Acer Aspire TimelineX AS3820T-5246 – Thin and light with a Core i3 chip
This series from Acer is relatively new, the first laptop from this company came out last year and the AS3820T-5246 is the second installment. These notebooks became famous really quickly back then because of the slim chassis, fast hardware inside. The battery life of the laptop too was good. This combination was rare last year but now there are a lot of manufacturers offering similar notebooks and hence it is difficult to say if thae AS3820T-5246 will too enjoy the same success as its predecessor. That said, this notebook will certainly lock horns with other 13 inch thin and light products in the market.
Acer Aspire TimelineX AS3820T-5246 has a 13 inch display along with Intel Core i3 chip. The performance is similar to that of other mainstream laptops in this size range. Acer keyboards have always been one of the best ones in the market. The buttons have island layout just like Apple MacBooks but there is a small change – the keys are larger and wider and hence it takes a learning curve to get used to it. The button placement too is a bit different as compared to other island style keyboards. However, once you get used to it, you will find that typing on this laptop is really comfortable.
Acer Aspire TimelineX AS3820T-5246’s touch pad is pretty much standard. It does have a unique gesture for scrolling through long pages. You have to drag your finger from the top right side to the center and then rotate it in a circular motion. It is just like Apple iPod Nano’s click wheel. Other notebooks often use the two finger scrolling for moving up and down through the pages. One problem with it is that you have to move your fingers on the top of the pad when you reach below in order to scroll further. I liked this feature but was disappointed to see that the touch pad is not as user friendly as that of the MacBook so you have to be really precise with your motions on it. It needs concentration and practice.
Acer Aspire TimelineX AS3820T-5246’s performance is quite similar to other mainstream laptops like Asus U33J and Toshiba Portege R705. One big disappointment is the lack of optical drive. The laptop is not that thin and there was room for a DVD burner, if not a Blu-ray player. Lack of an optical drive in a very thin notebook like Apple MacBook Air or Dell Adamo is acceptable but AS3820T-5246 doesn’t have one which might be a deal breaker for multimedia enthusiasts. However, if you really like this laptop and want to play movies, you can get an external DVD player.
In my lab tests, the Acer Aspire TimelineX AS3820T-5246 battery stayed alive for a little less than four and half hours. My lab tests are quite challenging on the battery and you will get more out of it with moderate use. This battery might give you an entire work day if you just do light tasks like typing and Web browsing.
