Acer is all about the work and the play with its Centrino 2 announcements today. The company released four new consumer oriented Aspire machines, but also let loose five new TravelMates for the business minded. The Acer TravelMate 6293, 5730, 7730, 6593, and 6493 may all have the target of mobile professional but they each carry some key differences to set them apart. The 12.1-inch TravelMate 6293 is one of the more portable systems offered by the third largest PC vendor. Its Core 2 Duo processor coupled with up to 4GB of RAM should provide the performance punch for road warriors and its 802.11 a/b/g/n the connectivity they need. We are also happy to see the smaller system has got an optical drive and up to a 320 GB hard drive. This TravelMate has also got mobile broadband capablities, with GSM/GPRS/EDGE options. It sports an embedded webcam and select 6293 models will come bundled with a VoIP Bluetooth phone. Above the ultraportable, Acer is adding the 6493 with a 14.1-inch display to its TravelMate line. The 6493 comes with an Intel Core 2 Duo vPro processor, Intel 64 architecture, and Intel Virtualization technology. It will be available with up to 4GB of RAM, a 320 GB hard drive, and an optical drive. This one doesn't only support mobile broadband, but is primed for WiMax. Moving up the ladder is the 15.4-inch TravelMate 6593 which is equipped with Intel's Centrino 2 vPro for added security. This larger system will come with a choice of graphics options: an ATI Mobility Radeon graphics card or Intel's integrated graphics. In addition to the optical drive and 320GB hard drive, it has a swappable MediaBay which allows for swapping in another hard drive, optical drive or second battery. Mobile broadband and WiMax will be options are also available for configuration. The 5730 similarly has a 15.4-inch display and provides the end user with a choice of graphics cards. With a choice of configuring the notebook with ATI Mobility Radeon or NVIDA GeForce graphics cards and an optional Blu-ray drive, it's hard to say if the TravelMate is meant for business or pleasure. Rounding out the line is a 17-incher, the TravelMate 7730. Supporting up to 4GB of RAM, the desktop replacement is meant to handle productivity chores and multi-tasking, but also provides a sweet mutlimedia experience. With a similar choice of NVIDA or ATI graphics and a built-in optical drive, it can handle your media collection just as well as your spreadsheets. Acer did not have information on pricing, availability or what operating systems each of the systems will be packaged with.
