The keyboard of the 1100 is a major improvement over the 1002. The keys are well spaced, offer great tactile feedback, and have a smooth textured finish that makes typing a lot easier. The touchpad has however taken a turn for the worse. It's textured and smooth, but the accompanying mouse keys (made of slim metal) are nightmarishly hard to use – one has to almost punch them to register a click.
The LCD panel on the 1100 is a 12.1 inch affair with a native resolution of 1280 x 800. It offers strictly average levels of brightness, color, and contrast. We wish Acer had paid more attention and equipped the laptop with an LED backlit panel – the brilliant clarity and sharper display would have enhanced its appeal considerably.
In terms of connectivity, the 1100 is no better or worse than other ultraportables. It has 3 USB 2.0 ports, a mini FireWire Port, a Type II PC card slot, a 5-in-1 card reader, and a 0.3MP webcam. A welcome change is the inclusion of a slot-loading DVD Super Write drive.



