Previously, Acer machines were based on the same chassis design with varying sizes to fit the required screen dimensions. However, that changed when the PC maker started collaborating with racing car margues. The Acer Ferrari became premium laptops with the fastest AMD processors available, while its collaboration with BMW resulted in the Gemstone series which has been used in mainstream Aspire laptops.
Another interesting selling point is that almost all Acer laptops come with a one-year international warranty which can be upgraded to up to three years for a fee. In Singapore, it also has a 2-hour express service that promises to fix your notebook within that time frame. Failing that, Acer will deliver the repaired laptop to a location of your choice within the country.
To make buying an Acer machine easier, the Taiwan maker has split its laptops into several distinct lines. The Acer Aspire One range consists of Netbooks based on the Atom chipset, while the TravelMate and Extensa target business users with value-for-money configurations and security features. The Aspire series contains consumer entertainment models and the premium Aspire Gemstone Blue portables are premium entertainment machines with Blu-ray capabilities.
The latest Acer Timeline series are exceptionally sleek laptops based on Intel's CULV Core 2 Duo/Solo chips. These new chips sacrificing performance for lower power consumption and cheaper manufacturing costs, hence allowing Acer Timeline portables to sport superslim bodies while remaining very affordable compared with its full-powered siblings.
With so many laptops to choose from, let's take a look at which Acer portable best suits your budget and needs.
Consumer lineup
Aspire One | Aspire | Aspire Gemstone Blue| TimelineEntry-level | Frequent traveler | Student | Business | Entertainment | Performance and gaming | Fashion | |
| Ultraportable (12.1-inch and below) | Aspire One series ; Acer Aspire 2930 | Aspire One series; Acer Aspire 2930 | Aspire One series; Acer Aspire 2930 | ||||
| Thin-and-light (13.3- to 15-inch) | Acer Aspire 3810T; Acer Aspire 4810T; Acer Aspire 3935 | Acer Aspire 3935; Acer Aspire 4736G; Acer Aspire 4937G; Acer Aspire 5738Z | Acer Aspire 3810T; Acer Aspire 4810T; Acer Aspire 3935 | ||||
| Midsized (15.1- to 16-inch) | Acer Aspire 5738Z | Acer Aspire 5935G; Acer Aspire 6935G | Acer Aspire 5935G; Acer Aspire 6935G | ||||
| Desktop replacement (16.1- and above) | Acer Aspire 6530 | Acer Aspire 8935G; Acer Aspire 6530 | Acer Aspire 8935G |
Business lineup
Extensa | TravelMateExtensa | TravelMate | |
| Ultraportable (12.1-inch and below) | ||
| Thin-and-light (13.3- to 15-inch) | Acer Extensa 4630 | Acer TravelMate series |
| Midsized (15.1- to 16-inch) | Acer Extensa 5630 | |
| Tablet PC |
Other laptop brands | |||
Aspire One series
Though Acer got into the Netbook game a little late, its first model, the Aspire One AOA150, impressed us in several ways. The sleek and tapered design makes it look slimmer than most of its competitors. One unique feature of the AOA150 is that it has two memory card slots. One reader accepts most memory card formats such as SDHC/MMC, Memory Stick and xD-Picture Card, while the other only takes SDHC cards. The latter is special in that any memory card inserted into the slot will integrate seamlessly with the internal 8GB SSD, expanding the primary storage invisibly.
The Aspire One 751 was the first Netbook with an 11.1-inch display. By narrowing the screen bezel, the Taiwanese maker managed to keep the Aspire One 751's footprint similar to current 10.1-inch minilaptops. The full-sized keyboard is also a major plus, though it does come with a hefty price tag.
Target market: Entry-level user; frequent travelers; students
Models available in this series
Model | Description |
One of the most affordable 10.1-inch Netbooks in the market, the Aspire AOD250 is not only slim and pretty, but has all the features expected in an Atom-based minilaptop. Price: S$688 (US$535.58) | |
Possibly the first 11.1-inch Netbook we've seen, the Aspire One 751 hits the sweet spot between portability and usability. The generous keyboard is also one of the most comfortable to use in its category. Price: S$938 (US$730.19) |
From basic Pentium Dual-Core portables with integrated graphics to powerful Core 2 Duo machines complete with discrete video cards, Acer's Aspire portfolio targets a consumer market which has wide-ranging needs. Aspire laptops possess basic entertainment features and multimedia controls.
What is striking about this series of notebooks is its price competitiveness. Even the most powerful Core 2 Duo Aspire laptop with discrete graphics usually costs under S$2,000 (US$1,556.90). Coupled with the new Gemstone design, Acer Aspire notebooks provide an affordable yet attractive proposition for those on a budget.
Target market: Entry-level, fashion and entertainment users; students
Models available in this series
Category | Model | Description |
| Ultraportable | Despite its compact 12.1-inch form factor, this Aspire comes with an integrated optical drive, Core 2 Duo performance and full-sized ExpressCard slot. It also sports a fingerprint sensor for easy logins. Price: Starts at S$1,498 (US$1,166.12) | |
| Thin-and-light | Granted its asking price is a little steep, but for a sleek 13.3-inch laptop with a full-power Core 2 Duo processor, fingerprint sensor and entertainment features, this machine is actually quite an affordable option. Price: Starts at S$1,898 (US$1,477.50) | |
Based on the new Gemstone design, this attractive 14.1-inch laptop offers a high-resolution 1,366 x 768 display as well as the latest Nvidia GeForce G105M graphics chipset. Price: Starts at S$1,498 (US$1,166.12) | ||
This slim 14.1-inch laptop comes with full-power Core 2 Duo performance in a Centrino 2 platform. The display is LED-backlit with a 1,366 x 768-pixel resolution which is rare for a machine in this price range. Price: Starts at S$1,998 (US$1,555.35) Previous model: Acer Aspire 4935 | ||
| Midsized | The high-resolution 15.6-inch display has an aspect ratio of 16:9, while allows widescreen movies to be viewed without irritating black borders. Some configurations come with Blu-ray optical drives to take advantage of its excellent panel. Price: Starts at S$1,298 (US$1,010.43) | |
Though it has an affordable price tag, this 16-inch laptop is based on the latest dual-core AMD Puma platform. Equipped with both an integrated video card and discrete ATI Mobility Radeon HD3470 graphics processor, both can be used simultaneously for better performance. Price: Starts at S$1,598 (US$1,243.97) |
Acer Aspire Gemstone Blue laptops are premium entertainment machines. As such, features such as a full-HD panel, integrated TV tuner, Blu-ray optical drive and 2.1-channel audio system are found in this range of machines.
