Acer Aspire TimelineX 4830TG-6808 Review

The TimelineX AS4830TG-6808 should look familiar to anyone who's ever seen a member of the Acer TimelineX series. The cobalt blue finish, aluminum lid, and two-tone palm rest are all the same as seen on previous models. The black chiclet keys are comfortable to type on, but the lack of backlighting means that non-touch typists will be out of luck in darkened rooms, and the arrow keys are on the small side for an otherwise full-size keyboard. The touchpad is placed just to the left of center, but its multitouch surface and separate left and right buttons make it pretty foolproof.

Measuring 1.2 by 13.3 by 9.4 inches (HWD), the TimelineX AS480TG-6808 is one of the thinner mainstream laptops—even more svelte than the Asus K53SD-DS51 and the Fujitsu Lifebook LH532, both 1.4 inches thick. Weighing in at 4.56 pounds, it's also not too heavy.

The 14-inch widescreen display has an average resolution (1,366 by 768), but it's sufficient for enjoying 720p video and large enough to tile windows side by side for easy multitasking. When tested with trailers for The Dark Knight Rises, the audio was clear, but lacking in bass.