Laptop computers

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40 of 40 people found the following review helpful.
Powerful, Ultrathin, and Ultra lightweight
By Luke
The Acer Aspire 1551-4755 is a powerful, lightweight netbook. It combines the best of both worlds: it is more powerful than the average netbook, but it is cheaper, thinner, and lighter than the average laptop. In fact, for this price, there isn't a more powerful or more mobile computer on the market. If you are looking for something small to carry around campus or to the office, this is a great compute

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PROS:
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1. Very thin and lightweight. This is the biggest reason I bought this netbook. It's actually thinner and lighter than other netbooks, despite having a larger screen. The battery also fits within the chassis, whereas most other netbooks require the battery to protrude out (very ugly!). This computer has a very streamlined, professional appearance, and is easy to carry.

2. It's powerful enough to play casual games (The Sims 3), and even some more intense games (World of Warcraft). It also has the resolution to play HD videos, and the hdmi port gives the option to stream video to your HDTV. HD video is very rare among netbooks, and an hdmi port is even rarer. This is a big bonus if you like to stream Netflix but don't want to buy an expensive player.

3. The higher resolution and larger screen is also handy for web browsing and paper writing. I had a 10" netbook before this one, and I very much appreciate the size increase. At the same time, I didn't want too large of a laptop, since mobility is crucial, too. This computer strikes a perfect balance.

4. Windows 7 Home Premium. May seem like a generic thing to point out, but almost every other netbook uses Windows 7 Starter. The Starter version of Windows 7 lacks several important features behind the scenes, and a few upfront, too. For example, Windows 7 Starter DOES NOT let you change your desktop background; you are stuck with a boring Win7 logo. This Acer comes with the FULL version of Windows 7 with all the regular home features. This alone is worth $80.

5. The machine is generally very quiet. You will only hear the fans kick in when the machine is really stressed, and even then, the fans are quiet. The loudest part of the entire computer is the hard-drive spinning. It sounds like a quiet grasshopper or cicada. It doesn't happen frequently, but it is higher pitched than most hard drive noises. You can only hear it when the computer is held at certain angles; it's generally not audible when resting on a desk or lap. Fortunately, the hard drive is not a permanent part of the computer. Acer was nice and made the chassis easy to open, and thus the hard drive is easy to upgrade and replace (I suggest a "Solid State Drive" when you can afford it. They save battery and are 100% quiet.)

6. The keyboard is sturdy and comfortable. A problem with thin computers is the tendency for "keyboard flex," meaning the computer caves in when keys are pressed. It can be downright annoying, and worse, cause keys to erroneously register. This Acer has a sturdy chassis with no keyboard flex. Even hammering the keys produces a solid response. The keyboard is also in the "island" or "chiclet" style that is becoming popular, but the keys are more packed together than your average island board. I would have preferred the spacing of a true island keyboard, but this one is still nice and easy to write full papers with.

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CONS:
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1. The trackpad is on the small side. The brushed aluminum feel is also a little resistant when moving vertically. It takes time to adjust. It's not the worst trackpad in the world, but you may want to invest in a good wireless mouse.

2. The battery life is on the short side. This is the trade off for having a bigger screen and more power than the average netbook. Netbooks are infamous for having 8-10+ hours of battery life. This netbook will have about half that when used for normal tasks, and less when used for games. 4-5 hours is plenty for an evening of studying, but if you want to go the whole day without charging, you will need to look elsewhere. Fortunately, the AC adapter is small and lightweight. When on the go, I keep the netbook in a carrying case for protection, and I keep the AC adapter in one of the case pockets. This is an easy solution to low battery life. There is no easy solution to low performance (as found in other netbooks). Pick the lesser of the evils.

