Acer Laptops not recommended?

[mortimusmaximus]

Hey all, I haven't posted here in a long time but have a question for a friend.I personally use toshiba laptops and have had no problems.I suggested that based on the price point he gave me that he look at an Acer laptop with a core 2 processor.

He therefore went to statples, bestbuy and futureshop and was told politly not to purchase an Acer from them.They had the model in stock and yet lost a sale by trying to upsell him into a more expensive brand.

Are there really so many problems with Acers' or was it merely various sales people updelling a customer?

Thanks for any advice.

[danfromwaterloo]

Hey all, I haven't posted here in a long time but have a question for a friend.I personally use toshiba laptops and have had no problems.I suggested that based on the price point he gave me that he look at an Acer laptop with a core 2 processor.

He therefore went to statples, bestbuy and futureshop and was told politly not to purchase an Acer from them.They had the model in stock and yet lost a sale by trying to upsell him into a more expensive brand.

Are there really so many problems with Acers' or was it merely various sales people updelling a customer?

Thanks for any advice.

I too was told by Future Shop employees that Acer was to be avoided.

So, I went to Costco and bought an Acer.

I was very happy with it - the quality was top drawer. Had no problems with it. But, I only needed a computer for short time so I returned it when I was done with it. But I would DEFINITELY buy an Acer again - the value was very good and the quality was far better than expected.

[Birdman]

I've purchased 3 of them over the last 18 months (one for my daughter, 2 for people at work) and all 3 are still going strong with no problems.

The only thing I would recommend is upping the RAM, makes a huge difference.

[mortimusmaximus]

Are we to assume then that this behavior was just a money grab on the part of the employees?It really seems odd that all 3 stores were doing the same thing.Are they really making such small markup on an Acer that this is needed?

[Kasakato]

I owned an Acer, found it to be crap. The hardware is built loosely; and their support only compounds the problem. My friend recently bought an Acer and within a month the graphics card stopped working. Took two weeks to get the motherboard replaced, and it came back scratched. From now on its only Lenovo or Fujitsu for me.

[phiLLy11]

I owned an Acer, found it to be crap. The hardware is built loosely; and their support only compounds the problem. My friend recently bought an Acer and within a month the graphics card stopped working. Took two weeks to get the motherboard replaced, and it came back scratched. From now on its only Lenovo or Fujitsu for me.

Quoted for Truth.

I bought my first laptop (Acer 5102WLMi), and to me, it was pretty crappy.

The case felt very cheap, and it was very flimsy, and their support, albeit I only called once, was very bad.

None of the hardware stopped working, but the software that was included kept crashing the computer and making it run really slowly (Bloatware, I know), FORCING me to reformat and reinstall Windows.

From now on, I only stick to Sony, Lenovo, Fujitsu, and Apple.

Probably the 4 best laptop companies you can get, depending on what you want.

Apple -> Students/Style
Fujitsu + Lenovo -> Business
Sony -> Business/Style

[terrybear]

Ohhhhhhhh ohhhhhhhh I knew that someone would be postin in here about acer laptops :-0

Anyways, Acer like any other company out there can make a dud. But again like I said, when ya get a non dud its still a great product !!

[Desolatax]

But, I only needed a computer for short time so I returned it when I was done with it.

The reason why Costco has changed their return policy, ruining it for the rest of us.

[mortimusmaximus]

I was thinking that because my freind is a relative noob when it comes to laptops that all the reps he spoke to saw an easy mark.I had hoped that sales staff would try to actually help a customer instead of pressuring them into a "better" product.

I do not believe Acer to be a poor product but it is not a top tier laptop either.This is reflected by the price.

[Aijuswannasing]

I've worked for staples in the past as well, and i completely agree that they should be avoided. There's a reason they are so competitively priced.

HOWEVER...

Acer has two main streams of models, the Aspires (which are sold by most B&M stores) and the Travelmate Series. I'll tell you now that if you get a travelmate you will not be disspointed! The price difference is easily noticed, but the build and parts quality makes up a completely different monster. These units aren't cheaply made either, they have a magnesium alloy chassis that is light but extremely durable, and fingerprint scanner, draft N, and inegrated webcams are standard for the newer models. Just find a really reliable store that you trust and get it special ordered. Perhaps you can special order from staples as well as they are meant for more professional applications.

I bought an old travelmate back in 2002, and even though it's obsolete now - it still runs as smoothly as when I first bought it - and it has never given me grief.


So yes... Acer Aspire = AVOID. Acer TravelMate = CHECK IT OUT!

[Aijuswannasing]

Quoted for Truth.

I bought my first laptop (Acer 5102WLMi), and to me, it was pretty crappy.

The case felt very cheap, and it was very flimsy, and their support, albeit I only called once, was very bad.

None of the hardware stopped working, but the software that was included kept crashing the computer and making it run really slowly (Bloatware, I know), FORCING me to reformat and reinstall Windows.

From now on, I only stick to Sony, Lenovo, Fujitsu, and Apple.

Probably the 4 best laptop companies you can get, depending on what you want.

Apple -> Students/Style
Fujitsu + Lenovo -> Business
Sony -> Business/Style



I'd agree with you for Fujitsu and Lenovo, but sony and apple... meh. I think they can be a tad too overpriced due to brand name.

On another note, Fijitsu makes the best large plasma screens on the market, it's actually funny how they are never mentioned here on RFD. A 62 inch fujitsu will blow the top teir Aquos out of the water and into a million pieces.


Back to laptops tho - Asus makes a pretty sweet line of laptops as well, but keep in mind that quality comes with a price.

