Acer Aspire TimelineX 1830T-68U118

11.11.2010
Back in September, we mentioned that Acer was planning to update its TimelineX series by cramming an into an 11.6-inch ultraportable laptop. Well, the company succeeded. The Acer Aspire TimelineX 1830T-68U118 packs a ton of processing power into a netbook-size package, and still manages to include a full-size keyboard.

Our review model ($899 as of November 11, 2010) came with a powerful Core i7 processor--a 1.47GHz, ultra-low-voltage variant of the 680UM processor--as well as 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium. Connectivity features included an ethernet port, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth--but no mobile broadband. You do get an embedded 1.3-megapixel Webcam.

Though not quite as sexy as the new 11-inch , the TimelineX is very sleek. It measures 11.2 inches wide by 8 inches long by just over 1 inch thick, and it weighs 3 pounds; the power brick is so light you'll barely notice it. In our battery life tests, the TimelineX lasted for 6.5 hours on one charge.

The textured, matte-black cover of the TimelineX has a shiny, mirrored Acer logo in the center. The interior features a matte black keyboard, a dark-gray brushed aluminum wristpad, and a glossy black bezel around the screen, but there are no dedicated buttons (save for the circular power button) and few indicator lights.

The TimelineX provides a reasonable number of ports for an . On the right side, it offers an ethernet port, a Kensington lock port, two USB 2.0 ports, headphone and microphone jacks, and a five-in-one card reader slot. A vent occupies part of the left side of the laptop, but the designers still found room for a USB 2.0 port, an HDMI-out port, and a VGA-out port.

The TimelineX's floating Chiclet-style keyboard is full-size, but it's very flat, and the keys are basically flush with the palm rest. The keys are also smooth and closely spaced, and they offer weak feedback, which makes touch-typing pretty frustrating.