Acer TravelMate 8481T-6873: Remarkable Road Warrior
by Dustin Sklavos on December 11, 2011 2:22 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Intel
- Toshiba
- TravelMate
Conclusion: A Good Start, But Needs Improvement
I will say the Acer TravelMate 8481T-6873 is a surprisingly good little system. It should be; it's geared more towards professional users. Acer has done a good job with the majority of the fit and finish of the 8481T; the black brushed aluminum, solid body, and healthy battery life make it a notebook that most people would probably be happy to use on the go, and there's plenty of power under the hood, too.
Unfortunately, specs don't make everything, and I wish Acer hadn't cheaped out in certain places while keeping the business-class pricetag. I can forgive a crappy screen on an ultraportable because I'd be more apt to use it for just writing on the go, taking notes and playing the odd game of Magic. A better screen would be good, but there's no real need for high contrast and amazing colors for office applications. The SSD is slow by SSD standards, but the user experience is still snappier than any mechanical drive-based system I've tested.
But that keyboard just murders it. I've ranted and complained about this Acer keyboard here so many times I feel like I'd surprise some of the readers if I didn't go off on a tear about it, but the fact is that a keyboard is pretty much the whole reason you'd buy a laptop instead of a tablet at this point, and this keyboard sucks mightily. It's a chore to use, I find my typing is less accurate on it, and it's the kind of thing I would go out of my way to avoid.
Acer is transitioning towards a far superior chiclet-style keyboard on their consumer lines (though why the Enter and backslash keys touch is beyond me), and I could forgive the 8481T's other flaws easily enough if that was the keyboard I was working with here. Hopefully we'll see the TravelMate line move to a new style keyboard with the next refresh.
As an end consumer you're going to have to decide whether or not these are compromises you're willing to make. Acer's $1349 MSRP is frankly a bit outrageous, but you can find the system for at least $100 less if you shop around. Unfortunately, the entry-level Toshiba Portege Z830 is lighter, has a slightly faster SSD at the same capacity, and is way cheaper, and under those circumstances I'd easily go for the Toshiba. ASUS and Acer also have ultrabooks that are thinner and lighter while still offering decent build quality, and we'll have reviews of those shortly; the keyboard change along might be worth the switch. As a final option, Lenovo offers the X220 at or below the TravelMate's price range, and that notebook offers a vastly superior keyboard and processor. And all of this is before even bringing the Sony Vaio SB into the equation.
If you can find the TravelMate 8481T-6873 at a lower price and you're willing to put up with the keyboard, I could probably recommend it. It's certainly far from the worst ultraportable I've tested and it's a sterling reminder that ultrabooks aren't the only option available to PC users. But if you're as picky as I am when it comes to typing, you may want to look elsewhere.
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Dainas - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
Granted you admit its opinion based, but i find these Acer keyboards far nicer than chiclets.Those goddamn Apple keyboards and the legion of laptops trying to emulate them bare no tactile feedback. Their stiff ungiving action is actually very damaging to the fingers, as an author it is extremely important to me to be able to write dozens of pages in a sitting.
Let alone to not get premature Osteoarthritis; as the harsh hard action these apple and wannabe Keyboards will surely cause after a decade of typing on what has all the give of steel slats.
snuuggles - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
I'm surprised you hate the apple keyboards. I tried the MacBook air 13" for a couple weeks and found it pretty ok for typing lengthy missives on anandtech :) action was fairly forgiving and I hardly missed any letters while touch typIngNo, the real enemy is the asus ux31. I'm goin to go out on a limb and say justin never tried that particular heap of shit. Action: INCREDIBLY stiff and short, and several of the larger keys didn't register when hit in particular places--including the enter key
Horrible, just horrible. I suppose I could just be finding the apple keyboard better *relative* to that monster, but I tested out the MBA for quite a while and didn't find the issues you listed, personally
Though I did end up returning it. Just slightly too expensive for me. I just slapped a ssd in my old laptop and am gtg for 2012 :)
Lifted - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
I was also thrown by the "keyboard snob" attitude followed by how much he likes the Apple chicklet keyboards. WTF?You'll pry my Thinkpad keyboard from my cold dead hands!
Bluestealth - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
Seconded!, I did try out my friends Mac Book Pro 13.3"... I was about to go insane. On the other hand my Lenovo X220 is just about perfect.ThomasA - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
I 'm a new X220 owner and agree the great keyboard being a strong asset. The whole unit is a pleasure to use/carry, and especially the IPS screen.drwho9437 - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
I currently have a X200 and yes I am a keyboard snob all my desktops have MX blue mechanical boards... While I find my X200 keyboard okay, I must say I got a T60 used off ebay. Keyboard is if anything even better. May well be an NMP or whatever. The feel is just that much more deep and thumpy than my X200 even. Regular laptop keyboards make me cry.Death666Angel - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
I have a Travelmate 8172T with the same style keyboard and like it very much as well. Acer Travelmates are pretty decent in my opinion. Only drawback here for me would be the sub-par resolution. If I go to 13/14" I want at least 900 vertical pixel.Samus - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
I think its amazing that even in 2011, most manufactures can't get a simple keyboard right. What the hell is up with that?I couldn't agree more. Thinkpads, Latitudes and Macbooks have the best keyboards hands-down. Some HP laptops, like the DM1, DM4 and various Chicklet-packing Elitebook and Probook models have decent keyboards, but basically the two most important things about laptops are the keyboard and the screen, because if either (or both) have a single flaw, there isn't anything you can do about it because they are obviously integral components that can not be replaced.
Manufactures: stop focusing on battery life, performance, duability, and price, and get the keyboard and screen sorted first!
MrSpadge - Sunday, December 11, 2011 - link
A while ago I wandered through a popular electronics market and tried out ALL their laptop keyboards. They were so horrible and sluggish. The only ones "OK" were actually the Macs.However, still worlds between them and my trusty old Thinkpad T61!
MrS
Stuka87 - Monday, December 12, 2011 - link
I actually find the Apple keyboards to have pretty good feedback. They have a nice solid feel when they are down, and I never hit two keys at the same time.Although my current favorite keyboard is on my Precision M4600. I can type faster on that keyboard than most of my desktop keyboards even. But I dont find myself being annoyed or complaining when typing on my MacBook.