Acer Aspire 1810T Timeline

Proving the adage that you can't judge a book by its cover, the diminutive 11.6-inch Acer Aspire 1810T Timeline only looks like a netbook. Dig deeper and you'll find the guts and performance of a full-fledged notebook. The ultra-low-voltage Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor has a hair less oomph than similar full-voltage processors found in pricier notebooks, but it still has plenty of power in its own right -- more than enough to outdistance the lower-grade processors found in many budget notebooks, and leave lower-performing netbooks even farther behind. Graphics performance is the biggest knock in reviews; you can forget about high-end gaming, but it should be fine for most typical computing. Battery life is excellent -- just under nine hours in one rigorous test. The keyboard is small -- just 92 percent of standard -- but reports say it's easy to get used to.

Its small and light form factor makes travelling with the Acer Aspire a pleasure. If such a small computer is not a must, the base version of the Acer Aspire 5738 (*Est. $600) has a more powerful processor and good overall performance, though graphics performance is still pretty wanting and battery life is only a fraction as long. If good graphics are a must, the step-up Acer Aspire 5738PG (Discontinued) includes a discrete ATI graphics card that performs well enough to please most, though hard-core gamers will not be impressed. A notable extra is that the Acer 5738PG also offers a touch-screen interface.

Feedback on the Acer Aspire 1810T Timeline is still not extensive, but we found a detailed review at Laptop Magazine. A few user-written reviews are available at Newegg.com.