Title: Review: Acer Aspire R 11
Author: plut
Recovered Author: plut
Published Date: 2017-04-26
Original URL: https://geeknode.co.za/2017/04/review-acer-aspire-r-11
Wayback URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20170716041329id_/http://www.geeknode.co.za/2017/04/review-acer-aspire-r-11/
Recovery Confidence: high
Categories: Tech Review
Tags: Acer, Aspire, feature, R11., Tablet

- Manufacturer Acer
- Release Date Released
- Where we got our copy Acer South Africa

- plut

- 3 months ago

- 0 0

I like the idea of a convertible laptop, the kind that you can use as a notebook and tablet. There’s versatility in it the dual functionality. So, when I received Acer’s R 11 – I was curious to see what it had to offer and to whom. Like many laptops released these days, it sports a swivelling 11.6″ LCD touch screen for the sake of being compact. Let’s get into the specifications.

You’ll get an Intel 3050 Celeron CPU, 2GB of RAM and a 500gb Seagate mechanical hard disk. Acer never catered it to enthusiasts or anyone wanting higher performance levels. It uses a basic twisted nematic LCD as opposed to an IPS and offers an 802.11ac wireless adapter. The display outputs at 1360×768 pixels, which is a common resolution to go for. The battery it comes with is a 4-cell Lithium-Ion and isn’t removable. The Bluetooth adapter is built into the Wifi adapter, and you get an ethernet port. Volume control and power buttons are on the right-hand side of the laptop, along with a laptop lock slot.

There are two USB ports, one being a Superspeed USB 3.0 and the other a USB 2.0. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack which will often be used in place of the built-in speakers. Acer bundled a 45w charger with the unit to keep it alive. The R 11 comes with an HDMI port as well and you’ll get an SD card slot in the rear. I’d call it a pretty complete package on paper.

There are a few things that set this laptop apart for me. First, Acer mounted the bottom panel with screws. This means you can upgrade the memory in the single slot provided to 8GB DDR3 low-voltage modules. Then there’s the build quality. I wish all laptops I used had the same solid feel that this one did. Using a matte plastic finish all round, the R11 felt a little harsh – but aesthetically pleasing at the same time. I particularly liked the white finish (even if it would tarnish easily) on the outer shell and the black panels around the touchpad and keyboard. I also tested the battery life and achieved just under 9 hours. Build quality and efficiency is certainly not an issue with this laptop!

I found keyboard quite comfortable with the keys responding well to inputs. While it was certainly not as immediate as some mechanical keyboards I’ve used the inputs was completely silent and it did everything I needed. The touchpad worked well, with a large surface area and a soft but firm click when navigating through the operating system. The speakers, as with most models lacked low-frequency response though showed barely distortion at high volumes in the upper audio frequencies.

The R 11 comes with Windows 10 Single Language, and predictably plenty of unnecessary software. You’ll get McAfee Antivirus and an Office 365 trial. As with all Acer models, you’re going to get their suite of abDocs, Acer Care Center and abPhoto. I feel it’s best to install your own antivirus and photo management software, though most users won’t be concerned as I am about what is installed on my laptop.

What about the issues? The font DPI on the LCD panel was far too low, making text harder to read than necessary. More disappointingly, Acer used a glare-type display – which completely negated the R 11 from almost any outdoors use. I felt that using the device in tablet mode was a little annoying with the keyboard touching my hand as I worked with it. The swivelling hinges didn’t feel that smooth either. I also found the touch screen less than accurate and responsive at times.

My question is this: Who would buy an Acer R11? A student with little computing power demands perhaps. Someone who may only need a laptop for completing study assignments or work on small office documents. The Intel graphics chipset built onto the CPU won’t power many games, that’s for sure. This laptop, then, is a device designed for casual users. The memory is too small to cope with medium to large excel documents and bigger, more complex multimedia work will certainly suffer on the machine. Still, for basic use, I’d recommend the Acer R11.

I like the idea of a convertible laptop, the kind that you can use as a notebook and tablet. There's versatility in it the dual functionality. So, when I received Acer's R 11 - I was curious to see what it had to offer and to whom. Like many laptops released these days, it sports a swivelling 11.6" LCD touch screen for the sake of being compact. Let's get into the specifications. You'll get an Intel 3050 Celeron CPU, 2GB of RAM and a 500gb Seagate mechanical hard disk. Acer never catered it to enthusiasts or anyone wanting higher performance levels. It uses a basic twisted nematic LCD as opposed to an IPS and offers an 802.11ac wireless adapter. The display outputs at 1360x768 pixels, which is a common resolution to go for. The battery it comes with is a 4-cell Lithium-Ion and isn't removable. The Bluetooth adapter is built into the Wifi adapter, and you get an ethernet port. Volume control and power buttons are on the right-hand side of the laptop, along with a laptop lock slot. There are two USB ports, one being a Superspeed USB 3.0 and the other a USB 2.0. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack which will often be used in place of the built-in speakers. Acer bundled a 45w charger with the unit to keep it alive. The R 11 comes with an HDMI port as well and you'll get an SD card slot in the rear. I'd call it a pretty complete package on paper. There are a few things that set this laptop apart for me. First, Acer mounted the bottom panel with screws. This means you can upgrade the memory in the single slot provided to 8GB DDR3 low-voltage modules. Then there's the build quality. I wish all laptops I used had the same solid feel that this one did. Using a matte plastic finish all round, the R11 felt a little harsh - but aesthetically pleasing at the same time. I particularly liked the white finish (even if it would tarnish easily) on the outer shell and the black panels around the touchpad and keyboard. I also tested the battery life and achieved just under 9 hours. Build quality and efficiency is certainly not an issue with this laptop! I found keyboard quite comfortable with the keys responding well to inputs. While it was certainly not as immediate as some mechanical keyboards I've used the inputs was completely silent and it did everything I needed. The touchpad worked well, with a large surface area and a soft but firm click when navigating through the operating system. The speakers, as with most models lacked low-frequency response though showed barely distortion at high volumes in the upper audio frequencies. The R 11 comes with Windows 10 Single Language, and predictably plenty of unnecessary software. You'll get McAfee Antivirus and an Office 365 trial. As with all Acer models, you're going to get their suite of abDocs, Acer Care Center and abPhoto. I feel it's best…

Tech Review: Review: Acer Aspire R 11

Tech Review: Review: Acer Aspire R 11

2017-04-26

plut

Total - 8.1

81
8.1

Total

The Acer Aspire R 11 is a solid 2 in 1 laptop offering excellent battery life for the price.

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plut

Gaming / Tech / Entertainment Author at Geek Node

Zubayr could be defined as any one of these traits: Grizzled, optimistic, jaded, blunt, opinionated, irreverent and reserved. His experience was once carbon dated to the glory days of Doom and Duke Nukem 3D. It still amazes him how irrelevant those have become these days.Some say his tears generate DLC unlock codes, and that the WASD combination was discovered by his typo while on Yahoo Chat.

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Article Tags:
Acer · Aspire · feature · R11. · Tablet

Article Categories:
Tech Review