[corrupt123]

I've got an acer tablet (Travelmate C310) that I bougt used here on RFD and I'm very happy. The thing is probably almost (if not) 3 years old now, but still has a fair bit of punch to it and is very reliable. Hell, i've been using it for school and it's survived the last 2 years bouncing around in my bag on a daily basis. It's beat up, scratched, etc, but it still runs strong and the hinge (a major weak point in tablets) is still firm and strong.

I replaced the battery at the beginning of this year, because the old one was only getting about an hour and a half charge. Thats to be expected after pretty much daily use for ~2 years though. There are also some faults with the software, for example, if I hit the power button but leave the lid closed, the computer doesn't boot. (it's on, but just a black screen) and once in a while the tablet pen will stop responding, but I just hit "sleep" and wake it up again and it comes back.

The only thing I will complain about is their customer service. I broke part of the tablet pen (the clip that holds it in it's slot) and I heard that the phone lines are a long wait and dead end, so I e-mailed them asking where I could buy another one. Took several days for them to respond, and all they said to me was "call this number" so I eventually tried, but just as I expected, I was on hold for a long time and didn't accomplish anything.

I'll be buying my next computer around the summer of 2008, and it will also be a tablet/laptop PC. If acer has anything out I will seriously consider them, however these days the tablet pc market is quite narrow so I'm not expecting much. I'd recommend them, but wouldn't say they're a market leader or anything.

[goofball]

I can't say that i'm disappointed in my 3 Acer laptops. I have 2 aspires (5570, 5580) and a Travelmate 2428. All have worked as expected. The 5580 did have a faulty optical drive but they quickly shipped one to me and paid for the shipping back to them, no hassle/complaints with that.

[ShadowVlican]

a friend of mine owns an acer laptop since his first year.... he's now in forth year and his laptop is functioning just fine

it wasn't some uber high end acer either.... just your basic 15.4" with integrated video

[Deans21]

I used to sell Acer laptops all the time. Never had any problems. The most common issue, which happened to 2 or 3 customers, was that the DVD drive stopped working. Sent it back under warranty and it was fixed and returned. No problem.

[mortimusmaximus]

Thanks for all the replies.I guess what I have a hard time with is the attitude or tactics at the above mentioned stores.They are loosing sales by this method, but they may also be selling very expensive laptops to people who don't need them.

Either way these stores are not newbie freindly and that is not a good thing.

[weedb0y]

I owned an Acer, found it to be crap. The hardware is built loosely; and their support only compounds the problem. My friend recently bought an Acer and within a month the graphics card stopped working. Took two weeks to get the motherboard replaced, and it came back scratched. From now on its only Lenovo or Fujitsu for me.

I have two Acers that have taken the abuse and beatings! They are running as strong as my HP and Dell laptops except they cost almost 40% less.

[Aijuswannasing]

i thought the difference was only for screen size? build quality are all the similiar(crap), overall. dont expect much for $value.

<14" travelmate

>15.4" aspire

no?

i've had an acer aspire(17") laptop for over a year, works great. well worth the $ spent/saved.


No, screen size has nothing to do with it. You could purchase a 17" Travelmate if you wanted to. They are two different classes of products from acer. With aspires, it's hit or miss. All manufacturers have duds, but the aspires are crazy mass produced so they can be sold cheap and there are more out there bound to be lemons out of the box. Travelmates go through a much more refined quality assurance process.

[Natsuiro]

I'm using an Acer and the dvd drive broke under warranty. I didn't replace it because I'm too lazy and didn't want the hassle. I can't fault acer for it though because they all use OEM parts anyways (The drive was made by Sony when I opened it up).
I don't think this acer is that bad. It was cheap and a good deal at the time. It's also quite thin, but it does get hot.
I think it depends on how long you plan on using your laptop.
I know if I paid more it might last longer, but I figure by that time it would be too slow and I would want a new one anyways. You laptop might last you more than 5 years, but would you still want to be using it? I would rather buy a so-called disposable laptop.

I figure that it doesn't matter too much which brand you buy because they all use the same OEM parts except the mobo, screen, keyboard, and encasing.
I bought this one because it was cheap and I won't be too upset if I broke it or lost it.

EDIT>14" aspire 5570, 1.73GHz Core Duo T2250, GMA 950, 2gb RAM, 250gb hd (160gb before). It was really slow out of the box because of bloatware. Really really slow. I installed XP pro but drivers didn't work for bluetooth and LAN. I installed a fresh vista with my new hd and it works great now.

[sickcars]

I got an Acer Aspire 5630 had it for about a year taking it to school everyday and back home in my school bag. Have yet to have any problems with it (other then with Vista) but other then that this Acer has been great.

I know many many people with Acers most which go to school with me an they also have yet to have any problems with it.

I think its mostly on the user and just bad luck if you get a bad one. I myself have had more problems with IBM laptops then acer.

So if your looking to save some $$ and want a decent laptop pick up an Acer and if you want get extra warranty.

[herbertlee]

Well, I personally don't think Acer is crap. IT's really depends which model
you are getting. Well,they do have some very low end system back then but
they are amoung the cheapest brand new notebooks you can get 2-3 years
ago. But now everything change, with a similar price, you can go for the
Toshiba or Dell notebook. One common problem with most Acer notebook are
the "half life" of their batteries. Beside of that, it's a very good low budget
notebook which you can get.

I used to sell Acer laptops all the time. Never had any problems. The most common issue, which happened to 2 or 3 customers, was that the DVD drive stopped working. Sent it back under warranty and it was fixed and returned. No problem.

[Smoked]

acer use to be crap now its much better...