Acer 5951G and 8951G to come with detachable touchpads

Acer this week has announced a couple of upcoming laptops as part of its Aspire Ethos lineup. Called the 5951G and 8951G, both laptops will have the unique option for users to remove the touchpad from the laptop base. Once detached, the touchscreen touchpad will be able to function as a multimedia remote control. This option would definitely appeal to users who use their portable PCs in home theater sets or for video-on-demand viewing.

The specs of the two multimedia notebooks are quite impressive as well. The 18.4-inch 8951G will pack a fullHD (1920x1080) resolution screen with a choice of Sandy Bridge CPUs ranging from Core i3 to a Core i7-2630QM. The notebook will also be configurable to include up to 16GB of RAM and a discrete Nvidia GT 555M or GT 540M GPU. For sound, the 8951G will incorporate the Dolby Home Theater v4 with Acer CineSurround tech and the Acer Tuba CineBass subwoofer.

Meanwhile, the 5951G will be the smaller of the two, coming in at 15.6-inches with a 1366x768 resolution display, a Core i5-2410M CPU option and 4GB DDR3 RAM. Fortunately, the notebook will have the same Nvidia graphics options as its larger sibling. The 5951G is expected to pack a hefty sound system too with its 5.1-channel surround sound speakers.

Both notebooks will come standard with a Blu-ray player or recorder, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 3.0, Firewire, HDMI, VGA and eSATA connectivity options. Expect the new multimedia Ethos notebooks to launch later this month in the UK starting at £999 ($1640).

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