Acer Aspire V5-132P 11.6-inch Touchscreen Laptop (Blue) - (Intel Celeron 1GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, WLAN, Webcam, Integrated Graphics, Windows 8.1)

To everyone buying this laptop, make sure you know what you are getting. The cheaper versions may seem like a bargain but they have the much slower and older C70 CPU. The higher price version (6GB RAM, 500GB HDD) has the new A6-1450 which is a quad-core CPU (The ones sold in PC World are the dual core version). I was deciding between this and the Asus S200E. The Asus has a more attractive design (aluminum case) but the Acer has a better screen and is cheaper.

Here are some benchmarks for the CPU's:

AMD C70: 621
AMD A6-1450: 1632
Intel i3-2365M: 1682 (Asus S200E)

I bought this for when I am traveling for web browsing and productivity (programming with Visual Studio). It handles both tasks fine.
For any other developers - if you need virtualization, the A6-1450 CPU supports it but it is disabled and not available in the BIOS. There is a way of enabling it by hacking the BIOS in Linux but you would probably be better off with another choice.

Acer Aspire V5-122P 11.6-inch Touchscreen Notebook (AMD A6-1450 1GHz, 6GB RAM, 500GB HDD, Windows 8)

I bought this for when I am travelling. It's perfect for web browsing and e-mail. I even use it for high res photo editing in Photoshop (CS3) and it handles it just fine.

The touch screen and keyboard are a joy to use. The screen is clear, bright and accurate.

Upgrading to Win 8.1 took ages but that's down to Microsoft server speeds and not the computer itself. The same applies to Windows updates. You just need a little patience. I just left it to download overnight. The only thing I don't like is the touchpad. It needs to be more clearly defined. I was always zooming in and out with the cursor hard to control. I'm much happier now I've bought a mouse.

I didn't buy this on Amazon. At the time of writing you can buy this exact same model/spec at the high street catalogue shop (starting with A) for �70 less. Shop around :)

This laptop was bought primarily as a secondary system for Myself, seeing as My brother has taken to always using My first laptop. (Which I now rarely see!)

Overall, the build quality and design are both very good.
This machine doesn't feel cheap or poorly-made in any way, when holding and touching it.
It is very light to hold in one hand.

The keyboard is very nice, and extremely easy to type on, with good feedback.
(Certainly not a cheap-feeling keyboard with that annoying low-quality 'bounce'.)

The fan inside the system is extremely quiet, even when going full blast, with some more demanding tasks that I've thrown at it.

The Graphics card isn't great.
In fact, it's FAR from great.
If you're planning on wanting a laptop/netbook to run the latest games, I suggest you look elsewhere.
You can't even play a basic game like The Sims 2 on this, without serious drops in frame rate, and general performance.
You can play more simple games like phone apps just fine, though.
(Angry Birds, Plants VS Zombies, Fruit Ninja, etc.. all obtainable through the Windows Store)

The mouse pad is the MOST annoying thing with the netbook, I have to say.
Windows 8.1 naturally works best with a highly-responsive touchscreen, which this netbook comes with, luckily.
But the mouse pad has been pre-programmed to work with Windows 8.1, by using finger gestures.

So.. if you swipe from the right of the mousepad, to the center, your Windows 8.1 'Charms' (In-Built options) will pop up on a side bar.
Same as if you swipe from the left of the mousepad to the center, the screen will swap from open program/app to others that may be open.

Sounds simple enough, but when ALL you want to do is slide your mouse over to a folder to open it with a double click, MANY mistakes can be made.
(Honestly. The mousepad on this netbook is just... AWFUL! So buy a usb mouse!)

Also, the mousepad doesn't have a single bar to work as the two usual mouse buttons.
Same as it doesn't have two individual mouse buttons.
Instead, you get a completely ineffective mousepad, where the buttons are incorporated into the bottom of the pad, itself!
So when it comes to holding a bottom corner (button) and sliding your finger on the pad, to move a folder onscreen, it will be completely retarded on this device.
(It really DOESN'T handle 'multi-touch' very well at all. You have been warned!)

