AT&T also supplies this machine if one buys their laptop with a 3G data-only plan. It has an AT&T SIM built in, but can of course be used with another carrier's MiFi or USB stick. This is a quality, solid little unit and is identical to Acer's upper-market Ultrabook design, "TimelineX." In order to get this into a low price point, though, Acer has installed an Intel Core i3, 1.2 MHz rather than the TimelineXs' i5 or i7 CPU's. In Acer's defense, however, it should be pointed out that this dual-core Intel i3 CPU is INFINITELY superior to similar units which sport such processors as Intel Atom, ARM, AMD "C" or "E's," or Samsung Exynos brains. Those were primarily designed for smartphone use and, thus, have an emphasis on low power consumption rather than raw processing power. The Intel i3 is a, "Sandy Bridge" design, the latest generation of their mobile dual-core line and from the beginning was intended for use in laptops.From original review: "One other possibly significant difference between this and the Timeline X: this model has a slot for a multi-memory card reader, but that slot is blocked off on the i3 machine." OOOPS! That is WRONG! A day after writing this, the plastic piece I thought was a blank popped off revealing a fully functional card reader! Due to manufacturers' using the same User Guide for several models, there was no indication this reader was covered and that the piece I thought was being used to cover the slot was spring-loaded. So, in short, YES! The Acer Aspire 1830-3595 does, indeed, have a multi-card reader!
SORRY!
Overall, decent performance and very nice quality for a reasonable price. Retailers are trying to get rid of now-obsolete Windows 7 models, so it pays to shop around! There are several fine deals to be had even a couple weeks before Christmas! Second benefit to buying a Windows 7 unit: if you've tried Windows 8 on a NON-touchscreen device, you KNOW you want to stick with Windows 7!!
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