EDIT: Thanks to this review and Anup from Acer, my laptop has been taken care of, and now it’s working fine. I’d like to thank Acer for atleast responding to this review, but it took two years before someone sat up and took notice, and it took a scathing review on MouthShut to wake people up. Nonetheless.
This was my original review:
If you value your sanity, your hair and your work, do yourself a favour, and stay away from this piece of sh*t called Acer. Ever since I bought the Acer 4710 from Ahmedabad(September 2007), I’ve had nothing but trouble.
Forget the fact that I’ve sent it to the service center 5 times till now, but almost each part of the computer has failed at one point or the other. In order:
Screen
RAM
Hard drive
DVD Drive
Customer care is rude, with them assuming that you’re an idiot who doesn’t know jack about technology, and thinks that just because you’ve got a scratch on your lid, that you’re an immature moron. Seriously, their callous and condescending attitude at service centers can make you feel like second class beings.
Now, back to the computer itself. There’s no denying the excellent value for money, atleast at face value. You’ll end up spending a lot on petrol to travel to service centers often. But don’t worry, they’ll take about two weeks for something as simple as replacing RAM. I got so frustrated waiting two weeks for their effed-up RAM to arrive, that I took the laptop back and spent 1500 bucks getting my own RAM(only to later be told off by Acer for spending too much on RAM, of course!)
One good thing about Acer is it will teach you how to de-addict yourself from computers, because it will end up being in the service center more often than not. I was able to shut myself off from the internet for two months, and that ensured I didn’t develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Using one is embarassing. All my friends with Dells and Lenovos laugh. I can’t connect it to a projector, even. I study in a BSchool and that is quite a pain. I can’t wait to buy myself a real laptop(read: Dell) with proper service, and smash this piece of crap to smithereens. Oh, and one of the keys fell off. When I took it to the service center, they close to laughed asking what I did with it. And of course, they refused to replace it. On the other hand, a friend in Jamshedpur had his Lenovo keyboard changed immediately, no questions asked.
When I had a problem with my Acer in Jamshedpur, they asked me to travel till Patna! That’s Acer’s pathetic service for you. I talked my entire junior batch of 120 out of buying Acers. I continue to advice people not to buy Acers, and have been quite successful. You have been warned too. Buy one at your own risk, and only if you don’t mind tearing up your hair or are looking for an easy way to lose your mind.
I hope someone from Acer is listening. Those morons never respond to my friendly feedback mails anyway.
PS: Google up’Acer sucks’ for more fun. I guarantee it will talk you out of buying an Acer.