Today I write to you on my brand new laptop. As reluctant as I was to give up my previous machine, one that surprised and shocked me repeatedly due to its remarkable ability to over-achieve like no other laptop that I had ever owned before, that whole spilling lemonade on top of the keyboard incident really left me with no other option.
And when it came time to purchase a new laptop, I did exactly what I normally do. I narrowed my choice down to two favorites and then I spent eight days weighing the pros and cons of each one over and over and over again until everyone around me, tired of me asking their opinion for the forty-second time, began yelling, “Just buy the damn thing already!”
Finally, I bought the damn thing. However, twenty minutes after clicking the “Confirm Purchase” button on Amazon.com, I changed my mind, canceled my order and chose the other finalist instead.
Basically, it is an upgraded version of my last laptop (Acer Aspire Timeline 1810T). I figured that if I loved that old machine so much, there really wasn’t a need to experiment with something else. I decided to stick with what has not only worked, but worked so amazingly well for me over the past two years.
And my new machine is faster, more powerful and it’s still lightweight (3.1 lbs), with a comfortable 11.6 inch screen, full keyboard and most importantly, it can handle any program I throw at it with ease. As a permanent nomad who blogs and works online, what more do I need?
So far, I’ve been as happy with this new laptop as I was with my previous one. The only downside is that I must now keep any drinks, especially lemonade, a minimum of five feet away from me while I’m working. I’ve become a little neurotic about this as I certainly don’t want to spill anything again any time soon. Even right now I’m back at Ah Cacao Cafe with my laptop on one table and my mango smoothie sitting on the table next to me, well away from spilling distance.
Apart from that, I highly recommend the Acer TimelineX for anyone planning to travel and work/blog from the road. At under $630 USD, you end up with an ultra-portable yet powerful laptop, complete with specs that match those of many larger and more expensive machines. As far as I’m concerned, this is the perfect laptop for a nomad!
TRAVEL BLOG SUCCESS
Switching gears completely for a few minutes, I thought this would be an ideal moment to mention a special promotion being offered by my pal Dave Lee from GoBackpacking.com.
As I know that many of you are either interested in starting your own travel blog or in growing your current travel blog, this should be of particular interest to you.
Dave is the creator of Travel Blog Success, a program that provides the step-by-step instructions one needs to successfully build, maintain, promote and even monetize a travel blog. It’s a program that I’ve used myself, as have dozens of other travel bloggers, and it’s a program that I strongly suggest any serious travel blogger take a look at if they want their blog to stand out in the travel blogging world.
Not only are there dozens of pages of detailed material that will help give a major boost to the success of your blog, there is also an active forum, which I consider to be the biggest bonus of this program. This is where members communicate with both Dave and each other in order to ask questions, seek additional advice and basically pick up the valuable tips and know-how that only an exclusive community of dedicated bloggers can provide.
I won’t go into too much more detail as you can read all about the program right here: Travel Blog Success
As a side note, and this should be of interest to any of you who are looking to earn money through your travel blog, Dave himself just earned $5000 for the month of May through his blogging efforts. And while that number is definitely on the high end of the spectrum in terms of earning potential, he is clearly someone that knows what he’s talking about, which is exactly what makes his program so worthwhile.
Anyway, the main reason I wanted to mention the course today is because Dave is currently offering a 35% discount (for 4 days only) on the Premium Membership, which will save you over $40 and give you access to absolutely every aspect of the program, including expert interviews and monthly coaching calls as well.
If you have a read through the Travel Blog Success website and decide to join, make sure you use the following code in order to receive the 35% discount:
Discount Code: tbs35 Sale Ends: Sunday, June 12th at 11pm (EST)
Any other Acer users out there? And if anyone has any questions about Travel Blog Success, please let me know in the comments below or just send me an email!
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Do you ever find yourself needing a DVD/CD-RW? For watching movies or burning stuff?
Do you think you could get by with a Intel Core i3 processor? The reason why I ask is because Asus makes U30JC which is 2lb’s, 13.3 and it has a DVD/CD-RW and only cost state side $650.00. The drawback is the i3 processor…
Hey John – I have never really needed a DVD/CD-RW on my travels, which is why I love my 11.6″ Acer laptop (which has an i5 processor and works perfectly well with every program I need to use). I have a database of movies that other travelers have passed on to me and so I don’t really have any reason to carry a laptop with a DVD. And of course it all depends on what programs you run but like I said, I’ve had no problems with the i5 or with the i3 (which my last Acer had until I spilled a glass of lemonade all over the keyboard!)
If I ever leave the ridiculously priced Mac then I reckon Acer will get a chance. My partner has an Acer and it’s pretty cool. The trackpad is odd but everything else works great.
Hey Forest – Well, I don’t think too many Mac users return to PCs these days but if you do, Acer is not a bad option as you know. The trackpad is a bit funny and does tend to have its own brain at times but once you get used to it, it’s quite manageable!
Thanks for the kind words about Travel Blog Success! In addition to Giulia, quite a few others have taken advantage of this weekend’s sale and I’m super excited to get to know them better in the coming weeks.
Regarding your new laptop, I certainly like the price, but not sure I could manage photo editing with an 11″ screen. Does the same model come with bigger screen sizes? I’m still on the edge about spending $1500 for a Mac Air. Either way, I can’t continue to carry my 5-pound 15″ HP around any more!
Hey Dave – The TimelineX series also has a 13.3 inch version as well. The strange thing though, is that the processor on the 13.3 inch version is a little slower than the one on the 11.6 inch version I ended up with. Not by much, but there is a difference. And I know what you mean about dishing out $1500 for a Mac Air. My current conclusion is that I simply don’t want to carry around such an expensive piece of equipment on my travels. I’d rather have a less impressive machine that I don’t have to worry about all the time and that I wouldn’t be terribly upset about losing/having stolen while on the road!
