Timeline 4810T

asininity

Ok having been looking for a new laptop I thought I'd found one namely the samsung Q310, but having been on trusted reviews I spotted the samsung Q320 which while being under spec'd compared to the Q310 got better reviews. But the Q320 mentioned the Acer Timeline 4810T. This laptop is very good,and imo beats the Mac Book Air.

What do you guys think?

Marty_J

All the Acer Timeline 4810T has going for it is a long battery life. Aside from that, it's pretty indistinguishable from the multitude of box-shifter laptops. You might as well just go into PC World, close your eyes, and pick something.

You'd have to be huffing on glue though to think it "beats" the MacBook Air, which is the most beautiful computer ever designed, bar none.

Bowling_4_Gold

The mousepad is pretty much the same as "Mac's" which leads me to believe and deem it to be another cheap immitation, but it looks soo thin! and 8+ hours of battery life!

I would definately say it is a serious contender in the 'slimmest, fully-featured laptop' hunt, perhaps a little lower than parralel to Macbook Air. The greatest thing I can see is the fact it runs Windows instead of Mac which, to people such as myself who are not familiar with the 'other' OS, is a huge advantage. I agree with Marty that the Macbook air was beautifully designed, but so is this.

Marty_J

The MacBook Air can run Windows, so there goes that argument.

The Acer isn't in the same league when it comes to design though, which is hardly surprising, and it's a full 1 cm thicker and almost a half a kilogram heavier.

They're both very different computers, and despite the Acer Timeline's pretensions to being small and lightweight, it's not really that small, and it's not really that lightweight.

I'm not saying it's a bad computer, but it's not a MacBook Air.

Asininity, what are you looking for in a laptop? You've mentioned before that you prefer cheaper models, so why not just buy a cheap one?

Bowling_4_Gold

Marty_J wrote: »

The MacBook Air can run Windows, so there goes that argument.

But why would you pay in excess of £1,000 for a machine just so you can fork out an extra £100 to install a completely different piece of software, just because it 'looks nice' when you can get a decently specked laptop which has some very nice design features for less than £750? Its just silly IMO, but if youre rich enough, go ahead.

I'm not saying it's a bad computer, but it's not a MacBook Air

No, but for £750 its a brilliant piece of kit.

asininity

Why so defensive marty? IMO it does beat the macbook air. It has a dvd drive, its cheaper by a long way, its got better specs or specs on par, the cpu and graphics are very energy efficeint, nearly twice the battery life on a normal hard drive and over twice that on an SSD, and it can handle HD just about.

I want a light weight computer thats quite powerful and doesn't cost too much.

Marty_J

I don't mean to be defensive, I just don't think it beats the MacBook Air. The MacBook Air's raison d'etre is to be really thin and light, and it does these things much better than the Acer. It's also not totally outdone - it does have a faster processor with a larger L2 cache and a faster frontside bus, which in the Acer unfortunately cripples its 1066MHz DDR 3 RAM.

If I were in the market for a really thin laptop, I'd be prepared to pay a premium for the MacBook Air as it's so extraordinarily thin; if you haven't seen one in the flesh, you really should, they really are stunning. Unlike the MacBook Air, I don't think the Acer is so thin or lightweight that it justifies the premium they're charging for it, and I'm sure you could get an equivalently spec'd machine for less that wouldn't be too much heavier. Its battery life is excellent though, if it's as good as they claim.

As for your requirements, it's a bit of a balancing act really. A lightweight computer will be more expensive, and probably less powerful, and a powerful computer will also be more expensive and not as lightweight.

I would just want a laptop to use when away from my desktop, so portability and weight would be the most important considerations for me, but everyone is different.

asininity

Come on lets not pretend that the macbook air is extraordinary.

Stylish yes but really nothing special. The Sony VAIO X505VP did the same in 2004 and if I was going to pay a premium I'd probably go for something from the Sony TZ range.The air is a little rubbish functionally, it dont even have firewire!!! No point in a portable laptop you cant do anything with.

I want a bigger screen otherwise I might as well stick with my netbook. The processor is fine I have no idea why they put 1066 ram when the cpu isnt that fast though the chipset supports 1066.

