X

A laptop that can get you a date

Two flashy new models use AMD chips.

Tom Krazit Former Staff writer, CNET News
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Google, as the most prominent company on the Internet defends its search juggernaut while expanding into nearly anything it thinks possible. He has previously written about Apple, the traditional PC industry, and chip companies. E-mail Tom.
See full bio
Tom Krazit

Imagine that PC companies got to trade places with car brands for a week. We'd nominate Dell for the Ford Pinto (explodes without warning), Hewlett-Packard for the Honda Accord (looks decent, runs well, but not going to get you a date) and Apple for the Toyota Prius (efficient, stylish, and just a tad pretentious). Acer, perhaps wisely, isn't going to leave it up to us.

Acer Ferrari laptop

The company has been shipping laptops co-sponsored by legendary Italian car maker Scuderia Ferrari for several years, easily distinguished by that distinctive "Ferrari Red" casing and the black thoroughbred logo on the hood. Two new models became available in North America Tuesday, the Ferrari 1000 and the Ferrari 5000. The 1000 is an ultraportable model available only in black, while the 5000 is a larger notebook with a 15.4-inch screen and your choice of red or black.

Both laptops, as well as all the laptops in Acer's Ferrari product line, use AMD's Turion processors. These notebooks come with the dual-core Turion X2 processor, which delivered excellent performance but poor battery life, sort of like a real-world Ferrari. Check out CNET Reviews' take here for more details.

(Photo: Acer)