Acer LX.T870E.029 PM1.73GHz 80GB Combo TravelMate C310 Series Notebooks

Amazon Customer Reviews

(5 out of 5)

Acer

I teach real estate appraisers.

I bought the Acer C302 for use in my classroom. I use it as a virtual blackboard so weight wasn't an issue. It worked flawlessly and I was hooked. I recently bought the Acer C312 so I could have one at home to markup my books and handouts.

Using MS Office 2003, I am able to make notes in my handouts to emphasize important points. A shareware program call "PDF Annotator" allows me to markup my PDF files right in class so when I'm demonstrating properly completed appraisal forms, I am able to circle, underline, or otherwise mark the PDF file while the students are watching and, hopefully, taking notes. I can also load a blank PDF page and use it is a blackboard although I generally use Windows Journal as my blackboard.

I use Excel in class and it's a pleasure to circle or highlight parts of a spreadsheet to emphasize a point.

Both of my Acers are within their return period and I am seriously thinking about swapping the C302 for the C314. The only thing I dread is configuring all my software again or I would swap without hesitation.

My tablet indoctrination started in October, 2004 and I have not completely decided what the end result will be (It is now July, 2005). I started with an Averatec. It worked but the small screen and the inability to disable the touchpad were irritating. It also didn't support normal pen technology (I think that's Wacom). I sold the Averatec at a $450 loss. I tried the Toshiba which is much lighter than the Acer but it felt flimsy compared to the Acer and I thought my heavy use may be a detriment. The Toshiba worked fine and may be a better machine than the Acer. I would try them both.

I hesitated buying an Acer because it is basically an off brand. I'd never used anything but a Dell laptop so this was a hard decision for me.

The Acer feels and acts sturdy and is suitable for use as regular laptop.

Strengths: Solid feel. Bright XGA screen. XGA is best for presentations and was the single most important requirement for me. It has a usable solid keyboard. There are 3 USB ports. It recognized my wireless Internet out of the box.

Weaknesses: The location and use of the home and end keys are strange (still haven't figured them out). It's not a Dell so the quality of technical support is unknown to me. There is no track record for reliability. It is heavy. Absolutely don't buy this if you are a student or executive who is going to use it as a notepad and carry it like a clipboard. One Note is not included.

John