Gestures on a touch pad seems a bit of a gimmick to me but it makes zooming and scrolling easier which the acer will have. To do what I want I need a dvd drive. I'd like to probably connect more than one usb device to it at the same time occassionally and I'd like to use a wired connection if wireless isnt avaliable. Normally on a laptop I like to be able to change the battery too (though this shouldn't be a problem on this acer).

asininity

Bowling_4_Gold wrote: »

But why would you pay in excess of £1,000 for a machine just so you can fork out an extra £100 to install a completely different piece of software, just because it 'looks nice' when you can get a decently specked laptop which has some very nice design features for less than £750?

Not to mention you'd have to buy an external dvd drive to install it too.

Marty_J

asininity wrote: »

Come on lets not pretend that the macbook air is extraordinary.

Stylish yes but really nothing special. The Sony VAIO X505VP did the same in 2004 and if I was going to pay a premium I'd probably go for something from the Sony TZ range.The air is a little rubbish functionally, it dont even have firewire!!! No point in a portable laptop you cant do anything with.

I want a bigger screen otherwise I might as well stick with my netbook. The processor is fine I have no idea why they put 1066 ram when the cpu isnt that fast though the chipset supports 1066.

Gestures on a touch pad seems a bit of a gimmick to me but it makes zooming and scrolling easier which the acer will have. To do what I want I need a dvd drive. I'd like to probably connect more than one usb device to it at the same time occassionally and I'd like to use a wired connection if wireless isnt avaliable. Normally on a laptop I like to be able to change the battery too (though this shouldn't be a problem on this acer).

Well, I have never seen an Acer, that to put it frankly, wasn't a total piece of crap. They're creaky, not very well put together, they are made from some sort of plastic that is designed to crack at the slightest provocation, the keyboards are horrible to type on, they're really noisy, and they aren't terribly reliable. In short, they radiate cheapness and shoddy construction from every ill-fitting component. Find a store that has both Apple and Acer computers in stock, and examine them closely. That's the difference between a really well designed and built machine, and an Acer.

My parents have an Acer, and I loathe it with a passion. I really do. If I saw someone buying an Acer in a store, I would tackle them to the ground and restrain them until the urge passed.

To compare one to a MacBook Air, is to compare Tesco Extra Value toilet tissue (with added sandpaper), to new Andrex double quadruple quilted self-refrigerating toilet tissue with Aloe Vera and Camomile. Sure, both get your bottom clean, but that's where the similarity ends.

But, if you want an Acer, then go ahead and get one. It takes all sorts to make a world, and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it. You seem to have been satisfied with them in the past, so I'm sure you will be in the future too.

asininity

Marty_J wrote: »

Well, I have never seen an Acer, that to put it frankly, wasn't a total piece of crap. They're creaky, not very well put together, they are made from some sort of plastic that is designed to crack at the slightest provocation, the keyboards are horrible to type on, they're really noisy, and they aren't terribly reliable. In short, they radiate cheapness and shoddy construction from every ill-fitting component. Find a store that has both Apple and Acer computers in stock, and examine them closely. That's the difference between a really well designed and built machine, and an Acer.

Wow what a tirade. Macbook Air aren't very well thought out are they, sure made of aluminium and thin good to look at but not much else. Out of all apples products these are the epitome of a gimmick, and really are only fit for one thing trying to look cool in starbucks. Style over function.

I was in PC world the other day, looking at acers and samsungs out of the three I'd say apple came last due to them not being able to do as much for twice the price.

My parents have an Acer, and I loathe it with a passion. I really do. If I saw someone buying an Acer in a store, I would tackle them to the ground and restrain them until the urge passed.

Its a good job I buy my stuff online then and good on your parents.

To compare one to a MacBook Air, is to compare Tesco Extra Value toilet tissue (with added sandpaper), to new Andrex double quadruple quilted self-refrigerating toilet tissue with Aloe Vera and Camomile. Sure, both get your bottom clean, but that's where the similarity ends.

Having been in the army I can appreciate your analogy. But think that in the case of the macbook air the difference is, the whilst you get a full roll of cheap toilet paper in the acer, you get one sheet of Andrex double quadruple quilted self-refrigerating toilet tissue with Aloe Vera and Camomile and thats got a hole in the middle covering 60% of the surface. This obviously pointing to the missing functionality and features that make it pretty useless.

But, if you want an Acer, then go ahead and get one. It takes all sorts to make a world, and I'm sure you'll be very happy with it. You seem to have been satisfied with them in the past, so I'm sure you will be in the future too.

I might even buy it from a store too cos I know I can out run those unfit sweaty slightly over weight turtle neck wearing macheads waiting to rubgy tackle me at the door.:rotfl: