- Average user rating:
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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3.5 stars
"Fantastic for average use (with 500MB additional RAM)"
Pros: Sturdy, smart design, inexpensive, easy to transport, nice screen
Cons: keyboard a little tricky; processor speed isn't great; can't even imagine running on 512 MB
Summary: Overall this is a really fantastic notebook for basic use. I run Office 2003, Firefox, Google Talk, and Yahoo Messenger very regularly without much incident, although when watching streaming video I usually need to close the Vista sidebar and Firefox.
I bought my Acer Travelmate 2480-2968 at a local store that threw an extra 500MB RAM into the deal, so I don't have any direct experience working with the standard 512 MB. However, I will say that this system runs a bit on the slow side even with 1G RAM, so I can only imagine what it would be like with 512.
Overall it seems really well-designed. I especially like the power jack, which feels very sturdy and has a practical side placement that seems less likely to be jostled during average use.
There is also an extra USB port (in addition to the two on the back) and a slot for an SD disk on the left-hand side that are super handy. The front placement of the headphone jack is somewhat inconvenient if you are using computer speakers, but very convenient if you are using headphones, so I can't complain too much.
There are also front switches for turning on and off wireless and bluetooth connectivity (there isn't any actual bluetooth with the computer, though - you'd have to buy a device). These can get bumped accidentally from time to time, but generally very handy for quickly resetting your wireless connection.
One minor thing is that the keyboard is a little tricky. When I first got it I had a particularly hard time with double letters, but now that I am used to it, it's not really an issue. The curved feature is nice, though.
I also find the bundled Acer management software to be resource-consuming and the internet manager in particular has some room for improvement. Usually it doesn't bother me that much.
Overall, for my average uses and my budget, I love this computer and would recommend it highly for basic use and multi-tasking.
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