Acer Ferrari 1100 Review

Acer Ferrari 1100

When we looked at Acer's first Ferrari-themed ultra portable, the Ferrari 1000, we liked its car-themed style and strong performance, but were disappointed by its mediocre battery life. We opened the box of its successor, the Ferrari 1100, with some anticipation--this is, after all, a well-designed, full-featured ultra portable laptop that ought to impress. But alas: Despite its strong components, the Ferrari 1100 posted mixed performance scores and less-than-stellar battery life. Though we're thrilled that Acer has managed to squeeze a DVD burner into the Ferrari's compact and solidly constructed case, we're not convinced that anyone but the most fanatical sports-car enthusiasts will be thrilled to spend $1,800 on the Ferrari 1100.

Acer Ferrari 1100 is an astonishingly compact laptop, with a footprint that's just a bit larger than a piece of paper. However, the wow factor diminishes when you pick it up: At 4.4 pounds, the Ferrari 1100 veers into the territory of a thin-and-light laptop. However, it's about the same weight as other bulky ultraportables, such as the Lenovo 3000 V200. As you might expect from bumps and knocks of frequent travel.a heavier-than-average ultraportable, the Ferrari 1100 feels solid and able to stand up to the The Ferrari 1100 includes a 12.1-inch wide-screen display with a native resolution of 1,280x800. While that sharpness occasionally results in text that's too small to read, we found it workable for everyday word processing and Web surfing. Mobile workers looking for a flashy productivity tool probably won't like the screen's glossy coating. The coating resulted in some reflections in our office environment. Unfortunately there is not an option for a display with a matte finish. But home users who want a highly portable media machine will likely enjoy watching movies on the Ferrari 1100. Above the display sits a 1.3-megapixel Webcam with a single microphone for Web videoconferencing.

Like most ultraportables, the Acer Ferrari 1100's tiny case requires a compact keyboard. But we were surprised to find that typing for extended periods was easy, perhaps in part because the keys are slightly separated from each other and have a satisfying spring. The touch pad is likewise compact, but it has a textured surface, which provides enough drag to make the small area usable. The groovy metallic mouse buttons, engraved with "Ferrari 1100," have been placed right below the touch pad (an improvement over previous Ferrari models). Above the keyboard are three glowing light-touch keys, next to a Ferrari logo, all of which disappear when the laptop is powered down. On the upper left corner are a large power button and a smaller button that launches Acer's custom setup and configuration software. With the exception of the power button, all the keys above the keyboard can be programmed to launch any application. Below the keyboard is a fingerprint reader that lets you log on to Windows and frequently used Web sites with the swipe of a finger.

The good: Cool Ferrari styling will appeal to some; solid build quality will appeal to all; large hard drive and 4GB of RAM help justify high price; strong Photoshop performance; fingerprint reader; comfortable keyboard and trackpad; slot-loading DVD burner and Webcam; plenty of ports and connections.

The bad: Mediocre multitasking performance; disappointing battery life; weak speakers.

The bottom line: The Acer Ferrari 1100 is a stylish, full-featured ultraportable laptop, but its disappointing battery life won't sustain users who spend a lot of time away from the outlet.