Acer unveils Centrino Pro laptop lines

Acer has announced new TravelMate laptops aimed at business buyers

Acer has announced new lines of its TravelMate laptops aimed at business buyers, including some models based on Intel's new Centrino Pro enterprise platform.

The TravelMate 6000 series models are all based on Centrino Pro and are an evolution of previous designs, the company said, with models ranging from ultraportable up to desktop replacement. All of these models have at least 1GB of memory, a motion sensor to protect the hard drive, an optional fingerprint scanner and a trusted platform module (TPM).

Available from the end of May, the TravelMate 6292 is a sub 2kg model with a 12.1in screen and optical drive, with prices starting from £899. The ultraportable ships with a 6-cell battery as standard, good enough for 4 or 5 hours use, according to Acer. With the addition of an optional 9-cell battery, the 6292 is said to be capable of running for up to 12 hours.

Other models are set to ship by the end of June, including the desktop replacement TravelMate 6592 with a 15in or 15.4in screens and an ATI Mobility Radeon X2300 graphics adapter, with prices starting from £1,199. The mid-range model is the TravelMate 6492 with a 14in screen and Acer's Crystal Eye webcam mounted at the top of the display, which costs from £679.

Acer also announced the TravelMate 7720 and TravelMate 5720 which are based on Core 2 Duo chips but lack the security and management features of Centrino Pro. The TravelMate 7720 has a 17in screen, and Acer said it may ship a Centrino Pro model with this size display in future.