Acer Aspire Timeline thin-and-lights priced for the US: $600 to $900
By Nilay Patel 
posted Jun 2nd 2009 7:01AM
posted Jun 2nd 2009 7:01AM
14-inch Timeline
15-inch Timeline
Acer Brings "All Day Computing" to the U.S. Market with the Aspire Timeline Thin and Light Notebook Family
With prices beginning at $598, Acer's affordable sleek and elegant notebooks offer more than eight hours of battery life
SAN JOSE, Calif., June 2, 2009 – Acer America, part of the world's second largest manufacturer of notebook PCs (1), today introduced the U.S. availability of its much anticipated Aspire Timeline Series of "all day computing" notebooks. Averaging more than 8 hours of battery life(2), Acer Timeline sets a new standard for value, mobility and productivity.
The Aspire Timeline breaks the notebook paradigm with a thin and light mainstream notebook that doesn't break the bank. The secret to its extended battery life lies in Acer's unique design that combines Intel's ultra low-voltage processors, advanced power management, high-capacity batteries and LED backlit displays, which result in a thinner, lighter, more energy-efficient and longer lasting notebook PC.
For road warriors and others on-the-go, concerns about battery life, spare batteries and cables just became a thing of the past. On just a single charge, consumers can remain productive or entertained an entire coast–to-coast flight, or work remotely from 9 to 5 without ever stopping to plug in and recharge.
"Acer has introduced yet another game changer in the world of notebook PCs," said Sumit Agnihotry vice president of product marketing, Acer America. "The Timeline sets new standards in both value and battery life, which are sure to be well received in this economy by on-the-go, yet always connected consumers."
With prices beginning as low as $598, the Timeline delivers high-end styling and excellent performance in a thin and light design. Finally, the pricey ultra portable class of notebooks, long coveted by high-paid corporate business executives, is now more affordable to general consumers.
Unparalleled Battery Life Achieved with Low Power Components and Acer's PowerSmart Features
While most notebooks with long battery life use higher cell batteries which protrude from the back of the notebook, Acer combined numerous low power components with a standard high-capacity 6-cell battery, allowing them to keep the design as small as possible.
In addition, a conveniently located PowerSmart button located above the keyboard allows consumers to easily extend battery life. A simple press of the button activates the advanced power savings settings, traditionally a tedious procedure accessed through numerous software-based steps. This one-button approach simplifies the process.
Lastly, an Acer PowerSmart adapter senses when the notebook is unplugged, and stops sending needless energy. It also stops pulling power from the wall outlet when the adapter is full.
Battery Testing by Principled Technologies® Validates Revolutionary Battery Life
Using Bapco's MobileMark 2007 Productivity benchmark test, an industry standard created to measure PC battery life and performance, Principled Technologies, the industry leader in technology assessment services, found Acer's Aspire Timeline notebook PCs averaged more than eight hours of battery life. The AS3810T achieved 9 hours and 7 minutes of battery life, while the AS3810TZ logged in a whopping 9 hours and 48 minutes, clearly outpacing the industry norm and significantly outlasting competitive systems. The Principled Technologies reports may be viewed here:
http://www.principledtechnologies.com/clients/reports/Acer/3810T_3810TZ_0509.pdf
http://www.principledtechnologies.com/clients/reports/Acer/4810T_0509.pdf
http://www.principledtechnologies.com/clients/reports/Acer/5810TZ_0509.pdf
A Thin and Lightweight Design and Price Point for Everyone
The Acer Aspire Timeline proves that thin and lightweight doesn't have to come at a cost premium. With prices ranging from $598 to $899 and three lines to chose from, students, small businesses and families trying to economize will find the Timeline is easily within their reach.
Road warriors demanding the smallest and lightest notebook possible will find the 3.5 pound AS3810 with a 13.3-inch display is the ideal traveling companion. For those who need a slightly larger display and an integrated optical drive, the 4.2 pound AS4810 with a 14-inch display will more than satisfy their requirements. The AS5810 includes a large 15.6-inch display, integrated optical drive and dedicated numeric keyboard.
At its slimmest point, all models are less than one-inch thin, and just over one-inch at their thickest. Weighing between 3.5 and 5.3 pounds, they are lighter and easier to carry than comparable systems. Fitting easily in a backpack, purse or laptop carrying case, they won't break the bank or a shoulder.
