While netvertibles like the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ are nothing new, there’s no denying interest in the fold down tablets has picked up since the launch of the Apple iPad. Bigger, bulkier and less desirable it may be, but with a physical keyboard on board, it also has the potential to be a lot more useful. Join us after the break to see if it lives up to that potential in our full Acer Aspire 1825PTZ review.
Read the rest of our Acer Aspire 1825PTZ review:
Acer Aspire 1825PTZ review: Tablet tested
Acer Aspire 1825PTZ review: Portable power
Acer Aspire 1825PTZ review: Speed and performance
The Acer Aspire 1825PTZ is one of many tablet PCs that we’ve seen recently, with the market reinvigorated by the successful launch of the Apple iPad. This machine is slightly larger and much bulkier, but it’s also a lot more versatile. As with most other tablet PCs, the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ features a full laptop-like design, with a QWERTY keyboard and a hinge in the centre of the display so it can swivel and fold for use as a tablet.
This has an impact when it comes to the weight – at just under 1.8kg the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ is too heavy for comfortable one-handed use, although it is still light enough for the daily trek to work. The Acer is a lot thicker than tablets without keyboards though, so you’ll need more space in your bag when carrying it.
The 11.6 inch screen is very good. It may lack some of the sparkle of the Apple iPad’s display, but with a 1366 x 768-pixel resolution it’s pin-sharp and there’s more than enough space to view a couple of documents side by side. Use the display as a touchscreen, and it’s also very good. It can be used either alongside the touchpad – letting you easily flick down through web pages, or with the screen folded flat. Although the plastic coating lacks the tactile feel or durability of the Apple iPad’s screen, it’s still very responsive.
The Acer Aspire 1825PTZ’s thick and bulky design pays dividends when it comes to everyday productivity, with an excellent keyboard despite the narrow width of the chassis. Although it’s great to use, the noisy typing action can be a pain when sat in quiet coaches on trains.
It’s the keys on the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ that really impress, proving only marginally smaller than machines nearly twice the size. They feature the same style as much bigger Acer laptops, with a completely flat surface raised above the main board itself. The resulting typing action is excellent, offering loads of travel, but the lack of definition to the edges of the keys mean that you’ll need an accurate typing action.
In a bid to keep the dimensions as small and light as possible, along with meeting the sub £600 price point, Acer has squeezed a CULV Intel Pentium processor into the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ. It’s a bit slow, with a clock speed of 1.3GHz, but this chip isn’t about speed. That said, with dual cores, you’ll still be able to multi-task – but just be aware that this laptop is better suited to simple tasks such as editing documents or browsing the web.
The Acer Aspire 1825PTZ is at its best when it comes to battery life, and we managed to better seven hours when running away from a power point. This drops to around five hours when running with wireless functions on and the screen set to its brightest point, but it’s nice to have a working day between charges if required.
Overall, the Acer Aspire 1825PTZ is a sound idea in concept, but it doesn’t quite meet expectations. However you look at it, it’s just a little too heavy for comfortable tablet use, and it lacks the desirability of products like the Apple iPad, and slimmer netbooks.
Review sample supplied by saveonlaptops.co.uk
