The Acer TravelMate B113-M-6825 Notebook is a bit of a tween experience. While it isn’t exactly designed for Windows 8 (it doesn’t have a touch screen) it is capable of running it. While people are still getting used to the idea of switching to a whole new operating system experience (Yes, Windows 8 is a completely new beast with a learning curve) it definitely helps to have a lightweight cheap-ish notebook that can switch easily between both Windows 7 and Windows 8.
Acer thought of this and that’s why the TravelMate B113-M-6825 ships with both operating systems. It’s not a dual boot setup, you have to restore the image that comes loaded on the Laptop. It comes at a price, this laptop is probably around $100 more than it should be (from a hardware perspective) but if you factor into the equation that it comes with 2 copies of Windows (both professional versions) it’s really pretty warranted.
The TravelMate B113 series has sleek lines, and a clean design. The keyboard buttons are designed in such a way that a 2 year old can’t really pry the keys off, and while you may laugh it is an important part of a design if you have a 2 year old at large <grin>.
Here are the specifications:
| Operating System | |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Professional Windows 8 Pro |
| Processor & Chipset | |
| Processor Manufacturer | Intel |
| Processor Type | Core i3 |
| Processor Model | i3-3217U |
| Processor Speed | 1.80 GHz |
| Processor Core | Dual-core (2 Core) |
| Cache | 3 MB |
| 64-bit Processing | Yes |
| Hyper-Threading | Yes |
| Chipset Manufacturer | Intel |
| Chipset Model | HM77 Express |
| Memory | |
| Standard Memory | 4 GB |
| Maximum Memory | 8 GB |
| Memory Technology | DDR3 SDRAM |
| Number of Total Memory Slots | 2 |
| Memory Card Reader | Yes |
| Memory Card Supported | MultiMediaCard (MMC) Secure Digital (SD) Card |
| Storage | |
| Hard Drive Capacity | 500 GB |
| Hard Drive Interface | Serial ATA |
| Hard Drive RPM | 5400 |
| Optical Drive Type | No |
| Display & Graphics | |
| Screen Size | 11.6″ |
| Display Screen Type | Active Matrix TFT Color LCD |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Screen Mode | HD |
| Screen Resolution | 1366 x 768 |
| Backlight Technology | LED |
| HDCP Supported | Yes |
| Graphics Controller Manufacturer | Intel |
| Graphics Controller Model | HD 4000 |
| Graphics Memory Technology | DDR3 SDRAM |
| Graphics Memory Accessibility | Shared |
| TV Card | No |
| Network & Communication | |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
| Wi-Fi Manufacturer | Intel |
| Wi-Fi Model | Centrino Advanced-N 6235 |
| Wi-Fi Standard | IEEE 802.11 a/g/n |
| Ethernet Technology | Gigabit Ethernet |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Bluetooth Standard | Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Built-in Devices | |
| Webcam | Yes |
| Microphone | Yes |
| Finger Print Reader | No |
| Interfaces/Ports | |
| HDMI | Yes |
| Total Number of USB Ports | 3 |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 2 |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 1 |
| VGA | Yes |
| Network (RJ-45) | Yes |
| Software | |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Professional Windows 8 Pro |
| Operating System Architecture | 64-bit |
| Software Included |
|
| Input Devices | |
| Keyboard | Yes |
| Pointing Device Type | TouchPad |
| Battery Information | |
| Number of Cells | 6-cell |
| Battery Chemistry | Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) |
| Power Description | |
| Maximum Power Supply Wattage | 40 W |
| Physical Characteristics | |
| Height | 1.1″ |
| Width | 11.2″ |
| Depth | 8.0″ |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Package Contents |
|
| Security Features |
|
| Warranty | |
| Warranty | Limited Warranty agreement applies. |
Battery life is pretty good, nothing spectacular, but very reasonable. We went a good 6 or so hours without looking at the battery indicator and we were doing all kinds of things ranging from surfing, downloading, video, etc… So all in all I think the Acer TravelMate B113 series is a fair machine. It won’t knock your socks off with its slow-ish i3 processor, but it gets the job done and it is a cheap way to play with Windows 8 without committing to an expensive notebook or desktop.
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