Being an enthusiastic MS member and connected to the virtual world, I cannot justify if I miss reviewing my laptop which also doubles up as my second best trusted partner (hehe!)
I'm talking about my Acer Aspire 4520 which has completed 1.5 years with me(got it on Aug 2007). Before purchasing, opinion from everyone was either HP, Compaq, Sony, Dell or any other but never Acer. Infact even I had not heard about it much and Acer was never so popular then.
just fyi-As of early 2008, Acer ranks as the world's No. 3 vendor for total PCs and No. 2 for notebooks, with the fastest growth among the top-five players. But I'm a guy who always wants the best Value for money and dont mind which manufacturer gives me that. After setting my budget for a modest 35K this laptop was the best bang for buck I could get.
A look at its features-
Specifications:
-AMD Turion 64 dual core TK-53 (1.70 GHz 256 KB L2 cache)
-Linux OS
-1GB DDR2 667 MHz RAM
Nvidia GeForce 7000M (256 MB of system memory)
Nvidia nForce 610M (MCP67-MV)
Storage:
160GB SATA HDD (5, 400 rpm)
8x Super Multi Dual Layer DVD Writer
I/O Devices:
14.1" WXGA Acer CrystalBrite TFT LCD (1280x800-pixel resolution)
Standard keyboard with 88 keys
Touchpad pointing device with 4-way scroll button and 3 buttons
Display panel embedded Web Cam (1.3 MP!)
Communication:
Modem: 56K Internal Modem
10/100 Gigabyte Ethernet LAN
802.11 b/g WLAN
Integrated Bluetooth 2.0+EDR Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN)
I/O Ports:
4 x USB 2.0 Ports
Card Reader 4 in 1 (SD, MMC, MS, MS Pro)
1 VGA Port
S-Video TV out Port
Express Card Slot
IEEE 1394 Port mini
Audio System:
Realtek High Definition Audio
Built-in speaker and microphone
Microphone-in jack
Headphone-out jack (S/PDIF)
Line-in jack
Power Specifications:
Battery: Sanyo 44.4W 4, 000 mAh 6-cell Li-ion battery pack
Backup Time: 2.5-hour battery life (personally tested and tried too!)
Dimensions:
Size: 342 (W) x 247 (D) x 35/38 (H) mm
Weight: 2.48 kg
Goodies:
Complimentary Leather carry case, laptop mouse, Philips headphones.
All the above for a cool Rs. 30, 500 only!!! (mind u these features 1.5 yrs back in other brands were not less than 42-45K)
Now my experience with this baby-
Looks: (7/10)
Quite unconventional to say the least! when u observe that the design is rounded at all the edges giving it a wide flattened Black PEBBLE look! with a jet black lid and underpanel.
However the complete whitey cream colored keyboard (yes wierd!) did make me look elsewhere but I swallowed the pill and still got it!
Its looks are either hate it or love it, and over this period I have come to live with it. Still my roomy to this day asks if I'm playing with my laptop or playing in my laptop!!!!
However it may go well with females if brought out in softer colors as it has that cute appearance! :-)
Ergonomics: (10/10)
The volume control, headphone jack, main power indicator, battery indicator, bluetooth switch, wifi modem button are all in front of u, the usb ports, charge point, card reader and video output are on the sides and hence, u do not have to reach under or behind the display for these.
Pretty good layout of keyboard, good feedback, responsive trackpad and easy to reach controls are just perfect with this piece. I'm totally satisfied on this front and no complaints. the Web cam integrated and placed on top of the display is a very neat experience during chats and video conferencing.
Usability: (7/10)
Being not so featherweight, prolonged use on the lap will cause u to feel its weight and it starts becoming a tabletop from a laptop! Hence carrying it around places too is not a heavenly experience.
Not to mention the exhaust vents are behind the display side and the AMD dual processor though powerful lets of a lot of heat sooner than u can imagine (no overheating issues whatsoever though!) Talk about a hot laptop!
Durability: (9/10)
This laptop amazes me in the way it works! Even after thorough (ab)use (thats why I wanted a low value tough laptop) it has not failed.
Trust me I have literally kept the laptop running continously on since the day I have purchased it (take away a couple weeks of shutdown but thats it!), The reason being it is used by my other 2 roomies too, for gaming, movies, net, and complete nights for download sessions! so its never free or never switched off. I am also surprised as to how the battery is still holding out as it is mostly on complete charge while running, but it has also gone through many hundred recharge cycles.
To be frank I was hoping my torturous antics would take a toll on the battery life and It would conk off by 10-11 months and I would then get a replacement in the warrantee period ;-)..alas! it its still working and still gives me about 2 hours of normal running time! (wow just marvelous!)
Acer guys have proven to me that they too build quality stuff!
Performance: (9/10)
Can a low budget laptop which is tough, also be a gaming machine!?? Astonishingly YES!!! the Nvidia GeForce 7000M (256MB) chipset handles the low end and mid range performance games coolly! have played GTA3, Farcry, Doom3, All need for speed series (barring prostreet), Unreal tournament 2004, Quake 4, many more (of course not on the very best graphic settings and smoothest frame rates)
The storage space of 160GB is adequate for making it a multimedia store also! and the dual layer dvd writer adds icing on the cake(yes u can write 8GB dvd discs too!!!) web cam is pretty clear and pleasant to use with few lags.
Screen is of perfect resolution for a 14.1" display and crisp and bright. However the only flaw I could see was that black tones are not reproduced accurately.
Service and Support: (Not Applicable!)
Cant say much about it now as I had no reason to call them up! My laptop runs and works perfectly still after 1 1/2 yrs! however just out of curiosity tried to reach them up and somebody picked but I simply disconnected. So I guess that they are around to help if needed.
Value for Money: (9/10)
I would have given it 10/10 if they would have provided a bare bones XP OS (for a little bit more of course!) but other than that there is no reason to complain and no competition in market for the amount u get it in. A 5 star all-rounder I should say.
