I keep checking out the Netbooks that come into the hardware lab where I work, looking for something to replace a cheap one I bought for my kids to play with, but they all just seem too small. As a result I've been poking around the high-end of the Netbook spectrum / low end of the Ultra-portable spectrum for something more usable. The Acer Aspire 1410 series does a great job of bridging the gap between small low cost "Netbooks" and more expensive "Ultra-portables" (which is what Acer classes this as). It manages to overcome many of the short comings of Netbooks without getting anywhere near the $1000+ price range of most ultra-portables. It has a few drawbacks, notably material quality: like a lot of Acer products the plastic molding is attractive and the tolerances are tight. However the quality of the plastic is more in line with what you would expect with a Netbook (which is to say it is lower density plastic and more likely to scratch or break). To me it's reasonable that the overall component quality is lower than what I would get if I spent $1000 (display not as nice, finish not as refined, buttons not as responsive, etc...). Still, overall this is a well put together computer with good build quality considering the price. While I didn't end up buying one myself if might be the right fit for you: if you are on a budget and you need a small laptop that can do more than browse web pages this would be a very good choice.
Let's go over the specs:
CPU: The Core 2 ULV SU3500 is a great CPU choice and far more powerful than the Atom CPU found in most Netbooks. This is a single core (as opposed to the two core "Core2 Duo") Ultra Low Voltage cpu running at 1.4GHz. Depending on the exact application this CPU is about 3-6x more powerful than the typical Atom Processor. It also has 3 MB of cache (cache is a form of on-chip high speed memory) vs the Atom's 512 KB. With 6x the cache of the Atom this CPU is going to spend a lot more time running instructions and a lot less time waiting on the memory sub-system. It also helps that the Core 2 ULV SU3500 memory bus is about 25% faster than what you will find on an Atom. The Core2 is technically more power hungry than the Atom but when running applications the difference isn't significant (5 watts for the Core2 vs 1.5 watts for Atom). The main difference happens when in standby or sleep mode where the Atom will use much less power than the Core2 (because the kind of transistors on the Atom "leak" less power than those used on the Core2 when in those modes). So if you need long battery life while carrying your computer around in standby with brief periods of activity you might prefer the Atom based Netbooks (say for sales calls on the road). I think most users will probably prefer the Core2 I know that I do. Update: there may be a dual core version of this coming out soon. It's on the list to arrive where I work but that doesn't mean it will be sold in the US.
MEMORY: 2GB of DDR2 RAM is plenty and the 667Mhz memory speed is good enough (faster notebooks go up to 1066Mhz). This system runs Vista which is more memory hungry than the Windows XP or Linux found on most Netbooks so 2GB, while enough, doesn't go as far as you might think. Still, as long as your aren't planning on doing any really serious gaming 2GB will handle the typical office application with no troubles.
HDD: The 250GB HDD has plenty of storage given that most users don't use more than 50GB. Serious gamers and video encoders will need a lot more space than this.
DISPLAY: The 11.6" 1366x768 screen looks good and is a lot more useable than the 8-10" screens found on most Netbooks. The resolution is much better than what you will find on most Netbooks and it is reasonably bright (200 nits vs 300+ nits on higher end laptop). I passed on this model because the viewing angle is limited (the manufacturer list the viewing angles as 60vert/90horiz compared to 120v/140h on a high end display) and my sons like to sit with me and watch YouTube videos. The limited viewing angles might be a selling point for somebody traveling who would prefer not to share what's on their screen with others. So while Acer clearly saved some money here it's still a good display: unless you need a really high quality LCD I think most people will be pretty happy with this screen (again it's far better than what you'll find in most Netbooks). For those few who care it's made by AU Optronics and I think it's model B116XW01.
GRAPHICS: The Intel Mobile GMA X4500HD graphics won't impress any gamers but if you're running business applications it will do just fine. Update: they loaded Autocad on this thing at work and it wasn't pretty. It might have been a driver issue but the render times were terrible. It's not really a surprise but don't buy this to run your CAD software. Of course for most users this won't be an issue.
AUDIO: notebooks are not known for great speaker sound and this notebook doesn't break from that trend. Again it's better than most Netbooks but not by a lot. Update: With headphones on I found the sound to be fine.
