I have begun traveling more often for work, and though I like my Dell Laptop (Latitude D620) it is heavy, too large to use on an airplane and battery life leaves a lot to be desired. I initially looked at the Dell Inspiron 11z but reviews say the track pad is terrible and the 6 hour battery is huge and extends below the bottom of the back.
Then I found the Acer Aspire 1410. It has a screen that is the same size, a larger hard drive, and wireless n instead of just b & g. So basically I got more, all at a lower price. And the 6 hour battery doesn't ruin the nice slim profile of the machine.
My plan was to just use this when traveling, primarily for web based apps (google docs and gmail, which work on and off line) and light stuff. But I've found that it runs everything including much heavier applications very well. Videos look great and it makes for a great entertainment machine on the road. Office works well, I've used the Gimp to edit photos and I've played some games.
There wasn't much crud to uninstall and I've been very pleased with Windows 7. The machine boots quickly and I'm up and running in no time. Wireless is great, the sound is good and I love the display. I usually dim it down when on the road to maximize battery life, but it still looks pretty good. When hooked up to power, it can be very bright and looks very good.
I'm not crazy about the glossy screen, though I'm getting used to it. I don't like the glossy black of the case either and am looking for a skin. As of right now it's a fingerprint magnet and looks like I rubbed a stick of butter all over it.
But it runs all my apps great and has exceeded my expectations for such a compact and affordable machine. I find that I'm using it all the time, not just when I travel. It's awesome how light and compact it is but still doing everything I need.
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