Aspire AS3004wlci or as3003wlci

I have read a multitude of information on this site about the 3003 and have not seen anything about a 3004. could I just use what people have said about the 3003 for the 3004. i don't own one but am thinking about getting one (for the price of course with the specs). Its a toss up because many people recommend this series but others state flaws which I want nothing to do with. ie screen/build quality/heat/loud fan/clicking hard drive and battery (of course). all of which were about the 3003lci no "W" for widescreen right? Would it be safe to say that because the models are so close that any of these problems could come my way if I get this brand/model/series? I cannot find anywhere if they use the same HDD or cooling devices for both models. Of course though, my budget <$600 tells me to expect these things either way. I just dont want to be royally screwed. what is the next step up with build quality? HP? Toshiba? Also how does Acer manage to keep pprices so low with such specs? my only thought would be with screen/hardware/build quality. any thoughts? thanks

 

Both the 3004 and 3003 are the same laptop. They specifications ae just updated for the 3004(faster processor, HDD etc). So they are the same laptop. I did own a 3003wlci for a year or so and would say it was pretty OK laptop for the price range but for the battery life. Acer shipped the laptop with a 4 cell ~2000mAh battery which is very low capacity and is pretty much worth about an hours run time. They do offer an 8 cell 4400mAH battery which doubles its battery life to a respectible 2 to 2.5hrs. If you are looking into this laptop to be mobile I would advise getting the larger battery which costs around 100 - 150 depending on where you buy. It should sell for cheaper on ebay, if you are willing to buy from there.

I dont think the prices are low for the specifications, mobile Sempron, SiS chipset and graphics cards are all aimed at the budget user and so have lower prices. The rest of the hardware are pretty standerdised. The screens are average, not too good but not too poor either. Some Acers had the issue of cracking plastics but I didnt experience any such issues with my laptop.