DRIVES: Like most Netbooks and Ultra-portables this has no CD or DVD drive. I recommend buying an external CD Drive. The software industry may start to switch over to USB drives soon (Windows 7 will be sold on USB drives) so this may not be a big deal for much longer. Today it's a pain to not have a CDROM.
BATTERY: The 6 cell battery is perfect for this notebook (thanks to the low power components). This notebook is probably too small for an 8 cell to fit cleanly but the 4 cell found in most Netbooks just isn't adequate, even for an Atom CPU. This 6 cell battery will provide about 3-5 hours of real use though with aggressive power saving modes you can get over six hours. Update: we have two of these in our hardware lab and it was just pointed it out to me that one (which came pre-release) had a higher capacity battery than the release version (5600mAH vs. 4400mAH). I've adjusted my battery life numbers down to reflect the release version. Interestingly the non-US version of this laptop has the higher capacity battery. I can only assume Acer was trying to bring the price down to compete in the tight US netbook market.
WEIGHT: Coming in a 3.1 lbs this is tiny bit heavier than the typical Netbook but not by much (Netbooks will range from 2-3lbs). Most regular notebooks are 6-8 lbs.
WIRELESS: The usual Intel 5100 A/G/N supports the most common standards ("A" and "G") along with the new "N" standard. You should have no trouble connecting to wireless networks. This is pretty standard though a few laptops will support 3G out of the box.
In short: while this notebook isn't perfect it is well built and unlike most Netbooks, actually has a decent CPU. It's small and light but big enough that you can actually use it. If you've got 1K-2K to spend you can get a better Ultra-Portable notebook (I'm partial to Sony's and Apple's offerings in that segment) but in this price range there isn't much competition.
Oh I should note that while this model is dark blue, Acer makes this in two other colors you can buy:
Acer Aspire AS1410-8913 11.6-Inch Ruby Red
Acer Aspire AS1410-8804 11.6-Inch Black
Also if you're outside the US this might be sold as the "Acer Timeline 1810T" locally and may have slightly different specs (such as a better battery).
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This laptop is just by far the best laptop for the overall features.
Pros:
1. Very thin and light. Just a bit bigger than today's netbooks
2. Much faster than Atom based netbooks
3. Bright and large screen with true HD aspect ratio. Very useful resolution.
4. 4g upgradeable memory cap.
5. Great webcam and good microphone
6. Amazing battery life even with Core2solo CPU. Last longer than my other netbook with the same capacity battery.
7. HDMI out! wow
8. Wireless N and Bluetooth
(Edited:8/31/2009) No Bluetooth! My bad assumption from the bluetooth switch and LED indicator on the laptop. Sorry...
9. Multi finger/gesture touch pad like iPhone
10. Very usable keyboard
11. Quiet fan and harddrive
12. It does not get hot like my other netbook
13. Great speakers!
14. Centrino architecture seems to be faster in network response compare to Atom based netbooks
15. Inexpensive for the quality laptop with all the features
16. (Added on 8/29/2009) Spacious 250G HDD
17. (Added on 8/29/2009) Free upgrade to Windows 7 from Acer. Nice! (However, it was little tricky to register using Chrome. I had to use IE. They may have fixed the issue though...)
18. (Added on 8/29/2009) The lid opens up wider (deeper?) than my netbook. This is kind of important to me while using it on my lap.
Cons (I do not really care about these cons, but here they are)
1. Vista. I like XP myself
2. Shiny LCD screen is too reflective. This may be just me.
3. HD movies from Vimeo and Youtube are bit sluggish (not because of network bandwidth. It is more like not enough CPU power for Flash based HD movies.
(Added on 8/29/2009) Even though the movies are cached all the way, the CPU hits 100% with Flash based HD movies. SD movies are just fine. I can kind of watch HD Flash movies better with this laptop than my Atom netbook though.
4. All the pre-installed applications that I removed.
5. My wish for the laptop design to be somewhat like macbook or HP Mini series.
6. I thought the CPU had hyper-threading like Atom. Task manager shows only one thread. I know it is "solo", but Atom shows two threads.
(Added on 8/29/2009) The CPU does not have HT (Hyperthreading). I had some wrong info there. Even without the HT, this little laptop performs much faster than my Atom netbook.
