Acer's new TravelMate notebook is a slimline 2-spindle machine measuring 33mm thick when closed and weighing only 2.3kg, which makes it a suitable choice if you are planning to travel with it. The core specification is pitched about right for a fully portable notebook, with an 800MHz Pentium III SpeedStep processor doing the work, backed by the now more-or-less standard helping of 128MB of PC133 SDRAM.

A removable 20GB IBM Travelstar hard disk provides a sensible amount of storage and the system is shipped with the choice of either an 8-speed Toshiba DVD-ROM drive or a CD-RW drive in its multipurpose bay. You don't get a floppy drive as standard though - an external-only USB module is available for £79 plus VAT, adding some 350g to the overall carrying weight.

Like most of the brand-name notebook manufacturers, Acer has devoted some energy to the design aesthetics of its products, and the TravelMate is both distinctive and attractive to look at. Its signature feature is the curved layout of the keyboard; this, if anything, slightly improves the ergonomics, which are fairly good anyway thanks to a sensible layout that makes use of large keys where they are needed.

This notebook is also solidly put together, and incorporates sensible features for a travelling machine like shock shielding over the hard disk compartment and a metal alloy lid to protect the screen.

The TravelMate lacks parallel and serial ports, but both are supplied on a short adapter cable that plugs in to an expansion bus. This can also be used with the optional port replicator. You don't get Firewire, but the machine does have two USB ports, plus a standard PS/2 input for an external mouse or keyboard, and a single Type II PC Card slot for expansion. It's unlikely that you'll notice the lack of a second PC Card slot as both a V.90 Lucent modem and an Intel Pro/100 VE 10/100 network adapter are built in.

The motherboard is based around Intel's 815EM chipset, which incorporates a graphics processing element and, in this case, 4MB of dedicated display cache memory. It also borrows from main system memory like other members of the i815 family, but the presence of dedicated memory boosts graphics performance measurably. Although it's a fairly compact machine the designers have managed to squeeze in a 14.1-inch TFT display, which proved to be bright and comfortably readable running in its native 1024 x 768 resolution.

But the most unusual feature of this notebook has to be its smart card security system, which can be configured to provide several layers of protection against unauthorised use. You can implement a BIOS lock which will not allow the machine to boot at all unless the correct card is inserted in the slot in the left side of the case, and you can follow up with a Windows login password, again requiring the presence of the correct card for it to work.

It's also possible to encrypt files and folders, with the smart card and password required to unlock them, so all in all there's enough to keep data safe from all but the most determined corporate or political espionage agents.

Battery life seems to average about two hours, which is a little less than ideal, but overall performance is quite good for a PIII/800 notebook. Since the price isn't by any means wildly inflated by the standards of corporate notebooks, the pieces all fall into place rather nicely. The TravelMate 610 is well worth a closer look if you are trying to find a lighter notebook for travelling use. And if security features are a concern, it really should be on your shortlist.

The inclusion of smart card security makes an already good notebook even better, particularly for business use. High overall quality, manageable weight and dimensions, and an international one year warranty are among the TravelMate 610's other notable features.