The Acer 721 embodies a large 11.6 inch screen display, a conducive keyboard and a relatively fast AMD Athlon II Neo processor twinned with ATI graphics for HD video playback. The machine deviates from the typical Acer product that puts functionality before style. The 721 comes with an intergrated 2 GB memory of DDR3, a maximum memory capacity of 4 GB and an ATI mobility Radeon HD 4225 embedded GPU to prop up the Neo CPU. Other storage facilities include the memory stick, SD/Multimedia card, SDHC card and XD -picture card. It has a width of 11.3 inches, a depth of about 7.9 inches , a standard height of 1.1 inches and tips the scale at about 3 pounds. It uses a hard disk drive and 250 GB HD size. Also in its armour are five ports -three USB 2.0, one HDMI and one VGA. It also comes with a single gigabit LAN port, a five -in- one memory card reader and n -wireless connectivity.

Other software intergrated in the device are; cyberlink power DVD 9, Egistec shredder, e sobi v 2, an updated microsoft works and the increasingly popular skype. It also comes with inbuilt webcam and microphone. The device can hold its own with its networking of ethernet type 10/100/1000 mps and WiFi 802 11n/b/g. The 721 incorporates a six -cell 4400 -MAh battery that can put up a shift of about four and half hours, an inferior time compared to that of the Timelinex 1830T’s 5800 MAh by two hours, but it is still a commendable time.

The 721 does not offer great gaming rates, but it is still faster than the more expensive Timelinex 1830. The device comes at a bargain for a sum of 430 United States dollars (as of twenty fifth august 2010). It is its cheap price and portability that are its most potent selling price. But the machine is not one for the huge work load and applications and its design is at times a hinderance to performance. The keyboard placement is not ideal and its touchpad needs persistance to move the cursor through traffic. The 721 also, painfully, lacks an optical drive and bluetooth of the Timeline’s 1830T.

This device scores a rather poor score of fifty two on the WorldBench, a testimony of its rather laggy and poor performance. The device also comes out low on the crucial issue of gaming and endurance. It will certainly find its takers, especially the ones vouching for the cheap end of the bargain, but they will have to get that at the cost of performance. Acer for one chose style and elegance over substance, a trait that has embodied its forttress for ages, and came out short.