PC heavyweight Acer, which owns the Gateway, eMachines, and Packard Bell brands, announced a collection of new netbooks and full-feature notebooks that spans the company’s brand portfolio.

A collection of 13.3, 14.1, and 15.6-inch models with LED 16:9 displays, Intel ULV processors, touch pads with MacBook-like multitouch gestures and innovative passive cooling which is said to keep the laptop’s outer surface cooler to the touch.

All three models are slightly tapered and range in thickness from about 0.9 inches to 1.5 inches, but Ackerman says they felt a little heavier than he expected. (Acer says the Timeline models range from 3.5 pounds to 5.3 pounds.) The laptops range in price from $699 to $899 and are aimed at the low-cost, high-end design category.

By using ultralow-voltage CPUs and LED displays, Acer claims that these new systems can run up to 10 hours on a single battery charge. It remains to be seen how much the user will have to hobble the system to achieve those numbers.

Quick facts:

• 13.3, 14 and 15.6-in. models
• LED backlit display with true 16:9 aspect ratio, 1366X768 HD resolution
• built-in Wi-Fi/WiMAX functionalities
• Acer Crystal Eye webcamwith Acer PrimaLite technology for easy video conferences with your business contacts
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor Ultra Low Voltage
• choice of shared or dedicated VGA
• DDR3 system memory
• HDD with up to 500 GB of capacity, or SSD with up to 64 GB of capacity.