Providing an elegant, high-tech design, a stylish brushed aluminium finish on the display also provides solid protection to the display and internal components. The system is also lead- and mercury-free, making it easier to recycle.
In addition, Acer has incorporated Intel's Laminar Wall Jet technology for the first time, directing air flow in parallel layers, to keep the notebook significantly cooler.
Small, but Powerful Enough to Get the Job Done and Then Some
With a range of models, consumers can choose from a number of well-equipped, full featured systems.
Offering either Intel Pentium, Intel Core Solo or Intel Core 2 Duo ultra low voltage processors and 3GB or 4GB of memory, the Timeline Series packs enough power to easily handle daily productivity tasks such as email, Internet browsing and Office applications.
The Acer Aspire Timeline features high-definition CineCrystal LED backlit widescreen displays (16:9 ratio), which offer 33 percent more energy savings than traditional notebook screens, bringing significant power savings to mobile computing.
Internet access is provided through Gigabit Ethernet or Wi-Fi 802.11b/g Draft-N, making it easy to browse websites, check email, make VOIP calls, and enjoy online entertainment, including the latest social networking platforms like facebook, twitter and YouTube.
An integrated Acer Crystal Eye™ webcam delivers smooth video streaming and high quality images for online chats and business video conferences, even in low-light situations. The built-in digital microphone conveys superior voice quality, keeping background noise levels low and minimizing echoes. Consumers can also enjoy music and video sound with the Dolby Headphones and two built-in stereo speakers.
A Multi-Gesture Touchpad allows users to pinch, flick and swirl their fingers across the touchpad for more natural photo and video viewing as well as intuitive navigation of websites. The Multi-Gesture Touchpad allows users to scroll, zoom in and out and flip through web pages, photos, spreadsheets and more. The TouchPad can also be disabled with a one-touch button, eliminating accidental cursor movement with palms and wrists when using an external mouse.
The Timeline family of notebooks also includes a backup button that lets consumers easily select and protect their irreplaceable digital files through regular scheduled backups or on an as- needed basis. Data can be backed up to an external hard drive, flash card, thumb drive or to a secure hidden partition on their PC.
Configurations, Pricing and Availability
Available now, the new Acer Aspire Timeline Series includes numerous models within the 13.3-inch AS3810, 14-inch AS4810 and 15.6-inch AS5810 lines. A sample configuration from each is listed below.
Acer Aspire Timeline AS3810T-6415
- Intel Core 2 Duo processor SU9400 (1.40GHz, 3 MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB, 10 W)
- Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit with Service Pack 1
- 13.3-inch HD Acer CineCrystal™ LED-backlit TFT LCD (resolution 1366 x 768, 16:9 aspect ratio)
- Mobile Intel®GS45 Express Chipset
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
- 4 GB of DDR3 1066MHz dual channel memory (runs at 800MHz)
- 500GB(3) SATA hard drive
- Acer Crystal Eye webcam
- Multi-in-1 digital media card reader
- Intel® WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/g/Draft-N wireless LAN WiFi certified
- Bluetooth 2.0
- 3 – USB 2.0 ports
- HDMI port
- Multi-gesture touchpad pointing device supporting circular-motion scrolling, pinch-action zoom, page flip,
- Acer touch-sensitive hotkeys (Touchpad Lock, Backup Manager, PowerSmart)
- Standard 6-cell Li-ion (5600 mAh) Battery
- 3.5 lbs.
- 12.67" (W) x 0.92" to 1.13" (H) x 8.97" (D)
- Energy Star® 5.0 compliant
- MSRP $899.99
- Intel Core 2 Solo processor SU3500 (3MB L2 cache, 1.40GHz, 800MHz FSB, 5.50 W)
- Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit with Service Pack 1
- 14-inch HD Acer CineCrystal™ LED-backlit TFT LCD (resolution 1366 x 768, 16:9 aspect ratio)
- Mobile Intel® GS45 Express Chipset
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
- 4 GB of DDR3 1066MHz dual channel memory (runs at 800MHz)
- 320GB SATA hard drive
- Acer Crystal Eye webcam
- Multi-in-1 digital media card reader
- 8X DVD SuperMulti double layer drive
- Intel® WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/g/Draft-N wireless LAN
- 3 – USB 2.0 ports
- Multi-gesture touchpad pointing device supporting circular-motion scrolling, pinch-action zoom, page flip
- Acer touch-sensitive hotkeys (Touchpad Lock, Backup Manager, PowerSmart)
- Standard 6-cell Li-ion (5600 mAh) Battery
- 4.2 lbs.
