7. Acer Ferrari 1000-5123

By: Barry Gerber

Acer's Ferrari 1000 looks and feels like a shiny race car would look and feel if it was a compact notebook computer. I had a chance to work with this computer when Microsoft Vista first came out. I liked it then and I still think it's one of the nicest performing small Vista notebooks around. Take a look at the 1000-5123's specs.

The keyboard is comfortable to use. The display is bright and easy to read. There are three USB ports, a FireWire port and the usual headphone and microphone ports as well as a line in/out port with SPDIF support. The notebook also has a nice easy to use horizontally rotating camera mounted at the top of its display.

The Ferrari 1000 comes with a nice set of accessories, including a Bluetooth mouse and a VoIP phone (really a headset for use with applications such as Skype). Also include are some impressive soft cases for the computer, its external DVD/CD optical drive and the mouse and VoIP phone. They all have large fold-over tops. The only fault I found with the cases is that you still need a larger case to hold the cases and their contents.

At $2,000 with discounts available, the Ferrari 1000 isn't cheap. However, if you're looking for a distinctive small and light notebook that will definitely impress your dad or grad, you have to consider this great Acer product.