Acer has designed the company’s latest TravelMate laptop for students. At less than $400, it’s easy to see why students would be drawn to this system option. Typically, Acer’s TravelMate line is geared towards business people on the go, but the newest laptop in the TravelMate lineup has a lot going for it – aside from that super low price tag. Students, take note, this is an affordable laptop that you may not want to miss. Acer’s new laptop is sturdy, thin, light, and will get the job done – whether that job is homework, research, or just scanning the Internet.

Acer TravelMate Laptop Specs

Acer’s newest TravelMate has an 11-inch screen; Pentium Dual-Core processor; 4GB of RAM; a 500 GB hard drive; and weighs in at three pounds. Acer is also offering a more expensive version of the Travel Mate ($535 that comes with a Core i3 Ivy Bridge CPU). You might be wondering what you’ll do with 15 Windows 8 tiles when you’re looking at an 11-inch screen, but Acer has managed to work out this problem quite well, and overcrowding isn’t really an issue.

If you’re into thickness measurements, you’ll be happy to note that this laptop is one-inch thick, so it’s very much on the thin side. All of this packed into a laptop that retails for under $400 is a great deal. On the flip side, the TravelMate doesn’t have stellar resolution (at 1366 X 768), but it’s not meant to be a gaming laptop either. You will be able to run videos and movies galore without too much of a bother, though.

Acer has not equipped the new TravelMate with a touchscreen, which is a slight drawback considering the fact that this PC runs Windows 8. Since Windows 8 is very much touchscreen dependent, some users may not like the touchpad and keyboard selection. Still, the TravelMate is a great portable laptop that will certainly work when it comes to taking notes, chatting with friends, and scanning social networks.

Why Purchase This Laptop

Granted, a Pentium Dual Core processor is not the top of the heap. But, the TravelMate still proves to be a decent laptop at an unbeatable price. Really, you won’t find too many other laptops on the market that are priced this low. It’s also worth pointing out that Acer has been making some great systems lately. While Acer was once known as a lesser, budget, brand, this company is starting to make some headway.

Acer could have included a touchscreen in order to appease Windows 8 purists, but that would have put the price of this laptop over the $400 mark. As stated, this is not a laptop geared towards videographers, gamers, or business professionals who need a powerful presentation tool. It is, instead, a laptop for those who don’t want to spend more than $400, but want something reliable.

The new Acer TravelMate is currently available on the Acer website, through some electronics retailers, and online through e-tailers. Shop around for the best price and shipping options (especially since retailers are currently participating in same-day holiday shipping wars!).