Acer Travelmate 8441T-6440

Acer Travelmate 8441T-6440

The Acer Travelmate 8481T-6440 ($995 street) laptop is very similar to the crop of luxuriously thin ultraportables that have surfaced of late, except it targets small businesses. You can say it's similar to an ultrabook, with its thin metal-clad frame, low-voltage Core i5 processor, and 11 hours of battery life. Ultrabook or not, this laptop is great all-around, and it supplants the Dell Vostro 3350 ($741 direct, 4 stars) as the new Editors' Choice in our small business category. At first glance, the matte black finish is mundane, and it attracts fingerprints and smudges like a magnet to steel. The aluminum underneath the shabby finish, though, will have you looking at the design in a whole new light. The metal feels cool to the touch and feels great when it's cradled in your arms, as the top and bottom of the laptop made of aluminum. Like the Dell Vostro V131 ($799.99 direct, 4 stars) and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 ($1,499 direct, 3.5 stars), it measures less than an inch thick; the Samsung Series 9 ($1,650 list, 4 stars) and Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (Thunderbolt) ($1,299 direct, 4 stars) are even thinner. Its 3.9-pound frame might seem heavy compared with the aforementioned laptops, but the big 87WH battery bulging from its back and a 14-inch widescreen are worth the added weight.