Although I listed cons, they are very least items that I wish for. Of course, It does not perform like Intel i7 CPU based desktops. However, for the size and usability, this is a champ of all laptops and desktop PCs I have ever owned. I will use the i7 desktop for Video and photo editing. That may be only 5% of all my computer usage. The rest, 95% of tasks can be done with this little laptop for me. I cannot talk about the durability yet, but it seems to be well built. Anyway, this is a great laptop with very reasonable price tag!
(Added on 8/29/2009) Some usual stuff that I did to make the laptop even better.
1. Usual Vista tune ups like turning off Aero and other graphic intensive features.
2. Removed many pre-installed apps mainly Office trial and Anti-virus software.
3. Turned off unused start up programs
(Added on 8/30/2009) Some tests
1. HDMI out to HD TV
1080p resolution worked perfect including sound with not much config. 1080 resolution gets everything too small to read for my setup. I switched to 720p. My TV does not adjust automatically, so I had to adjust the size using Intel TV wizard software (This app cannot be used with Dual monitor config. Switching to Digital TV only mode enables it.). I adjusted using the app to 720p. The app works, but the screen refreshes every time the adjustment button was clicked, I had to press the adjustment button very slowly and patiently. When I clicked too fast, the app froze with 100% CPU for a long time like 10 min. I had to restart. Other than that all worked perfect!
2. Web cam and digital microphone using Skype
I wanted a small laptop with webcam, so I can put it right next to my baby and show her to my parents in Japan via Skype. My other netbook kind of worked, but in low light situation, the video was so dark that they could see only my white eyes. Mic was also giving them echo. When I tried with this laptop, it was literary day and night. This laptop webcam is optimized for low light. They could see my baby clearly. The mic was clear and no echo. The only minor issue is that the image is bit white tinted with default setting. My wife thought I was smoking... haha. I had to tweak a bit in config. Nonetheless, the webcam and mic worked great for Skype. FYI: It does not perform like high resolution after market webcams, but the built-in webcam satisfies my needs very well.
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I purchased this laptop after a fair amount of research. I know that I wanted a smaller, portable laptop that we would use for general activities like web surfing, e-mail and the basics. This laptop is packed with an impressive set of specs. The screen was bright and sharp, it loaded up quickly and was quiet a cool running. However, I ended up returning it for a refund because after about a week of use, the touchpad started to become next to impossible to use. It was twitchy from the beginning. When I viewed web sites, it would occasional cause the brower's back button to activate, font sizes to increase or decrease and it almost acted like it had a mind of its own. Despite that we were planning to live with it but when it because next to impossible to use the touch pad, we returned it and will look for a slightly larger screen size. The cover was nice but showed finger prints immediately. Still a great machine for the price and wonderful features but not the right one for me.
Honest reviews on Acer Aspire AS1410-8414 11.6-Inch Sapphire Blue Laptop - 6 Hour
This notebook is one of those instances when you say to yourself, "Wow, it is as good as I expected, and more."
I have refrained from buying a netbook because the low resolution and poor performance prevents me from multi-tab web browsing, not to mention continuous scrolling with Office documents. When I first saw this notebook, I was very excited because it has something the older generation netbooks have lacked:
Decent resolution (1366x768)
Decent performance
Even better battery life (6 hours)
Except, it actually exceeded my expectation.
LCD Screen: Very sharp, and very bright. I am amazed that Acer can squeeze 1366x768 into an 11.6 inch screen, and still keep it so sharp and clear. It is very comfortable to view, and I do not feel any different from viewing my old 14 inch LCD.
Performance: In terms of word processing, web surfing and installing software, it has been as smooth as my old dual-core laptop. This notebook has upgraded the CPU and chipset from the previous generation netbook, which contributes to the performance I am seeing.
Keyboard/touchpad: It's full size keyboard, and it's comfortable to type on. I am still trying to get used to some of the key placement, and the lack of home/end buttons. But it's definitely no worse than my other laptop's keyboard. Acer has also learned the lesson from Aspire 751h, so the touchpad is centered to the touch-typing keyboard, and has two buttons. However, the touchpad edge is difficult to distinguish.
Battery: From what I read, one Acer hour is usually shorter than one Asus hour. This notebook has proven me wrong. I run it on high performance mode, and it still gives me about 6 hours of battery life. Running company VPN and remote desktop seems to reduce it to about 5 hours.
Size: While slightly bigger than the prev-gen netbooks, I don't feel it's bulkier. At 3 lb, it's very light, but can still stand to lose some weight.