The Windows 8.1 Operating System itself, is very nice, though.
It only takes My machine about 15-20 seconds to boot up to the main login screen.
So everything from the Operating System side of things, runs smoothly and quickly.

The Netbook has another crap feature, unfrtunately..
The battery on this particular model, is utter crap.
You get approximately 2.5 to 3 hours-worth of playtime, even if you set the screen brightness lower than normal, and only type and do light web surfing.
The battery is just terrible for the price I paid for it.
But there is a rubber cover underneath the bottom of the netbook, with connectors for an external battery accessory.
So no doubt Acer will release this soon, if they haven't already.

This model comes with 4-Gigabytes of low-voltage DDR3 memory.
Not bad, really.
But bunging an extra 2gb stick in the remaining RAM slot under the bottom cover, gives it a much-needed performance boost.

A word of warning with plugging USB flash drives/hard drives etc.. in..
MAKE SURE you go into Power Settings, and change pressing the Power Button to shut the computer down completely.
if you leave a USB flash drive/hard drive in, and the system hibernates or sleeps, when it comes back on, ALL of your date on the USB media device's, WILL be corrupted!
(Same as the flash drives, etc.. will be written in the RAW state, and hard to repair!)
WHY Windows 8.1 does that, I have NO freakin' idea!

The Webcam is very good, I have to say.
The camera/webcam app launches straight away, and is sharp and bright.
no real in-built options to adjust the brightness, contrast etc.. (At least, I haven't found the options yet)
but overall, excellent for Skype/Tango/OovoO/Viber calls.

The model comes with one USB 3.0 port.
And one standard USB 2.0 port.
So, you're losing an additional USB 2.0 port, but gaining a more modern, and faster USB 3.0 one.
Oh yeah.. and it comes with a mini HDMi port, too.
but this is pretty pointless, in My opinion.
There is no Ethernet or FireWire ports, or a cd drive.
There is a single headphone socket on the right side of the netbook, but no microphone port.

This is a very nice, cheap netbook, designed to do basic things like web browsing, typing, and viewing photos and watching movies.

In My weird description.. it is basic and dry.. like Ryvita!
(But it gets the job done) Read more ›

I chose this laptop for my husband's birthday in place of a tablet or a netbook because it has a much larger memory (6GB RAM) but is still light enough to be carried around easily. He finds the touch screen a little more sensitive than he expected but as he has had it for less than 1 month I am sure he will get used to it! Apart from this, he is very pleased with it. It is very quick and the battery life seems perfectly adequate. We would recommend this product to anyone. I also bought a Case Logic Laptop Sleeve Case for him to carry it around, which I would thoroughly recommend. (see separate review)

I have bought this laptop from high street catalog shop for 300�, I did upgrade it with 120GB SSD and I really love it. Its snappy and the touchscreen works great in Windows 8.1 modern UI and desktop likewise. I hardly ever use the touchpad. Browsing web with IE11 app for modern UI is a great experience, scrolling and pinch to zoom is fluid like on iPad if not better. Native netflix app works a treat and HD movies are all fluid and beautiful on its high quality IPS display. The plastic case is sturdy and the overall build quality is great. It is also easy to upgrade the HDD to SSD with video guides on youtube. Overall performance is on par with the lates intel Bay Trail processors with 3D graphics performance being some 50% better for this AMD APU. Only one slight disappointment could be the mediocre battery life ranging from 3-5 hours depending on your usage but that can be rectified with the purchase of exterlan battery with latches securely to the back of the bottom cover. Keyboard is very nice to type on and you will be up to your normal speed within few minutes. Key has definitive feedback and are nicely spaced. Small bonuses are nicely positioned controls for adjusting the volume and screen brightness accesible throught function key in combination with arrow / cursor keys. Windows 8 now really makes a sence with such a responsive and accurate touchscreen. It is total pleasure to use. I just wish that there is a version with backlit keyboard in UK like in US. Overall for �300 and after SSD upgrade this laptop is hard to beat for its value.