Geek Culture
Acer Aspire AS1551-5448 Review
Acer Aspire AS-1551
The Acer Aspire 1551 is a thin-and-light notebook, or a revved-up netbook and hits a sweet spot that many are looking for. With discrete ATI Radeon graphics and plenty of processor muscle, the AS1551 promises a valuable compromise between netbook portability (weighing only 3 lbs) and notebook performance (AMD Turion II Neo Dual-Core processor). Acer offers the Aspire 1551 in in two models – the AS1551-5448 and AS1551-4755. Here are the key differences:
| AS1551-5448 | AS1551-4755 | |
| Processor | AMD K625 (1.5 GHz) | AMD K325 (1.3 GHz) |
| Memory | 4GB RAM | 3GB RAM |
| Storage | 320 GB HDD | 250 GB HDD |
| Retail | $549.99 | $479.99 |
For a modest price bump, the AS1551-5448 offers a number of important benefits over the AS1551-4755, and we recommend customers strongly consider the AS1551-5448 to enjoy the best balance of the netbook & notebook worlds.
Gonzo Gadgets Take
There is nothing else in the market quite like the Aspire AS1551 and we believe Acer has a winner on its hands, at least until competitors catch up. The price matches the specifications – it’s not bargain basement but by no means top of market. For a truly thin-and-light notebook computer that can do real work, the price seems fair.
Pro’s:
- Generous screen resolution (1366×768 on an 11″ screen)
- Plenty of video muscle for full-screen HD movies & some gaming
- Great processor capability for serious application use, given the incredibly light weight
- Chiclet keyboard with good feel
- Truly thin & light – a great traveller
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Con’s:
- Too much bloatware installed by Acer (either reinstall Windows or simply uninstall 1-by-1)
- Limited vertical viewing angle
- Glossy screen may be difficult in sunlight conditions
- Screen can present a washed-out appearance at default setting
- Build quality not the highest – some flex in the keyboard, speakers are weak
- Battery won’t last the listed 5 hours (3 more likely) with full video- and processor- usage.
Again Acer has taken a risk and developed the Acer Aspire AS1551 for a gap in the market. Are there enough people excited by a portable that delivers near-laptop performance at netbook size & weight? We think so. We believe Acer has found an untapped market and the AS1551 (especially the AS1551-5448) really delivers the goods. You’ll find an excellent traveler here that can do real work on a desk or lap, provided you don’t need CAD and extreme gamer performance. The Aspire AS1551 offers an enticing blend of ultra-portability with good-enough punch that most will not be frustrated by its limitations. This is a great choice for students, business travelers, and those on the go but frustrated with the poor performance of netbooks and the huge price tags of the MacBook Air and its PC equivalents.
What Customers Are Saying
User reviews were limited at the time of this writing (July 11, 2010).
NewEgg – 5/5 Stars
Acer Aspire AS1551-5448 11.6″ Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit NoteBook
Amazon – 3/5 Stars
April Fools 2009 – The Index
Every year the April 1st jokes, pranks and hoaxes get bigger and better. This is simply our effort to catalog some of the better humor for your enjoyment and for posterity. Please share others you find and I’ll list them here.
(Last entry added 2:30 PM ET April 1st)
Technology & Geek Culture
AutoPilot takes the work – all work – out of reading/responding to emails – Google
Slashdot launches User Achievements – Slashdot
Warner Bros. Acquires Pirate Bay – TorrentFreak
Lynx browser sees huge surge in popularity due to rival’s security woes – Netcraft
$99 Flights to Mars (save 3 trillion!) – Expedia
Quake Live launches as MMORPG – Quake Live
Razorfish TweetDoubler – Amazing Twitter tool that allows twice the character count – Razorfish
Face the Future: Face Gestures for Opera Browser – Opera
Is Conficker REALLY a virus? – Techware Labs
Breaking: Internet Explorer 8.1 Eagle Eyes Released – Smashing Magazine
Internet Reboot at 11:59 UTC Today – Site Point
After 188 Years of Ink, The Guardian will publish only on Twitter – The Guardian
Windows 7 will launch in only one version – The Raw Feed
Cloud Computing via Airship – Amazon
Carl Icahn is gunning for management shakeup at Apple – InfoWorld
Wolfpigeon Wireless Convergence – Quacomm
Apple Files Patent for methods to Automatically Enforce Secrecy – The Register
US Military uses Left 4 Dead as training simulator – ModShop
Domain Squatter wakes from 5 year coma, wants his money back – Domain Name News
Flying Dog to brew “low alcohol” craft brews to capture Utah market – Flying Dog Blog
