Back To School Giveaway: Acer Aspire 4820T Laptop from Intel!

Next up the the Back to School Bash is an Acer Aspire 4820T laptop computer, courtesy of the people at Intel! 

While Brad promptly claimed this computer for himself once it arrived, I’ve had the chance to use it quite a bit and he and I may have to renegotiate…because this laptop is AWESOME.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I would like the 14″ screen (I have a 15″ one), but the quality of the picture is so great that you don’t even notice the 1″ difference.  Another fantabulous thing about this laptop?  This sucker is LIGHT.  At under 5 lbs, the Acer Aspire 4820T was the perfect computer to take to BlogHer.  Add to that the fact that the battery lasts 8 hours, and this computer is absolutely perfect for college students to take to class, for moms to take on the road and for just about anyone!  (and as a side note, I even love how the battery doesn’t lay flat…when installed, it props the back of the computer up by about an inch, making it more ergonomic)

So when I received the computer, I participated in a conference call with the people at Intel as they described the many features of the Acer Aspire 4820T.  I have to say, much of what they said was completely “over my head”, so I asked them if they could provide me some of the key features in “computer-idiot-speak”:

The first question anyone should ask themselves when buying a new PC is “What am I going to do with it?”  This will determine if you want a thin and light laptop, a full featured laptop, a desktop etc.

You need to consider your budget and then prioritize within that budget.  Besides the type of system (laptop, desktop), you should look at features like storage, memory and the processor.

We encourage people to buy the best they can. We call it “investment protection.”  It’s like a milk expiration date.  The better the system, the longer the expiration date is.

The latest processors are the Intel Core i3, i5 and i7.  It’s like buying a BMW – the 3, 5 and 7 series.  You know that 3 is always entry level, 5 is solid and 7 is the best/supreme.  It’s the same with the processor and can act as a guide in your buying process.

For the majority of today’s students we recommend the Intel Core i5.  This is the processor that powers the laptop we sent to you.

Students are doing lots of multi-tasking, and the laptop needs to be their entertainment and work center all-in-one.  The Intel Core i3 is an entry level system and the Core i7 is a great high-end system (hard core gamers love it, for example). The Core i5 powered laptop meets the needs of most of today’s students because they 1) require mobility and great battery life (they are moving around the campus, at home, the library etc.); 2) they need performance to multitask without getting the dreaded hourglass (taking notes, listening to music, IM’ing friends, watching video/TV etc.; and 3) they need “power” for things like video and photo editing.

Intel works closely with software, hardware and application companies (think itunes, Microsoft etc.) to make sure that the processor and the hardware/software offer the best combined experience.  This includes:

Geeky names like Intel turbo boost and Intel hyper-threading; but what does it mean?

Bottom line is less of the hourglass and time wasted waiting on your computer to catch up while you do the things you want to do.

In more detail…

The PC is “smart” and can “power up” when you need performance (like editing) and can “power down” when you don’t need it (i.e. you are just doing email).  When it powers down, it saves energy which equals longer battery life.

In a car, “turbo boost” gives the driver extra zing to pass that slow truck on the road.  Turbo boost in the Intel technology does something similar – a boost when you need it for processor intensive applications.

This is a “dual core” computer or like having two brains in one.  One brain can focus on one task and the other brain can focus on another task – all at the same time. This is important for multi-tasking (or doing many things at once on your computer). It’s like a cook in the kitchen.  If you have two cooks instead of one you can get more done in a shorter amount of time.  That’s what our technology does, enable you to do more quickly.

The Acer Aspire 4820T is priced between $720 and $900 at most stores…and now, one of you lucky readers has a chance to win one of these!

To enter to win (each counts as a separate entry, so leave a separate comment!)

1. Leave a comment letting me know who in your family could use a new laptop the most, and how you plan to use it (gaming, surfing the internet, work?)

2. Subscribe to my feed via Reader or email subscription to get all of the deals that I post and leave a comment that you have subscribed. If you already subscribe (thank you!), leave a separate comment letting me know.

3. Promote this giveaway.

If you have a blog, write a post about this giveaway and leave a separate comment with a link.

If you don’t have a blog, you can Tweet (and make sure that you are following me on Twitter!) about this giveaway and leave a comment letting me know that!

You can post a link to this giveaway on your Facebook page or favorite forum!

For each one of these that you do, leave a separate comment for another chance to win!

This giveaway will remain open until August 23 at 12:00pm EST at which time I will pick a winner using random.org and notify the winner by email

Good luck!

Stop by these blogs for more chances to win:

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Bargain Briana
Common Sense With Money
Coupon Cravings
Mommin It Up
Mommy Snacks
Passion for Savings
Saving Cents with Sense
Southern Savers
Stretching a Buck

In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that Intel Corporation has provided me with the Acer TimelineX Series, as well as one for the contest winner. There is no direct or implied obligation on my behalf to write about the product.  This giveaway is part of Win Giveaways Back to School Bash. This Post was written by me and was not edited by the sponsor. Read more on my Disclosure Page. Find more information on the terms for this giveaway on the Win Giveaways Facebook page.