TechRadar Verdict
Though performance is compromised, you could be using this all day without plugging it in, and it's stylish and solid too. Highly recommended if mobility is your priority
Pros
- +
Unbelievable battery life
- +
Sylish, well-built chassis
Cons
- -
Office performance is sub-par
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The Aspire 3810T is the second laptop we've seen from Acer's Timeline series. As with the Aspire 4810T, it features a compact and slim design and provides all-day battery life.
The chassis features a 13.3-inch screen, and offers a good compromise between size and usability. It provides sharp image quality and is one of the brighter screens around. It uses LED backlighting to good effect, with accurate colours and contrast, while also conserving power.
Power efficiency is a theme that runs throughout this laptop. It uses an integrated Intel graphics card, helping with its superb battery life, although compromising on 3D capabilities. That said, it will still run basic multimedia applications without trouble and play HD videos. Just don't plan on any type of gaming in your spare time.
It's the 1.4GHz ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) Intel Core 2 Duo processor that really makes the difference to its power consumption, however. We managed to run word processing and data analysis applications for a staggering 682 minutes when out and about. It comes at a cost, though, as office performance suffers and there's noticeable lag when multitasking.
Unlike most ultra-thin laptops, the chassis remains cool to the touch, even after long periods of use. This is mainly down to the use of Intel's Laminar Wall Jet cooling system, and you'll be able to use this machine on your lap without it becoming uncomfortable.
Stylishly slim
The thin chassis is nice and stylish, with a design that's enhanced by quality materials, including an aluminium lid. The light 1.7kg weight makes it a machine you can take with you wherever you go.
The keyboard also offers good quality, although the raised keys can take time to adjust to and won't suit all users. It's quiet and comfortable to type on, however. The touchpad supports gesture control, making it easier to zoom in on documents and pages, and there's a button to deactivate it when typing.
There's no optical drive in the small chassis. The three USB ports are more generous though and Bluetooth lets you connect peripherals wirelessly.
A 5-in-1 memory card reader makes it easy to transfer photos from your camera, and 802.11n Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet offer the fastest connections currently possible to wireless and fixed networks.
It's difficult not to be impressed by the Aspire 3810T. It has faults – with poor office performance being the main issue – meaning you need to decide whether the extended battery life makes up for this. It's one of the few laptops to offer true all-day usability, however.
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