Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Acer Aspire 1 A114-32-C1YA, 14" Full HD, Intel Celeron N4000, 4GB DDR4, 64GB eMMC, Office 365 Personal, Windows 10 Home in S mode

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2019

This review is for the Acer A114-32-C1YA. 64gb of storage, 4gb of RAM, Windows S.

I'm a semi-retired I.T. tech, so this review comes from that standpoint.

After booting the device and logging in (using a Microsoft account, not a local account) I upgraded Windows S to Windows Home. This is a free upgrade, but is not reversible. Windows S supports only apps available in the Windows Store; Windows 10 Home supports Office 365 and 3rd party software.

Once Win 10 Home was installed (if you do this, be sure to reboot the system, just to let things stabilize); also Win 10 updates will want to install and the malware definitions of Windows Defender will want to install, so give it some time to do those chores before installing other apps. Before I installed more apps, I removed a BUNCH of apps from the original Win 10 install - the machine comes loaded with "Bloatware" from Microsoft.

After the "Bloatware-ectomy and Windows updates I installed Office 365, Chrome browser, DIA (an open source diagramming application), four printer drivers, Splashtop (a remote access application), a "Caps Lock" indicator app, Dropbox and setting up MS Outlook, a couple of GB of data, and have 33 GB free. 8 GB is taken up by the backup of Windows ("Windows.old") and could be recovered by running 'disk clean / clean system files'.

I tested Windows Remote Desktop and SplashTop and was able to access remote Windows computers without issue. Setting up an old HP4050n printer took some time - the drivers had to be manually configured.

Performance of the Acer with 4gb RAM and an N4000 processor is not earth shaking; it isn't a gaming machine. However, running Office apps or having 3-4 Chrome windows open doesn't seem to task the system.

The keyboard is acceptable for the market price (YMMV since keyboards are subjective). There's no "Caps Lock" indicator on the keyboard. However I've installed a 3rd party freeware program that places an indicator on the screen when Caps Lock is on. (You can find the software by searching the web). I'm finding the screen to be better than I expected for this price point - but again, that's subjective and YMMV.

One irritation - "Cortana" wants to search the web, the local device, the planet, the outer planets, and extend the search to the Andromeda Galaxy for all I know. There's a registry hack that kills ("murders" might be a better word) Cortana and limits searches to the local machine. If I need to search the web, I use Google (or some such); when I'm looking for a file or an app, I want the Windows 10 Home search bar to limit the search to the local machine. Once the hack was in place, the search bar works nicely. You can search the web on how to disable Cortana. Be sure to save a backup copy of the Registry before attempting to edit it.

Since Bitlocker isn't supplied with Win 10 Home (shame on Microsoft for that!!!) I've added a BIOS / boot password so that once shut down the machine can't be fired up w/o the password.

If you need more storage, a USB thumb drive can be installed (some of them are very small and don't extend out of the USB port by much). Online storage (DropBox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.) is also an option (I've disabled OneDrive on my machine). There's an SD card reader, but the card sticks out too far for my taste to leave a card in the machine permanently for storage purposes. YMMV.

(Edit 2/23/19): I added a 64 GB USB drive and moved my 2 GB of data onto that. I used another computer running Window 10 Pro to encrypt the drive using Bitlocker. Windows 10 Home can unlock Bitlocker drives. If the laptop is lost or stolen the BIOS password will protect the Acer from booting up and Bitlocker will protect the data.

The machine is lightweight and would be good for making notes in class or meetings; my primary usage will be to maintain a Windows Server 2012r2 domain controller and network using remote desktop and Splashtop. Email and Office apps run well; I've experienced no issues. Note that I normally have no more than 2-3 apps running at once; if you're in the habit of having 15 web pages open you may stress the machine more than I do. Don't expect to run online games or Adobe PhotoShop or other intensive apps on this machine. But for me - $250 for a serviceable laptop that can do what I need to do w/o fuss rates 5 stars. (There are other computers in the price range with better specs - but the Acer works for me. YMMV.)

(Edit 2/23/2019) After a full battery charge I used the computer on a service call. The computer was in use (no videos, just Office, web searches, and remote accessing client's network machines) from 5 a.m. until 10 a.m.; it was placed into sleep mode until 3 p.m., then used from 3 p.m. until 5:15 p.m. when the "low battery" warning at 20% came on. A little over 7 hours run time, 5 hours sleep mode - not bad at all for the first real day of work.

HTH

Regards

Jim

48 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Very nice budget laptop

Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2019

Verified Purchase

I was a little hesitant after reading some of the reviews here, but I'm happy that I went ahead and ordered it. The laptop has exceeded my expectations for the price. The build is all plastic, but it feels sturdy, and the hinge feels tight. The keyboard is comfortable and types well. Performance is about what you would expect for the price, but is definitely sufficient for normal usage and office work. I haven't really done much gaming on here, as I have a desktop for that, but I would probably not recommended it for gaming. The biggest surprise for me was actually the screen. Despite being a TN panel, the display is actually very nice; it's bright and colorful. I'm currently running Ubuntu 19.10, and after some adjustments in the BIOS, everything is working perfectly out of the box. I definitely recommend this laptop if you're looking for something affordable for daily usage, office work, or to run Linux.