The CineDash is a unique multimedia control panel.
So how does one differentiate a Gemstone Blue laptop from an ordinary Aspire machine? The most telling feature is the CineDash media console which is found beside the keyboard. Resembling a prop from science-fiction movies, this touch-sensitive multimedia panel provides the user with quick entertainment controls over playback and volume.
Target market: Entertainment users; gamers
Models available in this series
Category | Model | Description |
| Midsized | This 15.6-inch laptops has an excellent 1,366 x 768 high-resolution display and Blu-ray combo drive. The Nvidia GeForce GT130M graphics card also makes quick work on all but the most resource intensive games. Price: Starts at S$2,298 (US$1,788.88) | |
A 16-inch machine with Blu-ray capabilities and a high-resolution screen, the Aspire 6935G's Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT graphics system may be last-generation, but it is still powerful enough for most gamers. Price: Starts at S$2,298 (US$1,788.88) Previous model: Acer Aspire 6920G | ||
| Desktop replacement | The top-of-the-line entertainment model from Acer has a full-HD 18.4-inch panel, Blu-ray drive and the latest Nvidia graphics card to give outstanding multimedia performance at an affordable price point. Price: Starts at S$3,498 (US$2,723.03) Previous model: Acer Aspire 8930G |
The Acer Timeline series is based on Intel's CULV chips. These low-cost processors bridge the gap between the affordability of the Atom chip and the performance of Core 2 Duo models. As such, though CULV chips are slower than their full-powered Core 2 Duo siblings, the lower thermal signature and cost savings allow for cheap yet sleek laptops to be designed.
With the savings on its component parts, Acer Timeline models come in at under S$1,500 (US$1,167.68) despite the slim metal chassis and full-computing experience. Moreover, this range has one of the best battery life in its class, with claimed uptimes of over 6 hours.
Target market: Frequent travelers; fashion users
Models available in this series
Category | Model | Description |
| Thin-and-light | One of the slimmest 13.3-inch laptops in the market, its CULV processor may not be the most powerful chip around. It also lacks an optical drive. But at this price point, it's one of the sexiest and more affordable notebooks in the market. Price: Starts at S$1,498 (US$1,166.12) | |
A 14.1-inch portable with an exceptionally slim form factor, this machine sports an integrated optical drive and the new CULV processor. Despite its affordable price tag, Acer did not skimp and used a metal chassis to protect this Aspire. Price: Starts at S$1,598 (US$1,243.97) |
Though both lineups target the business user, the Extensa differs from the TravelMate series in that the former does not sport security features such as a biometric fingerprint sensor or SmartCard readers. Instead, the Extensa range focuses on offering an inexpensive solution to outfit the rank-and-file who do not need to deal with sensitive data.
In order to keep costs down, Extensa machines have Pentium Dual-Core chips instead of Core 2 Duo processors. Fortunately, the chipset is based on the latest Centrino 2 platform, and hence its integrated graphics solution is powerful enough even for high-definition videos.
Target market: Business users; students
Models available in this series
Category | Model | Description |
| Thin-and-light | Designed as an affordable solution for the rank-and-file, this 14.1-inch Extensa may be using the less powerful Pentium dual-core chip, but its Centrino 2 platform provides enough power to render high-definition videos. Price: Starts at S$1,398 (US$1,088.28) | |
| Midsized | An inexpensive midsized machine for the corporate world, this 15.4-inch Extensa comes with the Centrino 2 platform and a legacy Type II PC Card slot. A Webcam is also included for video conferencing. Price: Starts at S$899 (US$699.83) |
The Acer TravelMate series targets the business professional who requires a machine for travel. As such, this range has common corporate features such as the fingerprint sensor/TPM security combo as well as harddisk sensor to protect the storage media from damage during drops.
Unlike the consumer world where users adapt to new technology at a faster rate, most business users may require legacy connectivity for certain proprietary devices. As such, the TravelMate series continues to sport the Type II PC Card slot for those with older peripherals. In some models, an integrated SmartCard reader is available as an additional level of security.
Target market: Business users
Models available in this series
Category | Model | Description |
| Thin-and-light | Though its a little hefty and thick for a 12.1-inch machine, this laptop comes with an integrated optical drive, metal chassis and strong security suite for the business professional at an affordable price point. Price: Starts at S$1,698 (US$1,321.81) Previous model: Acer TravelMate 6292 | |
A 14.1-inch laptop with strong security features, this TravelMate is based on the latest Centrino 2 platform and comes in a range of configurations which include integrated and discrete graphics chipsets. Price: Starts at S$1,498 (US$1,166.12) | ||
This 14.1-inch business notebook may have a similar feature set as the TravelMate 4730, but the TravelMate 6493 is based on the Centrino vPro platform that allows the corporate IT departments to administer and maintain this machine remotely. |
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