Your next laptop to consider

Buying a new laptop is always a roller coaster for me. The typical cycle has been between 3 to 5 years and the changes in technology during these breaks always made me work to make the next right decision. Being in the software business I had the opportunity to use a whole array of different brands and configurations although admittedly never got to use Apple iBook. But the story I wanted to share with you today is the amazing rise of Acer that seem to be everywhere these days.

 

I remember how we used to carry heavy desktop to do customer demonstrations always hoping that the resolution will work on their monitors or projectors. Somewhere around 1994 I started using laptop as my main computer and the relationship has always been a purely business one. I agreed to treat my laptop well and in return I was hoping it will last at least 3-4 years without ruining my days with crashes and repairs.  But there was nothing exciting about them. 

 

My first IBM laptop had to be around 11 pounds and combined with its power cord, the bag and all papers in it I was really not looking forward to travel with it. The battery did not last for more than 2 hours and in 6 months was not really usable. In the next 10 years I went through a Dell, a Compaq (remember this one?), an HP, a Gateway, and used Toshiba and Sony. Yes, the weight went down to about 8 pounds, the speakers improved and screens became brighter but I still felt these were all work horse computers to get but with nothing much to brag about.

I started looking for another laptop last summer after my HP Pavilion of 5 years decided that it’s LCD screen replaced 3 years ago under warranty had enough. During the time I had my HP and another Dell many shifts happened in the PC industry. There were no IBM Thinkpads anymore, there was no Compaq and no Gateway. Sony made itself look like Apple and Toshiba was taking premium for its reputation of quality. So what was I to do?

 

I first noticed Acer’s advertising in one of the glossy magazines. 8 hour batter life - really? Thing and light - well, I will believe it when I see it. Durable materials, full keyboard, cool operation? Well, I had to buy a ventilating pad to cool off my Dell Latitude when the CPU went to 100% during the summer months in Boston. So upon further investigation and after reading many excited reviews I made the leap and bought Acer Timeline 5810tz with 15.6 inch display, 3GB o RAM and 320 GB drive.

 

This is probably the first time in my professional carrier when I can tell that everything those ads were saying  was indeed true. First thing I noticed was how quiet this laptop is. You don’t hear the vent and it does not really get warm. With 15.6 inches it weighs just above 5 pounds, it is very slim yet I don’t get the feeling that the screen will start moving like a drunken walk as it happened with my both Dell and HP I used before. The batter indeed runs for 8 hours. You can watch couple of movies, do some MS Office work and still have some juice left. 

 

In its January 18 issue Fortune magazine’s Jessi Hempel puts Acer share of the personal computer market at 14%. For me it was another confirmation that commitment to quality pays off in the long run. If you are looking to buy a laptop any time soon you will do yourself good by considering Acer.

Comments: 0; Published: January 19, 2010; Permalink

Tags: Buyers,new technologies