Acer AC700-1099 Chromebook (Wi-Fi)
- The Intel® Atom? N570 Processor
- 2GB DDR3 Memory
- 16GB Solid State Drive
- 11.6? HD Widescreen CineCrystal? LED-backlit LCD, Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3150
- Google OS, 6 Hour Battery Life
Acer/ac700-1099 – Intel – atom – n570 – 1.66 ghz – ddr3 sdram – ram: 2 GB – 16 g. It includes 3.5 mm headphone output and 3.5 mm Mic input.The Acer Chromebook is the future of computing. In a stylish simplified design with 11.6″ HD show, it’s the ideal device for users who live and breathe online, craving the speed to go from one site to the next in an instant. Acer Chromebook is powered by Intel® dual-core processor, Chrome OS, and anywhere connectivity, delivering a ground-breaking user ex
List Price: $ 329.99
Price: $ 299.99
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Very Nice But Not a Full PC or Mac Replacement,
The Acer Wi-Fi Chromebook shares the distinction of being the first commercial Chromebook with another model by Samsung. The Acer Wi-Fi Chromebook will sell for $349 while the Samsung model will sell for $429 (Wi-Fi) and $499 (Wi-Fi and 3G capable). I have been testing the CR-48 Chromebook for the last five months. During this time I have come to see the positives and the negatives of this device. The Acer Wi-Fi Chromebook will feature an updated Intel Atom processor which should function quite nicely.
I do reckon that most people will be pleased with this device as long as they know a couple of things:
1. This will not replace your Windows or Mac machine completely. If you use any programs like Photoshop, then you will still have the need for your PC or Mac.
2. You are probably better off buying the Wi-Fi version and using your smart phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot or buying a Wi-Fi Hotspot from a provider like Verizon or Sprint. That way you can use the web on multiple devices instead of just paying for 3G access on your Chromebook.
Here are some Pros and Cons to consider:
Pros
1. Lightweight
2. Extremely long battery life (I typically charge mine every other day)
3. Pretty quick. On the web I find that the Chromebook loads up really quick.
4. Mad Birds – Yeah, they have added an Mad Birds Chrome web app that lets you play Mad Birds.
5. Sandboxing – You can Google this, but just reckon of it as a added level of web security.
6. Saving on the Cloud – All your files, etc. are linked to the cloud so you are not having to back up your laptop regularly.
7. Regular updates. Google releases updates to Chrome OS about every 2-3 weeks keeping it stable and secure.
8. HDMI output. This is a nice addition for those who will use this on the road or at a friend’s house.
9. Netflix, Hulu, and other video streaming sites are supported finally (they were not in the beta test of the CR-48).
10. Supports music streaming from Amazon Cloud service, Google Music, Pandora, etc.
Cons (or possibly just some Considerations)
1. It runs on Chrome OS only. You can’t load Windows or Mac based programs. For a lot of people this means they still need their Mac or PC. This is especially right if you run programs like Photoshop. I use Photoshop and Lightroom often. But, I use my Chromebook for just about everything else. This could be an issue for some, but I still wouldn’t give up my Chromebook.
2. Cost might be a small high for some. Since this doesn’t replace your PC or Mac completely, this price point is near what a tablet might cost (iPad or Xoom?). Personally, I like the form factor and the fact that I have a full keyboard for working rather than a touch screen on a tablet and would choose this over an equally priced tablet. But I figured I would point this out.
3. Early adopting. There is always a chance that the kinks are still being worked out. With Google, I’m pretty sure this won’t be the case. My experience with the CR-48 has been fantastic, with regular revisions every few weeks from Google even in the beta phase. Probably not going to be an issue, but again, worth pointing out.
4. No optical drive. You cannot play CDs or DVDs on this device. You must use the USB port or SD card slot. With Netflix, Hulu, and many other options, this is quickly becoming a non-issue. Additionally with being able to store so much to the cloud and USB/SDHC storage, optical storage is not really necessary as much as it used to be. That said, it is a change you have to get used to.
Well, I can easily say that after trying this out for the last few months, I will certainly be buying another when the time comes.
Cheers!
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|Chrome OS Review,
I’ve been using one of the laptops that Google distributed last year in order to test Chrome OS. As the thought behind Chromebooks is new to some, I thought I’d focus on the operating system, though I’ve covered the hardware to a point.
I’ll try to make this in-depth without it being too technical.
If you’re looking for a quick thought of whether or not this is for you, jump to the bottom and read the summary.
The Concept
The premise on which Chrome OS is based is that nearly everything you do when you use your computer happens in your browser, so Google have built a system that makes that experience as quick, as simple and as secure as they can. That simplicity also leads to an 8-hour battery life, which very few laptops can offer.
This simpler approach means that you don’t have to deal with software updates(with one exception, see below) or worry about anti-virus software.
