I need a decent touchpad -- not an ALPS touchpad -- from Acer
September 7, 2010 7:04 AM Subscribe
How do I convince Acer to replace my Aspire/TimelineX 1830T with the same machine but different hardware?
I recently purchased an Acer Aspire/TimelineX 1830T-3721. 1830T-3721s come with one of two different hardware configurations, with one of two ethernet cards, one of two wireless cards, and one of two touchpads. I got "lucky", in that I got the crappiest of each two.
The hardware configurations can't be specified at purchase; apparently Acer thinks they're equivalent.
I can live with the Broadcom wireless card and the Atheros ethernet card, even though they're crappier than the alternatives.
But the ALPS touchpad isn't the equivalent of the alternative Synpatics touchpad. And the ALPS touchpad is driving me up the wall. It just doesn't track well, and two-finger scrolling is inconsistent and thus a source of consistent frustration. On my older laptop, with a Elantech touchpad, scrolling "just works", so I can effortlessly and without thinking about it move from the top to the bottom of even a Mefi Sarah Palin thread.
On the Acer, even getting two screens down is a trial, and getting back up -- forget it.
I've tried the Dell driver, which is an improvement over the ALPS driver, but not enough of one. I've tried linux, and it's no better. It's pretty clearly a matter of hardware, or to put it succinctly, ALPS sucks. (An opinion confirmed in those very words as early as 2003 in another askMefi thread.)
I otherwise like the machine, and I know that versions with Synaptics touchpads exist. I just got one of the lemons/cheap-o versions.
So, before I send it back to Amazon at the cost of a $105 restocking fee, do you think there's any way I can get Acer to replace my laptop with the exact same model, but one with the Synaptics touchpad?
How would I best go about contacting Acer? Who could I talk to there, preferably at at executive level, rather than someone at customer support? How do I convince Acer it's better to make me a satisfied customer, rather than them losing a sale, and me losing $105 for restocking?
I recently purchased an Acer Aspire/TimelineX 1830T-3721. 1830T-3721s come with one of two different hardware configurations, with one of two ethernet cards, one of two wireless cards, and one of two touchpads. I got "lucky", in that I got the crappiest of each two.
The hardware configurations can't be specified at purchase; apparently Acer thinks they're equivalent.
I can live with the Broadcom wireless card and the Atheros ethernet card, even though they're crappier than the alternatives.
But the ALPS touchpad isn't the equivalent of the alternative Synpatics touchpad. And the ALPS touchpad is driving me up the wall. It just doesn't track well, and two-finger scrolling is inconsistent and thus a source of consistent frustration. On my older laptop, with a Elantech touchpad, scrolling "just works", so I can effortlessly and without thinking about it move from the top to the bottom of even a Mefi Sarah Palin thread.
On the Acer, even getting two screens down is a trial, and getting back up -- forget it.
I've tried the Dell driver, which is an improvement over the ALPS driver, but not enough of one. I've tried linux, and it's no better. It's pretty clearly a matter of hardware, or to put it succinctly, ALPS sucks. (An opinion confirmed in those very words as early as 2003 in another askMefi thread.)
I otherwise like the machine, and I know that versions with Synaptics touchpads exist. I just got one of the lemons/cheap-o versions.
So, before I send it back to Amazon at the cost of a $105 restocking fee, do you think there's any way I can get Acer to replace my laptop with the exact same model, but one with the Synaptics touchpad?
How would I best go about contacting Acer? Who could I talk to there, preferably at at executive level, rather than someone at customer support? How do I convince Acer it's better to make me a satisfied customer, rather than them losing a sale, and me losing $105 for restocking?
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posted by TheNewWazoo at 9:01 PM on September 8, 2010