Laptop-Review.eu

The lid



The lid is thin and mostly glossy black. That sadly means fingerprints are easily spotted. The hinges on the other hand hold up the display firmly but are yet comfortably soft, but not so soft so as to raise suspicions about their ability to keep it up in a train or so. All in all it seems to be of high quality; it is not aluminium perhaps, but you still have faith in it.





The front



The diodes light up your day at the front, and the mouse buttons bend over the edge a little. At the bottom of the front are the speakers, spewing out audio onto the table or whatever surface you are keeping the notebook on. Otherwise, not much of interest here.

The rear



This is where you find the battery, and the lid partially slides down here when you open it. In other words, there is nothing of interest.

The bottom




At the bottom we have the serial number and a bit of ventilation. This is also where you access various hardware components, but we will not be messing with those.

The right side



The left side



Overview



VGA and Ethernet LAN ports are at the very end of each side, ensuring that annoying wires are out of the way – smart choice. Some thanks to Acer for giving us the amazing possibilities of an HDMI port are also in order. HDMI is the future and you can only be happy for the chance to use it.

Diodes





The diodes are located at the front, glowing blue and orange. They indicate the status of things like battery and wireless networks. In the far corners you will find the power button and diodes for capslock, numlock and system status. No new diodes and the same old – and slightly boring – colours. Obviously not what Acer prioritized here.
Keyboard and touchpad





The keyboard takes up 92% of the space, so it is pretty big. The keys are suitably large and easy to find. They are made of plastic and have just a hint of texture when you type with them. Additionally the right Shift button has actually been placed where it is supposed to, something that is often experimented with on laptops.

The touchpad is very much standard. The size is decent so you do not accidentally venture out of the area. There is not much of a frame for it though. It is slightly resistant when you run your finger over it, but that is actually comfortable.
There are two silvery buttons just in front of the touchpad area, both of which are soft and comfortable to click. They are suitably big and divided into two rather than one integrated button which Acer has experimented a bit with. Progress.

Display




The display has a nice resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. That makes it great to surf on and things on screen are decently sized. In other words, it gives you a good overview. It is fairly crisp with fine contrasts and handles all the colours of the rainbow well. It is both pleasant to look at and you get the feeling it shows all the right colours.
There is a fair bit of glare, so even if you view it at an almost 180 degree angle, you will in most cases be met with a reflection or light from the surroundings, which reduces visibility. This is something to keep in mind.

You can easily adjust the brightness according to what time of day it is and what your eyes can handle. Keep in mind that the lower you keep it, the longer the battery life will be.

As a new part of our reviews we now test displays for pixel errors and faults in the backlighting, using a program called MonitorTest. It works by, for example, blackening the entire display which will expose pixel errors, i.e. areas that do not change colour. This will also allow you to see if the backlighting is uneven.




Pixel errors are luckily a rarity, at least I have yet to find a product with such faults. The 1810TZ is no exception; Acer has made a good display and the feeling of “quality” persists throughout.

Sound and speakers

The sound – while not amazing – is actually quite acceptable. As is the case with most notebooks, it is poor at handling the lower notes. There is almost no bass and that seems to be the norm. Still, it is okay and you can stand listening to a song or two without getting annoyed. It is more than enough for Skype and the like.

Noise, heat and power consumption

The computer makes a little noise, though hardly enough to be annoying. It is just a little fan noise. It does get a little hot though, particularly at the left side. That is also where you find the main part of the cooling system. It is nice that you do not get the hot air blow onto your lap if you sit with it, but it is not exactly a comfortable left side.

The power consumption seems to be optimized for the sake of the environment and the battery life. I have great expectations of the later, in part because of the lower-power processor chosen for this model.