Acer TravelMate 8481 lands late August, £700 price tag in tow

Back in May, we caught a glimpse of Acer's TravelMate 8481, rocking an extra thin bezel and up to 13 nine hours of battery life for the road-weary sojourner. At the time, Acer was touting a mid-June launch, but we've just received word that the Core i7-packing notebook won't make it into carry-ons until late August. As of now, we've only got UK pricing -- £699, to be exact -- leading us to wonder when the thing will make the journey stateside. As per usual, we will keep you abreast of the details as they roll in. Until then, you can peep the full PR after the break.

Show full PR text

Acer TravelMate 8481
The ultimate road-smart companion

London, 15th July 2011 – Professionals spending most of their working life on the go need a notebook that is up to any challenge. A notebook capable of combining top performance with optimal security and extended battery life. Add to the mix a slim and light design and you have the TravelMate 8481, a true road warrior.

With the TravelMate 8481 there is no need to make compromises. First of all, it deliver all the power required for serious business on-the-go via the 2nd generation Intel® Core™ processors that not only allows to run business productivity applications 60% faster than the previous generation, but it delivers smart performance that adapts to the task at hand, enabling more responsive multitasking while ensuring energy efficiency.

Furthermore, thanks to Intel® HD Graphics 3000 the new model provides an impressive visual performance for sharper images and richer color. Using Intel® Wireless Display technology, it can share presentations or videos on HD displays or TVs via an easy to set up wireless connection. Smooth HD video playback and exceptionally clear image and sound will make any presentation really impressive.

The TravelMate 8481 is also available with discreet graphic options. Featuring NVIDIA® Optimus™ technology, NVIDIA GPUs boost graphic performance without impacting on battery life. In addition, multi-monitor support takes productivity to the next level, allowing easier multitasking.

In terms of storage, this laptop can be equipped with a standard HDD with up to 320 GB of space and a Solid State Drive (mSata) with up to 64GB of capacity, a combination that can be used as boot/OS partition to boost the system. The integrated multi-in-1 card reader supporting the most used formats, simplifies data sharing and provides more storage options.The TravelMate 8481 can also count on up to 8 GB of advanced DDR3 memory that dramatically increases data bandwidths allowing faster multitasking and lowers power consumption.

Besides performance, long lasting battery life is another highly sought after feature. The TravelMate 8481 can offer up to 9 hours battery life, so that it won't let you down in the middle of something important. What's more, it features Acer PowerSmart long cycle battery, that ensures up to 3 times longer battery life cycles (1000 vs. 300 cycles) and maintain 80% capacity after 1000 cycle count. The battery will last longer, reducing the need to replace it.

The TravelMate 8481 comes with a 35.6 cm (14.0 inch) Acer ComfyView LCD LED backlit display, with HD (1366x768) resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio offering clear visuals down to the latest detail. The super-slim, frameless display fits into a 13-inch footprint, thus increasing the screen area by 15% for enhanced productivity on one side and improved portability on the other. The ultra-thin design – only 2.2 cm (0.87 inches) at its highest point – combine with the ultra-light weight, 1.5 kg (3.306 lbs.) with 4-cell battery pack to create an extremely portable system.

Not only the TravelMate 8481 comes with a complete range of reliable connectivity options such as Acer InviLink™ Nplify™ 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, or high-speed wired access via Gigabit Ethernet - to be able to reach critical business information or have communication with customers anytime and anywhere - it also offers a fast way to check important information via Acer InstantView. Acer InstantView is a Linux based light OS designed for fast boot up. Starting up in only 8 seconds, it allows Calendar, Documents, Email contacts to be launched almost immediately to quickly review information and increase business productivity.

With the USB 3.0 port users can transfer data to and from external devices 10 times faster than before. In addition, this laptop uses the Power-Off USB Charging technology, to let you charge your smartphone or other USB devices even without turning the computer on. As your laptop becomes your charging station you can travel even lighter because there is no need to carry additional power adapters.

Data protection, both from physical accidents or from unauthorized access to the system, is critical for business users. This is why Acer professional notebook are thoroughly protected. Starting with the outside, the TravelMate 8481 comes with a resilient case design with a Magnesium-Aluminium cage to uniformly distribute all external forces and withstand extreme pressure. The metal alloy hinge comes with a reinforced coil for maximum hold strength, while the Autolock feature ensure your notebook lid is tightly secured for LCD protection.

Next generation DASP (Disk Anti-Shock Protection) provides all around suspension of the hard disk inside an Mg-Al enclosure to guarantee the physical integrity of your data. HDD is also soft-mounted onto the system to provide extra cushionig. The result is a significant improvement in preventing HDD failure and higher MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure).

To keep the system cool while performing faster, the TravelMate 8481 features the innovative Acer DustDefender technology, designed to prevent the accumulation of dust inside the system. A smart reversing mechanism in the cooling fan can push the dust out.

Acer BioProtection Fingerprint solution featuring pre-booth authentication prevents unauthorized access to your system by recognizing your unique fingerprint. It combines with Trusted Platform Module (TPM) solution to guarantee the integrity of the client platform. TPM also allow a secure storage and reporting of security relevant metrics. Plus, it detects changes to previous configurations.

The TravelMate 8481 is the result of careful design and utmost attention to details. The next generation Acer FineTouch keyboard offers an extra-comfortable typing experience for better productivity. The oversized touchpad offers more precise control and next generation multi-touch permits to perform more functions without switching to the keyboard. Together with more responsive touchpad buttons, it offers more precise control. Productivity hotkeys are designed to efficiently access frequently-used functions such as microphone mute, backup, InstantView and programmable key.

To ensure the utmost dependability and lower TCO, Acer professional notebooks are submitted to a series of reliability tests and are compliant with the most stringent criteria of the industry. Furthermore they offer Energy Star® 5.0 compliancy together with EPEAT® Silver criteria, guaranteeing energy savings and longer battery life.

All Acer notebooks come with a standard 1 year Carry In (International travellers warranty - ITW) which can be extended to 3 years' cover with the Acer Advantage service that also covers accidental damage to the notebook.

The Acer TravelMate 8481 will be available at the end of August with an RRP of £699 ex Vat.