Acer has announced the launch of its new Aspire Timeline series that it claims reaches a "delicate equilibrium between computer lightness and battery life".

With the boast of an entire day of computing on a single charge, the series will be available in three formats, 13.3 inches, 14 inches and 15.6 inches.

The long life battery boasts come in with a variety of claims from Acer. The laptops offer Intel Core 2 Duo processors, and the manufacturer says it has "redesigned the way power is used", making the systems more efficient.

The series offers the Acer "Smart Power" key that on a button press "takes a series of actions to reduce power consumption".

In addition, Acer is offering a "Power Smart" adapter that claims to consume less energy than the average and changes mode when the battery is charged.

Less than an inch thick, the new laptops offer a brushed aluminium cover and weigh in at 1.6kg for the 13-incher and just 2.4kg for the 15.6-inch model.

The Timelines will get touch sensitive hot keys on the top for functions such as Wi-Fi, Backup and that Power Smart key and - for the 14-inch and 15.6-inch models - a disc drive eject button too.

The display is an Acer CineCrystal LED backlit effort with 16:9 aspect ratio, 1366 X 768 HD resolution, while sound comes in with Dolby Sound Room.

There's also cooling tech, a multi-touch gesture touchpad, a "glossy FineTip" keyboard, webcam, optional 3G and WiMAX, HDDs up to 500GB as well as support for SSD up to 64GB.

Acer has provided no information on pricing or availability, so we'll keep you informed.