But I think for you, going from a 5 lb 15″ machine to anything will be an improvement. I can’t imagine lugging such a laptop around!
Looking at it on Amazon now…. 3.97 pounds. Still a pound heavier than the $1500 options, but I agree with you about not wanting to have to worry about an expensive laptop.
I’m going to be spending the next 6+ months on the move in South America, and the last thing I’d want is my laptop to get stolen in Ecuador or any of the other countries I plan to visit.
It was bad enough having my Blackberry stolen last year!
Thanks for the Travel Blog Success advice; still two days left on the available discount! I look forward to seeing what Dave has to say in regards to getting new travel blogs off the ground and up and running. I’m sure the Travel Blog Success forum has lots of good resources and helpful guidance tips as well, that are sure to help folks in all aspects of the travel blogging process. Keep up the good work and enjoy the new laptop!
I use Acer Aspire. I bought my first one in 2008 in Malaysia and loved it… Suddenly it died in April in USA. maybe storm / power surge issue? Anyhow, I promptly bought a new Acer Aspire, newer version, double the RAM and only $400 US vs. $800 for my first one! so far, loving it too! I’m with you on Acers EArl!
Hey Lash – I’m glad to know I’m not the only person who is a happy Acer owner! They often seem to slip under the radar but in reality, they offer quite an impressive setup for what are definitely reasonable prices. In terms of overall value, it’s a hard deal to beat.
Hey Radita – Travel Blog Success will definitely provide that guidance. Like I mentioned, I still refer to it all the time just to make sure I’m doing things correctly!
Do you ever find yourself needing a DVD/CD-RW? For watching movies or burning stuff?
Do you think you could get by with a Intel Core i3 processor? The reason why I ask is because Asus makes U30JC which is 2lb’s, 13.3 and it has a DVD/CD-RW and only cost state side $650.00. The drawback is the i3 processor…
Hey John – I have never really needed a DVD/CD-RW on my travels, which is why I love my 11.6″ Acer laptop (which has an i5 processor and works perfectly well with every program I need to use). I have a database of movies that other travelers have passed on to me and so I don’t really have any reason to carry a laptop with a DVD. And of course it all depends on what programs you run but like I said, I’ve had no problems with the i5 or with the i3 (which my last Acer had until I spilled a glass of lemonade all over the keyboard!)
If I ever leave the ridiculously priced Mac then I reckon Acer will get a chance. My partner has an Acer and it’s pretty cool. The trackpad is odd but everything else works great.
Hey Forest – Well, I don’t think too many Mac users return to PCs these days but if you do, Acer is not a bad option as you know. The trackpad is a bit funny and does tend to have its own brain at times but once you get used to it, it’s quite manageable!
Thanks for the kind words about Travel Blog Success! In addition to Giulia, quite a few others have taken advantage of this weekend’s sale and I’m super excited to get to know them better in the coming weeks.
Regarding your new laptop, I certainly like the price, but not sure I could manage photo editing with an 11″ screen. Does the same model come with bigger screen sizes? I’m still on the edge about spending $1500 for a Mac Air. Either way, I can’t continue to carry my 5-pound 15″ HP around any more!
Hey Dave – The TimelineX series also has a 13.3 inch version as well. The strange thing though, is that the processor on the 13.3 inch version is a little slower than the one on the 11.6 inch version I ended up with. Not by much, but there is a difference. And I know what you mean about dishing out $1500 for a Mac Air. My current conclusion is that I simply don’t want to carry around such an expensive piece of equipment on my travels. I’d rather have a less impressive machine that I don’t have to worry about all the time and that I wouldn’t be terribly upset about losing/having stolen while on the road!
But I think for you, going from a 5 lb 15″ machine to anything will be an improvement. I can’t imagine lugging such a laptop around!
Looking at it on Amazon now…. 3.97 pounds. Still a pound heavier than the $1500 options, but I agree with you about not wanting to have to worry about an expensive laptop.
I’m going to be spending the next 6+ months on the move in South America, and the last thing I’d want is my laptop to get stolen in Ecuador or any of the other countries I plan to visit.
It was bad enough having my Blackberry stolen last year!
Congratulations on the new laptop! 🙂 And thanks for the advice on Travel Blog Success: I just signed up. 🙂
Awesome Giulia! I’m quite certain you’ll find it to be a very useful program and I shall look forward to seeing the results 🙂
Thanks for the Travel Blog Success advice; still two days left on the available discount! I look forward to seeing what Dave has to say in regards to getting new travel blogs off the ground and up and running. I’m sure the Travel Blog Success forum has lots of good resources and helpful guidance tips as well, that are sure to help folks in all aspects of the travel blogging process. Keep up the good work and enjoy the new laptop!
I use Acer Aspire. I bought my first one in 2008 in Malaysia and loved it… Suddenly it died in April in USA. maybe storm / power surge issue? Anyhow, I promptly bought a new Acer Aspire, newer version, double the RAM and only $400 US vs. $800 for my first one! so far, loving it too! I’m with you on Acers EArl!
Hey Lash – I’m glad to know I’m not the only person who is a happy Acer owner! They often seem to slip under the radar but in reality, they offer quite an impressive setup for what are definitely reasonable prices. In terms of overall value, it’s a hard deal to beat.
Thanks for the heads up on the travel blog success discount. I am definitely feeling like I need some guidance.
Hey Radita – Travel Blog Success will definitely provide that guidance. Like I mentioned, I still refer to it all the time just to make sure I’m doing things correctly!
Enjoy your new toy! I’m gonna have to get a new one myself soon…
Hey Andi – So far I’m loving this machine! Good luck with your search 🙂