Never used Acer so don't know, but my Dell laptop has been reliable for three (and counting) so far. Desktop guys at work are also happy with them. If you decide to go Dell, email me exactly what you want (ideally, put it together on the dell website and email the final page that lists everything) and I'll see if I can get you a discount. 3 out of 4 times I've done this for me/friends the discount has been decent.
You get around Vista by not having to use it for long - I know many Dell laptops have a free upgrade to Windows 7 option that lasts 6 months or so. Check the fine print cause Acers probably have similar. My work is part of some microsoft beta programme thingy, and two of my (unix!) team have been using windows 7 for a couple of months now. It actually, I hate to say it, looks really good.
Re: Bare-faced cheeknisabaAugust 12 2009, 11:42:24 UTC
If you keep your bare cheeks to yourself, I might be able to see what I can do... ;)
I can't promise anything though. The last one I got was for my mum, and it came in at like £40 cheaper than the price on the Dell website. Previous ones have been in the £100-200 savings range. But it costs nothing except a bit of time to find out.
Never had an issue with Dell - have owned them both for work and home. Only have experience with the XPS support - which used to be a separate thing from standard Dell support when you bought an Dell XPS machine - and that was very good when I had an issue with an XPS laptop I owned.
I've only bumped into 2 Acer machines in my life and both were utter cr*p, including a laptop which had a sticker on saying not to place it on soft surfaces (so no good as a "lap"top then eh?), which was promptly thrown back from whence it came.
But that was a few years ago - and which manufacturer is currently good seems to change year by year - I can remember a time when Dell laptops were not to be touched.
I (well, Pete really) looked at an XPS machine, but it's probably too high spec for my limited technical needs. I've always reasonably got on with Dell, until this current work laptop (Latitude 530) which is more plastic than the Minogue Sisters.
The Acer looked lovely but I've always thought of them as a cheapo brand, hence the hesitation to take the plunge. The 4810T and 5810T get really good reviews for value, and they were the nicest looking of the lot.
But other than taht there is always a distinction between "home" and "business" class models, and the latter get the decent support. The support team for the former is mainly made up of people who are expecting you to not know one end of a nouse from the other.
Also, often as not, you can find a business class model for the same or better price than the "home" if you ask the salesman to spec it for you. Never managed it by shopping on their website.
Dell service is dependant on the muppet you get on the other end; Acer will be much the same. I haven't tried either of those personally so my standard advice is to choose by the keyboard and the screen. Deal with the Vista issue by installing Windows 7 (the RTM is available already; if you can (ahem) find a copy, you'll just have to buy a retail copy when they're available in October and input the code to avoid the nagging)
I thought Vista was a bit flaky and inclined to bugger things up? That's my real concern - I use it at the client site and it's ok, but I don't know if that's what's causing the unexplained problems on their system (I suspect other issues but not mentionable here).
Good tip on Win7, I'll make sure that is included.
I really liked the slim and lightweight features of the Acer, which made the Dell look awkward and lumpy, and also the 8hr battery life. Realistically, I'm not going to be carting it round that much, and it will be almost entirely home-based so can be plugged in. Blu-ray is not a feature of my life yet, though Pete has suggested it could be.
In other words, still utterly vague, but your comments are really useful. Thanks.
I only have one Vista machine - it was installed from new - it's OK most of the time. But it pisses me off *enough* that I would not (and indeed have not) chosen to use it again, expecially as there are no neat or useful features it offers to make up for the times it goes ape.
That hasn't been my experience with Vista, and the tech journals haven't given me that impression. The main complaint seems to have been with the UAC prompt being too intrusive.
Go to a shop and try the keyboards on both laptops, as I think that's likely to be a significant factor in their usability. The main selling point of the Acer is the battery life, (excluding aesthetic considerations) which really isn't a factor if you'll mainly be using it at home and plugged in. The Acer has some nice touchpad features - pinching to resize images, making circles to zoom in, etc. (Though if you get used to it at home, you may get frustrated with other laptops that don't have the same feature), but it may be a bit clunky under Vista as it wasn't designed for it. The lack of heat from the Acer may also be a deciding factor if you use it on your lap for extended periods.
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Never used Acer so don't know, but my Dell laptop has been reliable for three (and counting) so far. Desktop guys at work are also happy with them. If you decide to go Dell, email me exactly what you want (ideally, put it together on the dell website and email the final page that lists everything) and I'll see if I can get you a discount. 3 out of 4 times I've done this for me/friends the discount has been decent.
You get around Vista by not having to use it for long - I know many Dell laptops have a free upgrade to Windows 7 option that lasts 6 months or so. Check the fine print cause Acers probably have similar. My work is part of some microsoft beta programme thingy, and two of my (unix!) team have been using windows 7 for a couple of months now. It actually, I hate to say it, looks really good.
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Um, not that I'm asking, but you couldn't do that for others of your friends who might be looking to buy a laptop in the nearish future, could you?
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I can't promise anything though. The last one I got was for my mum, and it came in at like £40 cheaper than the price on the Dell website. Previous ones have been in the £100-200 savings range. But it costs nothing except a bit of time to find out.
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Ew.
Thanks! I'll probably wait until Win7 is released, but I might come and have a chat to you then.
See you on Sunday!
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Never had an issue with Dell - have owned them both for work and home. Only have experience with the XPS support - which used to be a separate thing from standard Dell support when you bought an Dell XPS machine - and that was very good when I had an issue with an XPS laptop I owned.
I've only bumped into 2 Acer machines in my life and both were utter cr*p, including a laptop which had a sticker on saying not to place it on soft surfaces (so no good as a "lap"top then eh?), which was promptly thrown back from whence it came.
But that was a few years ago - and which manufacturer is currently good seems to change year by year - I can remember a time when Dell laptops were not to be touched.
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The Acer looked lovely but I've always thought of them as a cheapo brand, hence the hesitation to take the plunge. The 4810T and 5810T get really good reviews for value, and they were the nicest looking of the lot.
There's never a perfect answer is there?
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But other than taht there is always a distinction between "home" and "business" class models, and the latter get the decent support. The support team for the former is mainly made up of people who are expecting you to not know one end of a nouse from the other.
Also, often as not, you can find a business class model for the same or better price than the "home" if you ask the salesman to spec it for you. Never managed it by shopping on their website.
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Deal with the Vista issue by installing Windows 7 (the RTM is available already; if you can (ahem) find a copy, you'll just have to buy a retail copy when they're available in October and input the code to avoid the nagging)
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Good tip on Win7, I'll make sure that is included.
I really liked the slim and lightweight features of the Acer, which made the Dell look awkward and lumpy, and also the 8hr battery life. Realistically, I'm not going to be carting it round that much, and it will be almost entirely home-based so can be plugged in. Blu-ray is not a feature of my life yet, though Pete has suggested it could be.
In other words, still utterly vague, but your comments are really useful. Thanks.
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Go to a shop and try the keyboards on both laptops, as I think that's likely to be a significant factor in their usability. The main selling point of the Acer is the battery life, (excluding aesthetic considerations) which really isn't a factor if you'll mainly be using it at home and plugged in. The Acer has some nice touchpad features - pinching to resize images, making circles to zoom in, etc. (Though if you get used to it at home, you may get frustrated with other laptops that don't have the same feature), but it may be a bit clunky under Vista as it wasn't designed for it.
The lack of heat from the Acer may also be a deciding factor if you use it on your lap for extended periods.
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