Acer's TravelMate 3012 is one of the first laptops based on Intel’s dual-core mobile platform. It crams most of the features needed by mobile staff into a lightweight system, but its design puts the emphasis very much on performance rather than battery life.

This model will thus appeal to staff who need to run demanding applications, but they should not expect to be able to use it for long away from a mains socket. It does, however, have a built-in camera and Bluetooth VoIP phone that could prove useful for business travellers needing to communicate.

The TravelMate, model name TM3012TMI, is styled as an ultra-portable. And while it is small and light, its A4 footprint and 1.5kg weight are larger and heavier than models such as Dell’s Latitude X1. Like other ultra-portables, its DVD drive is external.

The TravelMate uses the 1.66GHz T2300 Core Duo, a mainstream version of Intel’s dual-core chip, rather than the low-voltage type you might expect, consequently battery life is poor but performance is strong. Under our Business Winstone 2004 application-based benchmark suite, the TravelMate rated 25.8, the highest score we have seen for any laptop.

By contrast, the Latitude X1 we tested in 2005 scored 16.8 at 1.1GHz, while HP’s nc6120 managed 18.8 with its 1.73GHz processor. Both had Pentium M processors, while the Core Duo in the new TravelMate has two processors on a single chip. Our review unit also had 1GB of memory and a 100GB hard drive.

For connectivity, the TravelMate has 802.11a/b/g, Ethernet, Bluetooth, and a modem port.

In our BatteryMark 4.0.1 benchmark tests, the TravelMate lasted only one hour and 25 minutes on its standard three-cell battery pack. Because we tested with power management disabled, buyers will typically see two to two-and-a-half hours. Acer also ships a six-cell battery with the TravelMate for extended battery life, which ups the weight to 1.65kg.

The TravelMate has a 12.1in screen with a resolution of 1280x 800 pixels. Above this is a 1.3 megapixel camera that can face forwards or backwards, and can be used to capture still images or for video conferencing with MSN Messenger. Acer also includes its Bluetooth voice over IP (VoIP) phone – a slim handset for making internet phone calls without a wired headset. It is shaped like PC Card, so it can be charged up in the TravelMate. Like some phones, it has a flip-down microphone.
The TravelMate is well equipped with three USB ports; a FireWire port for connecting its DVD+RW drive; a Type II PC Card slot; a memory slot for SD and Sony Memory Stick Flash cards; and both analogue and digital (DVI) monitor outputs.

Acer ships various software with the TravelMate, including backup software and performance optimisation tools. Notably, the Acer ePower Management tool lets users set different power schemes, specifying whether devices like Bluetooth are on or off within each one.