Monitor return rates soar amidst dead pixel pandemic – HEXUS
Twitter added to Federal emergency response network – Infoworld
General / Related
Microsoft asks feds for bailout – InfoWorld
Automobile Canine Repellenant Alloy Protection – BMW
Mountain Cleaners Wanted in Switzerland – MySwitzerland.com
$3 Random Crap (plus $1,000,000 Shipping) – Woot
Alan Greenspan: “I screwed up!” – Models & Agents
Colorado Avalanche turn over draft pick to fans – NHL Rumor Mill
Miller, Pacino casted to play in new Bioshock movie – Dark Horizons
Man foils bank robbery after assuming it was an April Fool – Telegraph.co.uk
Bailout Special! 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Short Term Room Rental – istopover
Nine Inch Nails release Justin Timberlake-produced full length “Strobelight” – NiN
French Museum Concorde plane resurrection story hoax – BBC News
Computer Gaming
Get your yodel on with Microsoft’s Alpine Legend for Xbox 360 – VG247
Diablo III New Class: The Archivist – Blizzard
Fallout 3 and Animal Crossing for Classic Nintendo – Minus World
World of Warcraft Dance Off (So you think you can /dance) – Blizzard
Battlefield: Bad Company “2″ new features list – Gamers Digest
2,000+ Japanese customers line up for (phantom) Dragon Quest IX release – Kotaku
World of Warcraft P1mp My Mount – Blizzard
Microsoft to release Windows Vista on Steam in May – Multiplay UK
Products
PetBook, the worlds first laptop for dogs – Toshiba
Webcam software to really watch what your web visitors are doing – Woopra
Squeez Bacon, the world’s most perfect food – ThinkGeek
Tauntaun Sleeping Bag for kids (comes with lightsaber) – ThinkGeek
Kodak eyeCamera 4.1, clips right onto your glasses – Kodak
Whole Foods 365 Organic Air – Whole Foods
Google gBall with w/ GPS, wireless & vibration alert BETA – Google AU
Software detects when Callers Lie to Call Center Agents – PSS Help
Linked Portal T-Shirts “The Cake is a Lie” – ThinkGeek
Unicorn Chaser Drink to restore calm after viewing disturbing internet content – Think Geek
Buzzword – the shocking speech-recognition wristband – ThinkGeek
Ultimate Assasin’s Weapon Ice Mold “Never get caught” – ThinkGeek
Give the Gift of F*CK (flying F*CK toy helicopter) – ThinkGeek
Sixth Sense Invention Sees Dead Surface, Represents Huge Leap for Wearable Tech
A group from MIT has developed a surprisingly practical inexpensive and compelling take on what the Personal Area Network (PAN) may someday offer us. A “PAN” is several portable devices working in concert to do more than they could do alone. Could MIT’s vision be only a few years away from reality?
Imagine a portable, cheap ($350 today), context aware version of Microsoft Surface and you may be close to what MIT presented at TED2009. Sixth Sense at it’s core is a camera and projector you carry around with you – not too amazing right? What if they worked together to project information about products, places and even people right on whatever surface happens to be in your vicinity – maybe even your hands?
Sixth Sense combines an ordinary SmartPhone, camera and mini-projector. The camera tracks your gestures and environment. The projector displays information and an interface relevant to the situation. The phone runs the necessary apps, connects to the internet and provides the horsepower.
The best way to appreciate what Sixth Sense can do is to see it in action. The video is long but full of clever nuggets and “ah-ha” moments. But if you don’t have the time, skip to about 3:10 and you’ll instantly get the plot with some insanely cool demos.
Further Reading
TED: Maes & Mistry: Unveiling the “Sixth Sense,” game-changing wearable tech
iGizmodo: Sixth Sense May Change How We Look At The World Forever
Engadget: MIT’s “sixth sense” augmented reality device demonstrated on video
Steve Wozniak Dances With, Appalls, the Stars
We respect and admire Steve “Woz” Wozniak, whose computer engineering feats helped propel the venerable Apple II line into every school in the 1980’s. He also seems like a fellow with a great sense of humor a real enjoyment of life and likely a thick skin (hey he had to work with Steve Jobs for many many years!). These attributes served him well after his intro in Dancing With the Stars:
To Woz’s credit he’s not all bad and he’s clearly been working hard at it. We’re guessing he’s not going to make it too far but we’re keeping the flame alive anyway – Woz is really dancing on behalf of all geeks everywhere. So good luck Steve!
(No word on whether Steve Jobs will throw his own turtleneck in the ring next season.)
Great Deals
More Resources
High Priority Thread
Star Trek Delta Shield Tee