit (about $50), most of which are plug and play. The same will be true for every netbook. Although an extra cost, it’s hard to say it’s a disadvantage. If you added DVD, you’d have a much heavier unit, and lightweight is the whole point of this kind of machine. But, don’t be surprised.
2. Bluetooth. Also missing from this machine. Not a major issue, as bluetooth dongles are available very inexpensively (less than $5, delivered from Amazon Market place -- so one might say shockingly inexpensive.)
3. Battery life. Here is the one drawback of the Acer 1410 vs a netbook. Netbooks with 6 cell batteries, are often rated at 8-9 hours. The Acer 1410 is rated at 6 hours. So far, this seems like a fairly honest rating. I’d say 5 hours plus or minus with normal use -- word processing, some web surfing. However, I haven’t been using the power management tools, so I think that ‘up to 6 hours’ is achievable if you work at it. Of course, power heavy applications graphics, lots of accessing the hard drive, etc. will drain the battery. (One of the freeware battery test programs, which are known for draining batteries under extreme circumstances gave me 3 hours 15 minutes of battery life. The software description indicates that it would be surprising if you didn't get significantly longer life than the test, and that this result should be considered a minimum) The battery is sufficient for my uses, so overall, this is a very livable compromise.
4. Sound. In front of the unit, there are two speakers, which purportedly have dolby sound. In quick tests, I find it’s fine for watching shows on Hulu, but not pleasurable for listening to music. I would recommend traveling with a good pair of earbuds. Not a particular negative here, since I’ve never found built in laptop speakers that I think are acceptable.
5. Windows 7 Premium Home Edition. I think the factor which defines whether something is a netbook or a notebook is whether it ships with Windows 7 Basic, or a higher version. Most netbooks bypassed Vista altogether and used XP home until the new Windows 7 Basic came out. Essentially, 7 Basic is a version of Windows that has some of the features stripped out so that it can run on machines with less computing power. To be honest, I think a stripped down operating system is an excellent idea, and I’m sure it will meet the needs of most people. However, the Home Premium upgrade contains many of the features and toys that MS is advertising these days, so presumably this will be of value to many.
Conclusion
The Acer 1410 costs $399. This is squarely in the price range of most net books. However, with the Acer 1410, you receive (1) more memory (2) larger keyboard (3) better graphics (4) more computing power (5) upgraded operating system. Factor in what it would cost to buy the extra gig of memory and the upgrade to Windows 7, and this product is, in fact a better machine at a lower cost. The downside is that you will lose an hour or so of usable battery life. For some, this downside will be a deal killer. For anyone else, buying the Acer 1410 over a netbook may be an obvious choice. If you are even considering a netbook computer -- this should be on the list of machines to check out.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399 Operating System: Windows Processor: Intel Celeron Processor speed: over 1000 Screen Size: 11 inches RAM: More than 256 Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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