Acer 1410 Hands-on Review
Here it is: Acer’s very own netbook killer. Hmmm…that doesn’t sound right, after all Acer is the number one seller of netbooks globally. Nevertheless that’s what I believe we’re seeing here and kudos to Acer for giving consumers more options, although to be fair at $449 the 1410 is pricier than a typical netbook.
What makes the 1410 (sold elsewhere as the 1810T) stand out from the netbook crowd? It’s running an Intel Core Solo Ultra Low Voltage (ULV) processor giving superb battery life and decent horsepower, just like the recently released MSI X340 the Lenovo U350 and Dell Inspiron 11z (which actually has a weaker Celeron ULV) . Like those other laptops, the 1410 packs Intel’s GMA4500MHD graphics chipset which is HD capable. This new market sector of ultraportables is not yet named but I’ll call it DNP, or Darn Near Perfect, combining decent power, portability and great battery life.
Other notable specs include 2GB RAM (4GB max), 250GB hard drive and 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N WiFi. Including its six cell battery the 1410 weighs just 3.1lb and offers unplugged runtime of up to six hours according to Acer.
Look & feel
The 1410 sports an 11.6 inch screen so the laptop is pretty small, and although not super-thin at just over one inch thick, it feels slim enough. There’s the usual assortment of ports with the handy addition of HDMI, making it a snap to hook up the 1410 to a home setup for Netflix and the like, for those without an Xbox 360 or internet-enabled TV already serving that purpose.
The chassis feels just OK, with lots of shiny plastic covering the top surfaces. Overall it looks pretty nice. As with many of the recent slew of small plastic notebooks, if you treat them well they should stand the test of time.
There are accessible compartments beneath the 1410 which bodes well for tinkerers, just be careful of those warranty conditions! I also liked the dedicated hardware buttons for turning wireless connections on/off, which is far preferable to the function-key or software implementation on some other laptops.
Playing around
The 1410 also sports Acer’s new Timeline style keyboard. The keys are big, although there’s not much travel and there is a fair amount of flex, but I found it easy to use accurately. The MSI Wind U100 still has the best keyboard feel in the small laptop sector in my opinion. The 1410’s trackpad feels good, and the dedicated left and right buttons are a welcome addition compared to the single bar adorning some modern day laptops.
Unfortunately the screen is a glossy one, which annoyingly reflects light sources making the screen difficult to see sometimes. The 1410’s screen is bright and perfectly usable though as long as the screen is positioned to avoid reflections. I understand that glossy screens look shiny on store shelves, but I’ve never met anyone who liked using them. Hopefully one day they will just go away and we’ll be back to the good ol’ days of matte screens which don’t reflect light so much.
The 1410 ships with Vista Premium, which felt perfectly snappy when moving around the OS. I detected no significant lag in general operation and Windows Media Center opened faster than my Windows 7 version at home on my (very old) living room Pentium 4 single core PC.
Multimedia comparison with the MSI X340
The 1410 has speakers somewhere in that case…let’s just say they’re not the powerful kind. Whilst not entirely unexpected, headphones or an external connection are necessary to get the best out of the 1410. The MSI X340 has more powerful speakers from my time with that laptop.
One of the selling points of the 1410 is it’s GMA4500MHD graphics chipset which promises HD video playback. So I tried the Coral Reef Adventure clips from Microsoft’s HD content showcase. The 1410 handled a 720p clip with no problems, just like the MSI X340. It is really really difficult to see the difference between a 720p and a 1080p clip on an 11.6 inch screen, but for the record the 1410 played the 1080p clip of the same content perfectly. The X340 slowed to an unwatchably slow frame-rate on the 1080p clip.
Is it a keeper?
My overall impressions of the 1410 are extremely positive. It’s netbook sized, but has the horsepower to handle HD video and the battery life to go the distance on a decent length flight. It’s the best of this new breed so far in my opinion; it bests the MSI X340 on video performance, the Dell Inspiron 11z on raw power and pretty much anything decent on price. I have a feeling this could be a big seller for Acer.
Neil Berman
MSI X-Slim: Time for a Slimmed-Down Price?
With Acer’s well-received Timeline series already seeing decent discounting, pressure must be mounting upon MSI’s X-Slim range. Even though the X340 appears to be good value for its handsome exterior and light weight, it’s around $200 more expensive than Acer’s 3810T. Even without the 3810T standing by, it’s hard to imagine the X340 selling well at such a high price given its mediocre press reviews.
At the time of writing there are still only four mixed consumer reviews on NewEgg, whilst the 3810T has nine. Even worse for MSI, the SSD version of the 3810T costs the same as the typical $799 street price of the X340.
Let’s see a price cut MSI, or perhaps at least a 2.0 with a better keyboard?
Neil Berman
MSI X340
Hmm…the eagerly anticipated MSI X340; this one turned out to be a mixed bag. Looks great, feels just OK to hold. Keyboard is big enough, feels just OK to use. Some reviewers have said the keyboard is horrific, it’s not quite as bad as that, but it does flex downward in the center more than it should. The battery is replaceable but is outpaced by the Acer Timeline.
