Acer Timeline X 4820T

Acer's Timeline series of laptops have all fared well in the past. Typically, manufacturers would want to add a premium to to every thin laptop they manufacture, but not Acer. These guys gave us affordable laptops that were slim and weighed a comfortable two kilos. The Timeline 4810TZ was a good blend of Intel's power conservative ULV processors that are powerful to run regular tasks and (along with Intel's GMA4500 graphics) even play 1080p video smoothly. It had a regular 14-inch screen; perfect for people who didn't want to compromise on the smaller screen of a netbook.

 
Now, Acer has renewed the Timeline series with the Timeline X 4820T laptop, which we have for review today. The most interesting change in the 4820T is the upgrade to a regular laptop-grade Core i3 330M processor. However, what's more interesting is that Acer still prints the same "8 hour" battery life claim like they did with the Timeline 4810TZ. In our tests, the 4810TZ did manage to survive for 5-6 hours of real world usage, which was a good show by itself. Other than a change in design, the rest of the internal specs are the same. So, will the Core i3 processor end up wrecking the Timeline X's high battery life claim? Let's find out.
Design and Build
The Timeline X 4820T has gone through some cosmetic changes and looks different than the 4810TZ. The lid has a brushed metallic finish. On the inside too the grey-black combination is applied rather nicely; the color tone suggesting that the laptop is cut out for business professionals.

The overall build quality is up to the mark. It feels as sturdy as the earlier model except for one area. The screen hinge felt a little weaker than what we'd have liked. Despite trading in a regular Core i3 for a Intel CULV processor - meant for thin-and-light laptops - the 4820T still manages to keep its slimness intact. At for just above two kilos, the weight of this laptop is fairly light, given its size. 

On the inside it retains the same 14-inch, 1366 x 768 pixel LCD screen. Text is fairly readable, but there was a slight reddish tint observed when the brightness was toned down. But on the other hand movies, especially 1080p HD ones looked awesome on it. One will definitely enjoy watching hi-def content on this laptop. The brightness is fairly high too. The webcam also delivers good clarity in a well-lit room. 

Acer has retained the same keyboard design from the previous model. The keys are sized well and have good tactility. Overall, it was good to type on, just like in the earlier generations. The touch-pad has gone through a makeover for the better. It's a little wider now and still retains the touch response accuracy and multi-touch gesture support from the earlier model. Like the Macbooks, the DVD drive eject button is placed above the keyboard, which is nice. There's also a programmable hot-key to let you quickly launch any program you choose. Overall, the usability of this laptop is pretty good. 

We've got a healthy amount of ports to the sides. Starting with a VGA, HDMI, LAN, one USB, and a headphone/mic jack to the left. Wait, I'm not done. To the right we have another three USB ports followed by a DVD drive and the power port. The speaker strip is placed right above the keyboard, which belts out decent quality audio at a fairly audible volume. The 4820T ran fairly cool most of the time.

Benchmarks
We're obviously pitting it against the Acer Timeline 4810TZ; the predecessor with the lower-voltage Pentium Dual-core U4100 processor. We'll also compare it to the recently tested Dell Inspiron 14R, another 14-inch laptop that's a lot more bulkier than this. But it runs the faster Core i5 processor and is paired with the ATI Radeon 5470 graphics. 

PCMark Vantage

SiSoft Sandra 2009

Real World Performance
As you saw in the graphs before, the Timeline X 4820T delivers a considerably better performance than the 4810TZ on every count. The difference can be felt slightly even while doing day-to-day tasks; everything works smooth and swiftly. The laptop did not have any trouble handling HD content; 1080p videos played back smoothly and looked beautiful on the screen. But Intel's HD graphics can only go so far; gaming is honestly not an option. Maybe a light weight one like Counter Strike or anything before NFS Most Wanted should run; on medium settings of course. 

Battery Life
Battery life is the final challenge for the 4820T. So, does it fulfill the eight-hour claim? To find out we put it through our video drain test. This is where we play back a 720p HD video on loop, with the brightness and sound maxed out. Here it lasted for 3 hours and 11 minutes. Not bad for a 14-incher with a regular Core i3 processor. In regular usage, we toned the brightness down a notch or two, hooked it to the internet over Wi-fi, and surfed the web. We also typed out this article in an online word processor. Here it lasted for close to 4 hours. This was on Balanced mode, so we assume that under Power saver mode it could last for 5 hours, if not a little more.

Though it does not really support the eight-hour claim as the sticker says in real life. But for a 14-inch laptop to run for 4 hours on an average is fairly good. 

Price and Verdict
The Timeline X 4820T sells for Rs. 40,000. It's priced a little above the Timeline 4810TZ that comes for Rs.34,000. But you're getting two things in the bargain; a Core i3 processor that is now able to run your programs a little faster and a nicer looking design. The battery life is also better than what you'd get from a typical 14-inch laptop. If you're looking for a slim laptop to surf the net, watch movies, but feel that you should have decent processing power on demand, then the Timeline X is your perfect match. Acer has one-upped itself by providing a good mix of performance, usability and battery life with the 4820T.


We feel Rs. 35,000 will be sweet price tag for the Timeline X 4820T.


PS: If you are considering to game on your laptop, then this laptop is not for you.