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OVERALL:
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I recommend this product to anyone that is seeking an affordable, mobile computer with more horsepower and video resolution than the average netbook. I strongly recommend considering the video resolution when picking between netbooks. It's just not worth using a little netbook for productive or entertainment reasons. If you want a computer for more than browsing the web, then this Acer will give you everything you want in a netbook, plus everything else, all for a price much less than an average laptop.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful.
Blown away..
By Kristen Sharpe
I purchased this laptop three days ago, just got it this morning, and so far it's wonderful. This is my first-ever laptop, and I spent a lot of time researching the perfect one for me. Thank you so much to the K.McDowell, who's review sold me on this buy.
Here are my pros/cons:

Pros:
Great look;not a fingerprint magnet,thank goodness. Fingerprints all over everything annoy more that it should.
Ultra Portable; Slim and light, big enough for movies but small enough to fit in my purse, perfect on the go laptop.
Windows 7 home premium; I absolutely LOVE this os. I couldn't ask for anything better.
Keyboard is great, having to adjust to it, but that's fine.
Runs very quiet, I can't hear a thing.
Multi-gesture mouse thing is pretty awesome! I love this feature, and it sure does come in handy.

This unit seems to be very cool. I haven't had problems with my hands getting hot while I type. Occasionally the bpttom will get heated when I'm all cozy in my bed, but I can hold it up to my bedside lamp and it will cool off within a minute or two(while the laptop is still up and running).

250 HDD, plenty of space for me, and then some. I wasn't looking to replace my desktop, but I could use this for almost everything that I could possibly need

Memory is expandable which you won't find a lot in smaller computers. It came pre-installed with 3GB, plenty enough to run Windows 7 and then some. Expandable memory up to 4GB, really not bad AT ALL considering the size of the computer.
Netbook size without the hassle and slow quality of smaller models. The specs on this model are MUCH better.

HDMI port is AWESOME! I can easily hook this computer up to the tv and display netflix or whatever I need.

Basically, this computer has everything I could need and then some. Again, VERY satisfied.
Cons: Battery life isn't quite as advertised. I've had it up and running since 12:30 cst, it's now 4:42. Guess this is okay, seeing how it is so small and lightweight, can't expect it to be a miracle worker.

Fingerprints on the screen are easily seen in outdoor lighting, but they are easy to clean off with a paper towel.

No DVD/CD drive, BUT.. this is okay with me. I knew beforehand that there wasn't one. I do not use the cd/dvd drive often anyways.

No other cons, I will be updating this if and when I have any other cons to talk about.

I REALLY do recommend this computer to anyone who needs it for simple use: School, Netflix, internet browsing, email, etc. Not for people who are heavy gamers or people who will need to be running many rather large files at once. So far so good, no problems here. This is a super portable computer and it is easy to carry with you. I just stick it in my purse and go as I please.

***UPDATE***

So, I accidentally tripped and fell, being the klutz that I am. Ironically, I fell off of my bed while holding this computer open and my knee landed FORCEFULLY into the screen. Needless to say it is quite painful.. the screen did this "bendy" thing, but so far the computer is fine.. I just hope it stays that way. As for me, I now know not to try and walk with anything in my hands anymore. So if all continues to go well, this little baby has withstood my bad luck. I'd say it's a sturdy model. :)

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful.
This is great!!!!
By K. Mcdowell
OK, I am not really computer literate but I can do what needs to be done. I did not want a heavy computer. My last laptop was a toshiba satelite but boy was it heavy. This little thing weighs 3 lbs. I love the full key board since I do type reports. I LOVE all the little features. Its fast, dependable, and did I say light weight. We purchased the little Acer aspirea netbook for $248 as an extra computer for my husband just to surf and look around. He loves his and we were quite amazed at what you got for $248. That is why we decided to go with the Acer again. I can't imagine someone not liking this. Setup was done in 10 minutes and your ready to go. Of course I know people do several different things and have different expectations but for me this is great. I surf, do reports, download pics, do alot of business and this is quite fast. I know some people have to find something wrong, And write about RAM and all of that. Which as soon as I start reading a review and see that I automatically skip to the next. Hope this helps and I would again....highly recommend this laptop/netbook.