But for $899 it weighs under 3lbs, does HD video, has a bright 13 inch screen and a real-life-useful 1.4GHz Intel CULV processor. That’s a tempting prospect…especially as many retailers are listing it at nearer $799. If you like the form factor and can survive with less power the X320 sports an Intel Atom for $599, but also sacrifices the HD capable graphics chipset.
Crucially is the $899 X340 better than a $999 refurbished MacBook Air Rev A? For HD video, connectivity and battery life I’d say yes; for coolness and build quality probably no. Then there’s also the Acer Timeline series and the semi-light but powerful Acer AS3935-6504 with a 2GHz Core 2 Duo for $899. It’s a difficult, but consumer friendly, choice.
Neil Berman
Laptop prices falling hard
Today’s MacBook price cuts were both welcome and not unique in the current laptop market. Ultraportables and desktop replacements alike have been suffering from netbooks and Intel CULV powered thin ‘n lights pulling down the whole sector.
It’s pretty cool that you can finally get a decently powered 3-4lb laptop with a 13 inch screen for well under $1,000; MSI’s X340 and Acer’s Timeline are good examples. Both are HD video capable and provide enough power for day-to-day computing.
These machines pull down the premium end of the ultraportable market like the Dell Adamo and MacBook Air, which don’t really offer much more hardware than the MSI or Acer. In fact the Dell is probably slower than both. So now we have a $1,499-$1,799 MacBook Air, which is great news for consumers and effectively sets a glass ceiling for ultraportable prices.
At the heavier end of the market 17 inch laptops are under strain from all-in-ones like the Asus EEE Top which are semi-mobile and keenly priced. I found a new Toshiba dual-core T3400 17 inch laptop on Amazon this evening for $529. This thing was fully loaded, you really wouldn’t need much more for a day-to-day desktop replacement…and of course you can install Windows 7 RC and get almost a year of usage before you need to buy a license.
Neil Berman
Update to ‘MSI X340: Now priced-out by the MacBook Air?’ Acer throws an $899 curve ball
Wow this bout just got a whole lot more interesting. After initially pricing the X340 at $1,099 MSI are now listing it at $899…and several mainstream e-tailers are taking orders for $799. That kind of pricing makes the whole proposition turn on its head. Even as a refurb, the MacBook Air Rev A looks too expensive in this company.
On the downside for the X340, initial reviews have been mixed. Praise for its battery life and video performance have been tempered by concerns about chassis quality and a poor keyboard.
There is another curve ball mixing up the X340’s home run plans in the form of Acer’s recently released 13″ AS3935-6504. At 1.3lbs heavier than the X340, it offers a full power P7350 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 3GB RAM, DVD-RW and the same Intel GMA4500MHD 1080-capable GPU. And the Acer looks and feels great.
At 2.9lbs and $799 the X340 would be my choice if running Windows 7 RC, but those needing more power or running the out-of-the-box Vista Home Premium I’d have to recommend the Acer for the greater horsepower. Price/performance-wise the MacBook Air needs to do more to move out third place in this contest. Especially as you could swap out the hard drives in the MSI and Acer with latest gen SSDs and still save megabucks compared to the MBAir.
Neil Berman
iMac Sales Plunge, Apple Slashes Refurb Macbook Air to $1,149
It’s been a week that Apple fans will want to forget. NPD reported that Apple sales for November were flat year on year whilst Windows PCs gained 7%, iMac sales collapsed by 38% whilst Windows desktops fell only 15% and Apple announced that the company will stop attending Macworld after the 2009 show. Apple laptop sales rose 22% compared to 15% for Windows laptops.
What does this mean for Apple? Most likely something needs to be done…and pretty fast. Apple has responded by slashing prices of its refurbished models, a move likely aimed at removing the carrying costs of old inventory. Macbook Airs are available for $1,149 on Apple’s US website at the time of writing. Deep reductions are offered across other lines as well and online stores are offering serious discounts on new models. After a while this discounting could erode the premium perception of the brand and hurt Apple retail store sales, which are typically made at full price.
Netbooks captured the the public's imagination in 2008
This may be a short term band-aid to improve working capital, but Apple needs to look deeper at its product line and offer models at prices which relate to the current economy. The company has been too late in coming to the Netbook market, which exploded with colossal growth this year following the arrival of the Asus EEE in late 2007. Apple needs a Netbook quickly, and it will need to compete with the quality of the MSI Wind, Acer Aspire One and Asus EEE range, which all sell for around $300-400.
Steve Jobs said that “We don’t know how to build a sub-$500 computer that is not a piece of junk.” Well Apple might have to learn how. Five hundred dollars is now premium Netbook territory as prices have been falling throughout 2008.
I expect that if Apple enters the market they would choose the $600-800 range with a couple of configurations. They need this because Macbooks are no longer the coolest laptops to pull out of your bag…Netbooks are. A glance at the Amazon bestseller list shows Netbooks occupying slots which Macbooks used to live in.
The MSI Wind Netbook was one of the most hotly anticipated products of 2008. Can Apple introduce its own competitor to stop the rising Windows sales?