2 people found this helpful

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Digital Doc

The 'Good Enough' Laptop

Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2018

Verified Purchase

The Acer Aspire 1 is the Microsoft answer to the continuing onslaught of affordable Google Chromebooks, featuring decent specs, at a downright affordable price. While I would not want to use it as my only machine, as a secondary device, it has much to offer.

An immediate downside is that it ships with Windows 10S, which is a limited version of Windows, that can only install apps from the Windows Store. However, this is easily remedied, and it is a free upgrade to Windows 10 Home, which then allows any Windows program to be used, and is recommended to intermediate and advanced users.

At this price, we can’t expect amazing, but the Acer Aspire 1 is a decent laptop. While the exterior is a lightly textured plastic, it is quite thin with a fanless design, and the keyboard is good although the keys have shallow travel. The touchscreen is also serviceable.

The display is also ok, and with a 1080p resolution, although it could be brighter, and have richer colors. Still, it does not look bargain to my eye. The 3 USB ports, and HDMI port along with an Ethernet port match up well against many mainstream laptops these days.

The CPU is the Celeron N4000, and while it is a dual core part, is the newer Gemini Lake architecture, and has enough horsepower for routine tasks, such as email, word processing and basic web surfing.

The Acer Aspire 1 is gimped in a few departments. The first is the “hard drive” which is 64 GB of eMMC memory, which is a cousin to that flash card in your old digital camera, with speeds more akin to a mechanical hard drive than an SSD. The space is limited, but it should have enough for a Windows upgrade, unlike the 32 GB machines. There is also only 4 GB of RAM, which you can feel when you open up more than a few tabs on your browser. Finally, while there are two speakers, they are fairly small, and the audio lacks punch and bass, which is typical for this type of machine.

Overall, the Acer Aspire 1 is a more than decent bargain machine. While not suited to advanced tasks such as video editing or gaming, for the basics such as email or web browsing it gets the job done. When I pushed it, it was even able to stream a 4K video quite smoothly. This makes it an ideal device for a student to take to class, a senior citizen, or to take on vacation.

Update: Major problems with the device including broken Wifi on 5 GHz, a nonfunctioning HDMI port, and then completely fails to boot at all and just refuses to start, or stuck on the boot splash screen and fails to progress. Sent for service.

Update August 2021: The wifi card died. It did accept the Intel AX200 part, and wireless works better than new.

8 people found this helpful

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Amogh Joshi

Value for product.

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2019

Verified Purchase

It is a amazing laptop given its $250 price. I've been using it as my backup laptop ON and OFF recently and have not faced any issues. It starts very quickly. Does all the job. Web camera kind of sucks, but the audio is decent. I can even run software like IntelliJ. It can handle software like that. Moreover, it's touchpad might not be that great if you're used to MacBook, but overall given its price. it's 10/10.

One person found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Bad computer and customer service

Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2020

Verified Purchase

I have been having trouble since day one and I want to return it but they won't let me because it is after warranty. I have not been able to use this computer at it fullest capacity from the beginning. Their technical support people aren't always able to help me. My windows office didn't work so they sent me stick to reactive it since it to be free for a year. I wrote a letter and the next day I tried to print it and it is said office had expired. It has not been a year. At first I was able to move pages around such as Google maps and Ancestry, I can n longer do that and no one can tell me why. They don't want to answer my question because it is out of warranty. I contacted them vis Twitter and someone was to contact me to help. He left one message and never tried again after saying he would. I have left three messages for him. FYI, it took over a month for him to call in the first place. Bottom line, I want my money back!!!! The product and customer service is shoddy at best.

One person found this helpful

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AL

What more can a teen as for?

Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2019

Verified Purchase

My 15 year old uses this laptop day and night. She uses it without the charger cable and doesn't complain about the battery life. She leaves it on her bed and it doesn't over heat, which was my #1 fear. I've witness for myself the what a hot laptop can do to a bed (fire). The quality of video are superb and it been dropped at least once and no cracks and dents. It was also inexpensive and useful for her school and social life. It's cool as she puts it an it's great to me.

3 people found this helpful

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Chris G.

Ok for basic use

Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2019

Verified Purchase

Good computer for basic use. I'm not sure what things I can do to elevate this laptop like everyone said. But good for simple browsing, emails, music etc. After about 7-8 tabs it starts to slow down slightly. Also the screen does not compare to my chromebook at all. If you're coming from a higher resolution product you will know instantly the difference

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Kindle Customer

Great little computer for the price!!

