OKAY, this is a limited-edition notebook, and it may have limited functionality in terms of graphics prowess and battery life. But for racing enthusiasts who also travel a lot, the Acer Ferrari is the nifty mate to tote.

Boot it up - this is the smallest of the Ferrari notebooks I've reviewed at just about the size of piece of A4 paper and weighing 1.9kg - and you're greeted with the unmistakeable roar of a Formula 1 vehicle.

Under the head-turning, sleek black bonnet, is mostly high-end hardware. There's an AMD Mobile Turion™ 64 X2 TL-66, 2.3GHz processor with 4GB DDR2 SDRAM. Its "boot space" is a huge 250GB SATA hard disk.

For entertainment, you get a space-saving, slot-loaded DVD burner, and from the two built-in speakers, you get supercharged sounds enhanced by Dolby Home Theater System with Virtual Surround Sound.

The low scores for this notebook come in the graphics department and battery life. The ATI

Radeon X1270 graphics chipset with 64MB dedicated video memory scored just 336 points on the 3DMark 06 benchtest. Given the under-powered graphics and a small 12.1-inch screen, playing graphics-heavy games like Crysis may be out of the question - but then, this isn't a gaming machine.

Using the battery, the notebook lasted just 95 minutes - way too short a life.

Thankfully, there's plenty else to keep you satisfied. For Internet surfing and data exchange, you have options like Bluetooth, wireless and wired networking. For external devices like printers, portable hard disks and digital cameras, you have three USB ports, an S-Video port and a FireWire port. There's even a fingerprint sensor for added security. Acer also fully loads the Ferrari 1100 with all the must-have and good-to-have software.

You get file-encryption software, backup utilities and notebook management tools. Bonuses include a super-sensitive Bluetooth mouse, a notebook soft case and a VoiP phone.

FINAL SAY

Travel in style with this limited-edition ultra-portable notebook.