Whilst Macbooks used to be the laptop of choice for Manhattan coffee shop outings, Netbooks now get the curious admiring looks. In an America looking to downsize cars, energy usage and spending, Netbooks are the Prius of today’s laptop showroom.
Clearly the slowdown in the economy has affected Apple as a seller of premium products. It also seems that Apple’s negative advertising campaign throughout 2008 against PCs may have not had the positive sales effect Apple was hoping for. In fact the plunging iMac sales figures indicate that Apple might have done better through a positive campaign promoting the benefits of the iMac compared to Windows desktops. It may be that consumers simply were unable to identify a positive value of spending the extra bucks on an iMac, which is a classic outcome of a negative advertising campaign, unless the competing product is seen as truly worthless. Clearly not the case in this instance as iMac sales plunged 23% more than Windows desktop sales.
Whilst I think Apple will pull through, it needs to revitalize its line-up to be attractive in today’s economy. And hopefully that revitalization effort will give us reasons to buy Macs, instead of reasons not to buy PCs. I want to want Macs for good reasons, not because I’m told the competition is bad.
Neil Berman
Acer Aspire One Review
Following a false start worthy of the Olympics, Acer’s repair shop just delivered me a new Aspire One. My first One must have been so fried that it was not worth repairing, so take two begins…
First impressions are just as before: great ultralight design, perfect keyboard, boots in under twenty seconds…but this time continue beyond five minutes as the WiFi connects swiftly and I’m off surfing in no time. I upgraded to Firefox 3 with this handy guide.
And that’s when it hit me: the One is loading pages faster than anything I own. I’m unable to pin it down to any one system element, but the combination of the Intel Atom, the SSD and Firefox running on Linpus Lite makes the internet scream on this baby. Way faster than my EEE 2G was, no comparison. Firefox’s full screen option makes the experience even better, taking advantage of all 8.9 LED backlit screen inches.
I installed Skype and tried a video call. I told Skype to start video automatically and the webcam worked perfectly. My friend at the other end of the line in Tokyo could hear and see me clearly and I could hear him fine too. Again, the quality of the experience hit my old EEE for a home run…where I tended to reach for my Nokia N810 for Skype due to the 2G’s choppy chatter, the One was clear as a bell and it was handling the video well too.
The One also ships with several installed applications, such as OpenOffice, a media player and photo maanger, which together with the web browser 
may take care of most owners’ needs. Again, OpenOffice opened much faster than on my EEE 2G and saved documents almost instantly. This Linux version running Linpus Lite ships with an 8GB SSD. If you need more storage there are two SD card slots, of which one allows an inserted card to show as a hard drive extension in the file manager. The second slot shows up as removable storage.
Unlike my EEE experience, I have been able to touch type naturally on the One. The keyboard is very usable with everything in the right place. I’ve also found the trackpad to be big enough, as long as you’re a tap-to-click type and not a button pusher. I would like Acer to have implemented a MacBook style double finger right-click tap, as right clicking requires moving off the trackpad to find the button. There is a dedicated button on the keyboard for opening context sensitive menus however, which makes this omission easier to forgive.
The keyboard and wrist rest also remain at a reasonable temperature during use, as does the underside of the One. This is probably due to the low power consumption of the Intel Atom processor. A small fan kicks in now and again but it is unobtrusive.
Given its size and weight I expect my One to get plenty of outdoor use. The screen is bright enough to use outside in the shade, but becomes unreadable when hit by direct sunlight. As a guide it’s a lot brighter and sharper than the EEE 2G, but is outshone by a MacBook. The One does ship with a slip cover, which offers useful (non-waterproof) protection in transit. Regular travelers might prefer a closed protective case, but it’s a great free addition as a basic cover. Nice One Acer.
Battery life is quoted at three hours for this three cell Linux version and I achieved close to that with sensible moderation of the screen brightness to fit my environment. On full brightness with constant WiFi usage I’d expect that to go down to around two hours. Acer quotes the Windows XP version at 2.5 hours, probably due to the SSD being replaced by a regular hard drive. After boot-up I hardly ever see my SSD light illuminated, but the XP model is likely to be busier. So taking more frequent disk accessing together with the effort required to spin the platters would definitely reduce overall battery life.
On balance, the One represents the best balanced experience of any of the small (< 9 inch) netbooks I’ve tried so far. Its keyboard beats the EEE 901, its size is more practical than the seven inch models and its processor runs more efficiently than the VIA C7 powered HP Mini-Note or Everex Cloudbook. In six cell guise with XP, it would be compelling but I have also appreciated the fast boot-up time and low resource usage of Linux.
The market is about to get more crowded with the imminent arrival of Dell’s mini Inspiron and future VIA Nano based machines. The ten inch Lenovo, Asus and MSI netbooks are also worth considering if you want to move up on screen size. For now though, the Acer One is a solid contender amongst the midsize netbooks.
Update: Acer has now lowered the retail price of the 3-cell Linux version to $329. The 3-cell XP version is now down to $349 and the 6-cell XP version is set to retail at $399.
Neil Berman
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- Netbooks captured the the public’s imagination in 2008
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