Acer Outs Timeline 8000 Series

Acer has added another step to its timeline range. Sitting (numerically at least) above the 4000-series and 5000-series comes the 8000-series, targeted at both business users and general consumers alike.

Three display sizes are on offer - 13.3in, 14in and 15.6in - all with a 1,366 x 768 pixel resolution. Either Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Solo ULV CPUs are available, with up to 4GB or 8GB of DDR3 RAM depending on whether a 32bit or 64bit OS is installed. Storage options across the 8000 series range from either a 160GB to a 500GB hard drive or an 80GB Intel X25-M SSD with graphics are handled by either Intel's GMA 4500MHD integrated chip, or a dedicated ATI 4330 GPU.

Four USB ports on the 15.6in model and three on the 14in ad 13.3in, a memory card reader and Bluetooth are present. All of the 8000-series will come with Draft-N wireless and will eventually offer HSDPA connectivity as an upgrade. Each Timeline 8000-series laptop has a multi-touch touchpad.

The 8000-series also has some nifty battery features. A claimed eight hours of battery life is a good start and it's complemented by a 'smart' charger which will turn itself off when the cells are at 100 per cent capacity - reducing degradation.

UK-centric pricing isn't available yet, nor is a release date.