Tech-maker Acer has some new notebooks heading in South Africa’s direction. That’s not unusual in itself — there’s almost always something heading down the pipe from Taiwan. But these machines, the Acer TravelMate B3 and TravelMate Spin B3, are designed with younger students in mind.
To that end, both machines are set to run Windows 11 SE. This is a cloud-focused OS designed with education in mind. Specifically, education from kindergarten to about Grade 8. That does make these machines fairly specialised, in terms of software. The hardware seems to follow suit.
For when you need to Acer your exams
Both machines sport 11.6in displays — both with a 1,366 x 768 resolution — as well 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a Pentium N5100 quad-core processor. The relatively low spec also marks these as education-focused machines, but it should be enough to get the kiddies’ homework done.
They also both feature the same rugged design. Acer reckons that a MIL-STD 810H spec means these notebooks can handle up to 60kg of downward force (say, from a kid sitting on it). Each notebook should also survive a tumble from a height of around 1.2 metres. This should be more than enough to help these machines survive the rigours of primary school in South Africa.
The major difference should be fairly obvious, but we’ll spell it out anyway. The TravelMate Spin B3 er… spins. The touchscreen display folds back, and kids can use it as a tablet along with the docked Wacom pen that resides in the chassis. This might account for the Spin B3’s increased price over its less-talented sibling.
Acer’s TravelMate B3 (TMB311-32) notebook is due for launch in South Africa (and the rest of the EMEA region before the end of March this year. It’ll start at R6,320 when it drops. The TravelMate Spin B3 (TMB311R-32) turns up here in the same undefined period. When it’s here, expect to pay at least R9,500 to get your hands on one.