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Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra: Doubling down on ultrabooks

The PC maker unveils its latest ultrabook, marking its second take after an initial version launch in September.

Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
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Roger Cheng
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A shot at Acer's new products at its CES press conference. Josh Lowensohn/CNET

LAS VEGAS--Acer today unveiled its Aspire Timeline Ultra, representing its latest take on the ultrabook.

The Aspire Timeline Ultra is slimmer and lighter than Acer's previous version, which came out in September. The company plans to start shipping the device in the first quarter.

Acer is just the latest to commit to Intel's ultrabook campaign, which is an answer to Apple's successful--and similarly sleek--MacBook Air. Intel is putting a lot money behind a push to convince consumers that this is a new product category. Industry analysts, however, are skeptical that the market can support so many new entrants.

Acer, meanwhile, took a hit when demand for netbooks--an earlier, lotsa-buzz variation on laptop PCs--faded, and has been searching for a new product to spark sales.

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"Acer is back on the right track," said Acer Chairman J.T. Wang during the conference.

The company announced its new products a day ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show's media day, marking the start of a torrent of press conferences from technology companies looking to show their wares.

The svelte laptop features 8 hours of battery time and a two-spindle design. It is 20 millimeters thin, and sports an Intel Core i processor and a slim DVD drive.

As with many other Ultrabooks, Acer boasts that its instant-on capabilities allow it turn on in 1.5 seconds and says its battery life can last several weeks when kept in its sleep mode. The company also says that you can wake up the laptop using Acer Always Connect and a remote device like a smartphone.

Acer also showed off an extremely quick video of its Iconia Tab using a quad-core processor.