Acer TravelMate C110

The Acer TravelMate C110TCi picks up where the multitalented TravelMate C102Ti model left off, marking the start of the second generation of tablet PCs. The new model is faster--it's the speediest tablet we've tested--and it includes several updates, such as Intel's Centrino technology. But the updates come at the cost of a slight weight increase and disappointing battery life. With a 900MHz Pentium M processor, a 40GB hard drive, and 512MB of RAM, the TravelMate C110TCi is all you'll need on the road for writing on the screen or typing, although you'll want to shell out for a second battery if you choose this tablet.Although the tablet PC genre is less than a year old, Acer has already reworked its version, with largely positive results: the TravelMate C110TCi remains a great-looking, black-and-silver hybrid. On the downside, it has gained weight and size and lost its smart-card reader, and it now comes with a single battery--not the pair that accompanied the previous model, the TravelMate C102Ti. This lone battery conked out just a little past the two-hour mark in CNET Labs' tests, a disappointing score.

NEC's Versa LitePad slate design, but it's smaller than Toshiba's Portégé 3505, a convertible with a larger screen. The TravelMate C110TCi's AC adapter weighs a clunky 15 ounces, making for a 4.2-pound travel weight. BAPCo MobileMark2002 performance rating

Acer TravelMate C110 133  Motion Computing M1300 117  Toshiba Tablet Portégé 3500 48

Find out more about how we test notebooks.

Acer TravelMate C110TCi
Windows XP Tablet; 900MHz Intel Pentium M; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; Intel 82852/92855 GM/GME Graphics Controller (up to 64MB shared); IBM Travelstar 40GB 40GN 4,200rpm

Motion Computing M1300
Windows XP Tablet; 900MHz Intel Pentium M; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; Intel 82852/92855 GM/GME Graphics Controller (up to 64MB shared); IBM Travelstar 20GB 20GN 4,200rpm

Toshiba Tablet Portégé 3505
Windows XP Tablet; 1.3GHz Intel Pentium III-M; 496MB SDRAM 133MHz; Trident Cyberblade XP Ai1 16MB (shared); Toshiba MK4019GAX 40GB 5,400rpmUnfortunately, the TravelMate C110TCi comes in last place in battery life, with a significantly lower score than those of comparison systems. The Motion Computing M1300 comes out on top in battery life, thanks to the combination of its 11.1V, 3,600mAh battery and its 900MHz Pentium M processor. Although the TravelMate C110TCi also has a 900MHz processor, its 14.8V, 1,800mAh battery held it back. The Toshiba Portege 3505, with its 10.8V, 3,600mAh battery, also beat the TravelMate.

Battery life  (Longer bars indicate better performance) BAPCo MobileMark2002 battery life in minutes

Motion Computing M1300 233  Toshiba Tablet Portégé 3500 184  Acer TravelMate C110 137

To measure mobile application performance and battery life, CNET Labs uses BAPCo's MobileMark2002. MobileMark measures both application performance and battery life concurrently using a number of popular applications (Microsoft Word 2002, Microsoft Excel 2002, Microsoft PowerPoint 2002, Microsoft Outlook 2002, Netscape Communicator 6.0, WinZip Computing WinZip 8.0, McAfee VirusScan 5.13, Adobe Photoshop 6.0.1, and Macromedia Flash 5.0).

Acer TravelMate C110TCi
Windows XP Tablet; 900MHz Intel Pentium M; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; Intel 82852/92855 GM/GME Graphics Controller (up to 64MB shared); IBM Travelstar 40GB 40GN 4,200rpm

Motion Computing M1300
Windows XP Tablet; 900MHz Intel Pentium M; 512MB DDR SDRAM 266MHz; Intel 82852/92855 GM/GME Graphics Controller (up to 64MB shared); IBM Travelstar 20GB 20GN 4,200rpm

Toshiba Tablet Portégé 3505
Windows XP Tablet; 1.3GHz Intel Pentium III-M; 496MB SDRAM 133MHz; Trident Cyberblade XP Ai1 16MB (shared); Toshiba MK4019GAX 40GB 5,400rpmThe TravelMate C110TCi comes with a standard one-year warranty, which is a step behind the best. You'll need to pay a reasonable $142 to extend it to a full three-year policy; an extra $100 beyond that provides additional screen protection. Thankfully, you can call in with a problem on the company's toll-free, 24/7 support line for the duration of the warranty or send e-mail to a technician.

Acer's Web site is second to none when it comes to providing documentation and online help for tablet problems. Online, there are FAQs, start-up tips, and manuals, as well as downloads of the latest drivers and software updates. Our favorite part of the Web site is the chat room where technical-support personnel offer assistance. Also, the printed manual is thorough and easy to understand. Hide Review