- 13.32" (W) x 0.94" to 1.13" (H) x 9.44" (D)
- Energy Star® 5.0 compliant
- MSRP $699.99
- Intel Pentium processor SU2700 (2MB L2 cache, 1.3 GHz, 800MHz FSB, 10 W)
- Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit with Service Pack 1
- 15.6-inch HD Acer CineCrystal™ LED-backlit TFT LCD (resolution 1366 x 768, 16:9 aspect ratio)
- Mobile Intel® GS45 Express Chipset
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
- 3GB of DDR3 1066MHz memory (runs at 800MHz)
- 320GB(3) SATA hard drive
- Acer Crystal Eye webcam
- Multi-in-1 digital media card reader
- 8X DVD SuperMulti double layer drive
- Acer InviLink Nplify 802.11b/g/Draft-N wireless LAN
- 4 – USB 2.0 ports
- HDMI port
- Multi-gesture touchpad pointing device supporting circular-motion scrolling, pinch-action zoom, page flip
- Acer touch-sensitive hotkeys (Touchpad Lock, Backup Manager, PowerSmart)
- 6-cell (5600 mAh) Li-ion Battery
- 5.3 lbs.
- 14.88" (W) x 0.97" to 1.16" (H) x 10.19" (D)
- Energy Star® 5.0 compliant
- MSRP $598.00
One 9400M away from perfection. Still for 899$, its hard to say no.
9400m+make it into a tablet pc with a wacom digitizer and u have the ultimate productivity laptop.
Totally agree to this. I hope Acer will come out with dedicated GPU option soon. However, I have a feeling that incorporation of a dedicated GPU would prevent the Timeline from achieving the 8 hours claim.
Except, a 9400 isn't exactly a low power solution is it? I mean that's why they chose GS45, to get the 8+ hour battery life.
Also is this really that light? If you want Dell Studio 14z, it's got a 9400, 4.3lb instead of 4.2lb.
With 8 cell it's 6.5h+ so 6 cell is around 5h+? Granted the CPU's are different too, but really if you want a 9400, get a Dell. It's cheaper too.
Anyone else notice the price marches up as the screen get smaller?
Holey laptop!
Just say No
So still no 3G available? :(
A very good question.
Everybody uses some kind of cloud service these days, and laptops are all about mobility. What's the point of having a laptop if still only can use it at certain places? And using a dongle or something similar is out of the question.
If anyone is wonder the Intel 4500 integrated GPU will play source games on low at 1280x800 with really playable framerates. Suprisingly doesnt run WoW as well, its playable but you wouldnt want to do any raiding on it. Also I highly doubt it will play Crysis, I havent tried just throwing that out there.
wow
just wow!
it even has HDMI output! but i wish they kill that VGA port already
Adamo is for CEOs and Presidents to bring into the board meetings because it looks more executive. Acer Aspire Timeline is not there yet.
The real ones don't need to bring their own computer.
just get a thinkpad x200
its way better then any of these
uh..i'm confused.
Why is there only one button?
It only needs one. It "rocks" back and forth.
I'm totally impressed by the pricing. The 15" is the cheapest. The 14" is more expensive. And the 13" even more.
Appears not to be an error on Engadget's part anyway. Odd.
Sure the 13" has a Duo where the others run slower solos. And has a bigger drive. Etc. Still odd that they would choose to price these things that way.
I'm not even sure a 15" display running 1366 x 768 makes any sense at all. The latest netbooks are shipping with this resolution on 10" displays (Dell Mini 10 and HP 2140 for example). Crazy. My 15" thinkpad is running 1920x1200. Sure that's overkill, but 720p on a 15" display?
Well the 14in and the 15in also both have dvd burners, which makes me assume they are suppose to low cost all around computers for people who don't have 1200 to spend on laptop. And yes the resolution is odd for the 15, 14, and even 13in models. \
BTW: laptop mag has a review on the 13in timeline. http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/acer-timeline-as3810t-6415.aspx
Also to note laptopmag says you can get the 13in with the 320gb hd and the same cpu the 14 and 15in models are listed at for a lower 600usd and few more minutes of battery because of the Solo cpu.
I think they're multiple set ups for each size.
Anyone know where these are being sold?
would really like to know where to buy these, or when they will be available!
Just want the earbuds, but will take the Zune too!