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2018

Verified Purchase

I haven't owned a new laptop since I bought my Asus 6 years ago. I am comparing this little gem with that monster. This is smaller and lighter. The battery life so far much surpasses what I was used to. This Acer has a much more user-friendly keypad and touchpad, and the display and sound are much improved as well. The internet speed is faster and the response to new tasks is quick. The set-up was pretty easy. Nice to have Office included for the first year, therefore saving $60+ out of the gate. I was used to Windows 10 and the s mode does not seem to be a problem as I just use Edge to access what I need without downloading the apps, ie google photos, etc. I did not need anything with bells and whistles and therefore did not want to spend a lot of money - just something better for word processing, social media, emailing, etc. That is exactly what I found.

101 people found this helpful

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kyncaith

A very solid laptop for the price.

Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2018

Verified Purchase

This laptop is a great buy that fits nicely between "cheap" and "too cheap". You're obviously not going to be playing graphics intensive games on this. That's not what it's for. If you're looking for a solid internet/email/office apps laptop that is light weight, has decent battery life, is surprisingly speedy, and is cheap, this is it.

I personally use mine for programming classes and meetups. It runs Visual Studio Code with a dozen Chrome pages and LibreOffice open no problem. If you want to watch some YouTube or Netflix, it does that nicely too. I've never noticed any video lags or stuttering. Most apps open up in about 5 to 7 seconds. Chrome opens in less than 5 usually. I also have Linux (Ubuntu 18) running in dual boot. The only problem I have faced with running Linux is that you have to put the touch pad into Basic mode in the BIOS before using Linux as it doesn't support the touch pad in Advanced mode. Advanced mode allows the touch pad to use advanced gestures like pinching and three finger swipes. I don't really miss it in Linux honestly as I don't usually use those gestures much in Windows.

As many have mentioned, the biggest draw back to this laptop is the screen quality and the storage space. If you find that 64GBs isn't enough for you, this problem can easily be solved by an external SD card, USB drive, or cloud storage.

One issue with the SD card reader is that the SD card sticks out about 5/8 of an inch. This would mean you'd probably want to remove it before storing the laptop in a bag. Another option is to buy a Micro SD card and a Shortening Micro SD Card Adapter. These are used in some models of MacBooks and in Raspberry PIs. This would make it so the card sticks out only about 1/4 of an inch, which would make a better permanent space solution. I have not personally done this yet, but I have read that it works.

As for the screen, there's not much you can do there. It is obvious this is the area that Acer decided to make the most cuts, and I can't say that was a bad decision. Since graphics is not going to be an important task on this machine, the screen is going to be adequate for most tasks. Really the only time that I notice it is when I'm trying to share the screen with someone next to me. There simply isn't enough of a viewing angle for a second person to get the best view. But when I'm engrossed in coding, or browsing the internet, I don't notice the screen that much.

This laptop comes loaded with Windows 10 Home S. The "S" means that it comes in what Microsoft calls "S Mode." S Mode simply means that you can only use Microsoft approved apps from the Microsoft store. In order to run third party apps like Chrome, or LibreOffice, you have to switch out of S Mode. This is a permanent change. Once out of S Mode, you can't go back, although I don't suspect most people will care. You will then have a regular version of Windows 10 Home for free. This is a quick and easy switch, and I'm guessing most people would be better off doing this right when you get your laptop. If you need Windows 10 Pro, you will need to purchase the upgrade from the Microsoft Store, which is $99 at the time of this review (11/9/18).

The bottom line is, you have to make sacrifices somewhere when you are this far down on the price spectrum. It's really about what is going to fit your needs the most.

248 people found this helpful

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Cyndal S.

Great PC for a Student

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2019

Verified Purchase

I have a middle-school aged child and as he gets older, more of his school assignments are done online. He needs the computer more and more to write papers or hand in assignments in his school portal. After reading reviews for SEVERAL laptops, I decided to take a chance on this one as the reviews were good and the product description was exactly what I needed.

This was a great purchase and I would definitely recommend. This came with a 1 year Microsoft Office subscription which is perfect as my son uses Word to type up a lot of his school papers. All software was easily downloaded at start up and the computer was ready to use within 30 minutes of taking it out of the box. The set up was easy and contrary to some reviews, the set up DID NOT use up all of the available memory on this PC.

Pros: This is not a Chromebook product, most inexpensive options were Chromebook and this is a standard PC that uses Windows. Screen size and clarity are good, the picture is clear on photos and videos - my son watches A LOT of YouTube videos so I can personally attest to the screen clarity. Lightweight, this PC is not heavy, only weighs a few pounds. Slim build of the product is nice, it allows for easy storage in a sleeve or laptop bag - this PC is not bulky at all. After set up, you can easily link this PC to your other Microsoft/Windows products (like Xbox, or other PC's) with your Microsoft Log-in information.

Cons: You get what you paid for price wise - if you need this for anything more than basic browsing, games, Microsoft Office (basic documents) then you may want to consider either something with more memory or buying external storage - that isn't so much a con as it is something to make note of. The Microsoft Office will need to be renewed which will be an additional cost after the 1 year subscription.

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5 people found this helpful

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