This also means all of your files and media is stored on other computers, on the internet. Some people aren’t ready for that and if you’re not, Chromebooks aren’t for you.
Applications and Limitations
As you might imagine, just the web means no Windows, Mac or other typical software applications. Because of this, there’s no CD or DVD drive in a Chromebook.
Though `just the web’ may sound extremely-limiting, you can do a lot in your browser; multimedia editing(including video), as well as voice and video chat is all entirely possible on a Chromebook, as is the creation and editing of documents, spreadsheets and presentations. This software is available all over the web and there’s a selection of useful tools to be found in the Chrome Web Store, with free and paid solutions.
That said, you can just type in a web address or search as you would normally to find a helpful website. As an example, Google, Zoho and Microsoft all offer web-based office suites, some of those are free and some paid.
Setup
Setting up a Chromebook is as simple as turning it on, putting in your Wi-Fi connection details and logging in.
If there’s a new version of the operating system(as there was when I set my machine up) it will download that before you can continue. This may seem odd, as the thought is to make updates invisible to you, but Chromebooks check for updates the first time they’re run in case something in that update changes something key, like the introduction process for new users.
Once the laptop has checked for updates, it reboots and you login. You’re then shown how to do various things with the click-able touchpad, such as scrolling and right-clicking.
Speed
After the first time it’s turned on Chromebooks are designed to be very quick. In my experience, that means booting up in around 9 seconds from off, whether that means the power button being pressed or the lid being lifted. If you close the lid for a while but leave the machine on, it should resume instantly.
Security
Whilst not being able to install traditional software can seem restrictive, it also has a huge benefit: no more anti-virus software.
Viruses are so common on Windows(and lately the Mac operating system, OS X) because the more software that’s installed, the more potential vulnerabilities there are to exploit.
Because the Chromebook knows what software should be installed, it can keep a copy in an encrypted area of the hard drive. Each time you turn the machine on, it checks to see if anything unathorised has changed in the software. If it has, that encrypted copy overwrites everything and any updates will be installed when you connect to the internet.
No system is 100% secure, but this method(called verified boot) makes it much harder to compromise your machine.
Privacy and Google
Some users don’t like the thought of being dependent on any large company for their computing needs. So, does a Chromebook make you reliant upon Google?
In small, no. Whilst Google does encourage you to log in to a Chromebook with your Google account, you can log in under Guest mode. Whilst using Guest mode, nothing you do is saved on the machine, you don’t need to log in to a Google service and you’re free to use any web-based service you choose. Google is currently working on other login methods.
But, should you choose to login using your Google account(as I do and most users ultimately will) your settings and bookmarks can be saved, just as they are in for the Chrome browser.
Files and Devices
A key thing when using a system like this is being able to use files people email you and external hardware, just like you would on a Windows PC or a Mac.
If someone emails you a picture, for instance, you can download that file and directly upload it to Picasa Web Albums, Google’s photo…
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|A nice portable web browser, but reliability problems,
I originally posted this as a four-star review, but after the second unanticipated reboot today, I find the Chromebook too unreliable; thus a three-star rating is more appropriate.
This Chromebook is ideal for me. I have a powerful desktop PC, but I wanted something portable to browse the web.
Pros:
Boots quickly, wakes quickly from sleep mode
Software updates are quick and simple
Full featured Chrome browser with Adobe Flash support
Small, compact
Battery life about 4-5 hours
HDMI support lets me play YouTube videos on my 50″ plasma TV
The worthless function keys are gone and replaced with useful keys including browser forward, back and refresh; brightness, and volume. I do miss the End, Page Up and Page Down keys.
Cons:
Printing. The Google Cloud Print service needs improvement. I have to leave my desktop PC running in order to print via the Google Cloud Print server. There is no way to print directly to my LAN connected printer without using my PC as a print server. Printing is the largest Chrome OS weakness I see.
Hard to play your own media. Chrome OS is fantastic for media that streams from the web. But it’s not very excellent if you own your own media, whether on a DVD/CD, or bought through iTunes. Maybe when cloud storage takes off it will be better. The iPad is certainly ahead in this respect.
I have a small distress with the keyboard. I can’t seem to locate the “a” key properly.
The touchpad requires a bit more force to click than I like. [Edit] I like it better know that I have found the “tap to click” setting.
Tabs in the web browser abort with a “She’s dead Jim” or “Aww Snap” error message. Reloading the web page usually works. Rebooting the Chromebook seems to work better. The Chromebook occasionally reboots all by itself. At least it reboots quickly.
The Chromebook can’t handle most email attachments (ZIP files, Excel spreadsheets). Maybe you could upload some attachments to Google Docs, but that seems really cumbersome.
Cumbersome file manager. I could not figure out how to copy a file from internal flash memory to a USB stick other than opening the PDF file and “Save As…”.
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