Temperature: It doesn't heat up much, you can use it on your lap the whole day.
Other Pros: 250 GB HDD, 2 GB RAM, 1 Gb LAN, 802.11n, webcam, microphone, no-latch lid
Cons:
Lack of separate Home/End buttons. Unfortunately I think most netbooks have to make this sacrifice.
Battery charging is slow (I estimate about 4 hours). On the flip side, the charger is small and light.
Still requires a fan to dissipate heat, albeit quiet.
Others: lacks bluetooth
As I said, the moment I started using it, all I could say was "Wow". I could not believe Acer could come out with something that outshines Asus (and the rest of the computer industry). For all the laptops I have owned (5), none of them have impressed me as much as this one does.
Update 2009-09-07:
I went on a business trip right after getting this laptop. It's proven to be very mobile. I charge the laptop at night, and take it to work with me in the morning, without the charger. The keyboard feels very natural, and overall work is smooth sailing.
At night I use this laptop to play demo games and watch a few videos (I had the foresight to rip a few ISOs). Most DVDs play great, but there was one that does not play smoothly, so I guess it depends on the DVD encoding.
Overall love this laptop's portability. The battery life ensures that the laptop is always ready when I need to use it.
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After using the Acer 1410 for a while now, I feel compelled to write a review.
USAGE: I am college student who takes meticulous notes via OneNote. I have been writing my term papers using Word 2007 on the 1410 and I also find myself using the internet as a supplement to my classes. In short, I use the 1410 constantly. .
SCREEN: The 11.6" inch wide screen is large enough to be usable without long term eye strain, but still small enough to allow the overall size of the laptop to be less than my 5-Star One Subject Notebook! Even though it is a glossy screen, I have not encountered any scenario where it was unusable. Even under the bright fluorescent lights above my desk, the screen is crisp and clear. I imagine most people who find it hard to see don't know how to tilt the lid so the refracted light isn't shining in their eyes.
WEIGHT & SIZE: The overall dimensions of the 1410 are just a fraction longer than a piece of standard paper and also a fraction narrower. As I stated in the screen section, it is smaller in length and width than my notebook. It is also almost as thin as my 5-Star Three Subject Notebook. It weighs less than most of my text books. I find there is no extra strain to carry this in my backpack.
KEYBOARD: The keys are easy to press, however they are not raised much. I found it at first to be a tad difficult to touch type. But, I have since mastered that skill on the 1410. I am torn over the need for the keys to be raised more and the fact that the overall keyboard uses clean and sleek lines. The actual placements of the keys is just fine.
TRACKPAD: I don't use it. I prefer to use a mouse.
PERFORMANCE: I didn't bother to boot into Vista. Instead, I opted to install Windows 7 from a USB thumbdrive. I wiped both partitions and reformatted upon install. From start to finish it took less than 20 minutes, almost completely unattended. After shutting down the Media Player Network Sharing Service, and the Microsoft Search/Indexer Service, the 1410 breezes through everything. Not to sound over dramatic, but it is fast enough that it could easily serve as a desktop replacement for common usages. Obviously you can't do Photoshop, CAD, or 3D Modeling with the 1410, but for most usage, it will perform quite well!
BATTERY: I don't know. I have not had to run on battery yet. My classrooms have all been fitted with more than enough convenient outlets.
EXTRA: I noticed that there is a little led indicator nestled between the wifi, battery and screen ones at the bottom left. It is an indicator for Bluetooth! This would lead me to believe that this feature could be added at a later date with an upgrade.
SUMMARY: MY brother-in-law has one of those run of the mill Netbooks. You know the type: 10" 1GB Memory Atom processor, etc. He let me borrow it while I was "shopping". After using it, I was very much turned off of the Netbooks. They were almost too tiny with no viewing room and worst of all.... uber slow. I almost decided to buy a full size laptop. However, after coming across the 1410, I decided to take a chance. I had hoped it would be a spirited machine that wouldn't leave me frustrated. But I admit, I was skeptical that it wouldn't be much better than the typical Netbook. Needless to say I was quite surprised that the 1410 isn't just a little bit better, but a whole lot better! I guess thats the true advantage of being able to do 4 calculation per cycle as opposed to just 2!
SUMMARY: Buy it. It is beyond worth it, if you are wanting a faster, easier to read, Netbook.
