Kind of a long review sorry...
The Acer Chromebook is a great computer for someone looking for a computer to do internet browsing, light gaming, and light productivity. You can not download any programs to it, but there are a ton of apps available to fit almost every need (word processing, spreadsheets, photo editing, games,etc.. check google chrome store to see what's available if you have any questions). Think of it like a tablet with an app store in that regard.
Way too many bad reviews on Chromebooks from people who do not understand what they are buying and don't understand why windows programs won't work on it. A lot of bad reviews are from people who have never even tried one. Unless you are a hardcore MS office user, or serious gamer who needs a lot of computing power this computer can do almost everything you need.
At first I wasn't sure if this would work for me, because it looked like a low end limited use netbook. But it kept getting great reviews and for $200 something bucks, and the option to return it if I didn't like it, I'd give it a shot. There are tons of reviews from people who have moved away from using their much more expensive computers because the Chromebook is just a better online experience for most of their needs. I now know why.
Honestly if I need something, I know my Chromebook can be up and have me searching Google quickly in seconds. Long before my other computers can get to my homepage (even from standby). I also know all my plug-ins are always up to date and ready to go. Why even turn the other ones on unless I absolutely have too then? Having to sit through windows load/resume screens gets old really quick once you realize you don't have to. Chromebook quickly became my go to computer for anything online.
Due to the fact it doesn't run a bulky OS like windows, it doesn't need that much processor power to breeze through websites very quickly. You would be amazed how fast this little Celeron chip (its actually a stripped down dual core i3 sandy-bridge processor) runs when its not having to support a lot of OS background processes. It is just as fast browsing online as my much more expensive i5 computers.
Power off to my internet homepage is under 10 seconds, standby to my homepage is 1 second or less, and total shutdown is under 5 seconds.
However I tried it out at best buy (they have it for $199), and due to the fact they have so many machines running on the WiFi at the same time it seemed slow in the store. Trust me it is very fast on a good WiFi. Remember it is cloud based, so it is only as fast as your Wifi is. If you are using a slow connection your whole computer will seem slow. Faster the connection, faster the computer will be.
It is cloud based, everything is saved, auto updated and configured on the cloud. Since nothing is saved locally on the computer (unless you want it to be) your files (pics music documents movies etc) are available on any computer with an internet connection if you are away from your Chromebook. If you have to replace or upgrade your Chromebook simply log in and everything is instantly restored from the cloud, including every setting, preference, app, and all your saved data and files. Plus since nothing is actually on the Chromebook, no one can steal any info or files from it. Try that with a windows machine. No reason to ever do any maintenance on anything ever. No worry about viruses/malware because there is no real operating system to infect, no old files to clean out, no registry to maintain, no updates to manually install, no defrag, no virus scans, no maintenance at all since nothing is actually stored on your computer (except the OS and offline apps).
Also, since it is cloud based, no matter how much you download or use it, it does not affect the computers speed. Nothing is stored on the computer to bog it down. It actually just keeps getting faster with every auto update. It is the only computer I have ever used that gets faster as you use it.
HD 1080p video streams smooth with no frame rate issues, even in full screen. Aquarium WebGL renders 40 fps on a high setting with 500 objects on screen, and 35 fps with 1,000. The HD webcam is great, and video chat works with no issues. The speakers are a little quiet for my taste, but you can hear everything just fine, just don't expect it to fill a noisy room with sound. HDMI out works perfect with my HDTV.
You can download music, pics, files, pretty much anything, you just can not run any exe. files if you download them. The Chromebook only runs internet based apps, and apps from the chrome store. The chrome store has a great selection of apps to meet almost every need and is growing quickly.
While it only has a 16gb SSD hard drive, you pretty much only need it to temporarily hold files while you transfer them to the cloud, that is where all your data is stored. The 320GB hard drive is larger but much slower. I opted for the smaller faster 16gb SSD one as I store everything online and it allows the machine to run much faster.
Only downsides are
1. You can't pin favorite websites to the desktop, you have to start the browser then pull them off favorites. I'm sure that will be addressed soon as it seems to be a common complaint.
2. Also you need to have a wireless cloud based printer to print directly from chrome book. Otherwise you need to access your cloud files from a different PC to print. While it has USB ports, it has limited plug and play, they won't work with printers...yet. USB mice, cameras, cell phones, hard drives all seem to work fine though.
3. It is limited with Java plugins but then again not much is in Java anymore so it probably doesn't matter.
4. Volume a little low for my taste, but still very audible.
5. Not the best looking construction, but it is durable.
6. Trackpad might take a little getting used to if you're used to separate left and right mouse buttons, but works great once you get it down (Alt key plus left click, or 2 finger click both work for right click).
The biggest question is why buy this over a similar priced windows laptop that can do everything?
One answer... speed. While a cheap windows unit can do more overall...there is no comparison between this and a cheap laptop. Side by side, its much quicker, smoother, and is just overall more convenient to use. Think of windows like a pickup tuck, and Chromebook like a sports car. You can do more with a pickup, but it's not as fast or fun as a sports car. That combined with the super quick boot up times, zero maintenance, and cloud computing, makes it so quick and easy, that I actually don't use my more expensive computers unless I have too.
Acer vs Samsung Chromebook... Acer is somewhat faster and smoother, and is upgradable. While Acer says 4GB ram max...the chrome OS will actually accept and use any amount of RAM you jam into the 2 slots with a few easy tweaks (I've seen these with up to 32GB of ram running). You can also swap out the SSD and battery for better ones if you want. It has a delete key and caps lock key (the Samsung doesn't for some reason). Battery life on Acer isn't great though. The Samsung has much better battery life, looks a little nicer, and has a nicer feeling keyboard and track pad but is not upgradable. It is sealed shut and everything is soldered in. Pick what features are more important to you. There are some other minor details but those are the biggest.
While it is not for everyone, if you're looking for a computer to just browse the internet, watch videos, app and internet based gaming, do word and spreadsheets, photo editing, video chat, etc... basically what 90% of people do with a computer anyway...this is the one to get. If you want to play games that you need to install to the hard drive, run a serious business, or have a slow or spotty internet connection this is not the one to get.
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I actually purchased the Acer C7 Chromebook with 16 GB SSD drive from Bestbuy which was selling it for a cheap $199.
Without sounding to dramatic, I have to say this is one of my favorite electronic purchases in a long while.
I have an amazing MSI gaming laptop, but it's such a power-hungry beast that the battery life sucks and it's heavy, making it impractical for me to lug it around in my backpack. In essence, the C7 is the opposite of my MSI; it's small and light, making for a highly portable machine; the Chrome OS is clean and simple, and although it may take a bit of getting used to, its well worth itby doing everything off Google Drive (the Google cloud service) I can work away knowing that all the essays I type and homework I do are not saved locally but rather store in the cloud. This means that should my C7 be lost, stolen, or damaged, all my work will be not be lost. Moreover, at $199, the thought of having it lost, stolen, etc, isn't as worrisome compared to a similar situation occurring with my $1600 MSI. Also, the Acer C7 is upgrade-able unlike its Samsung Chromebook counterpart. In fact, I upgraded the RAM already, link follows for those curious:
Kingston HyperX Plug n Play 4 GB Kit (2x2GB Modules) 1600MHz DDR3 SODIMM Notebook/Netbook Memory 4 Dual Channel Kit (PC3 12800) 204-Pin KHX1600C9S3P1K2/4G
Blah blah blah... who is this for? Someone looking for a quick, simple-to-use, and highly affordable netbook. Who is it not for? Someone who runs high-end, high-spec programs/games or those who need Windows for said programs.
My recommendation? This little guy is PERFECT if you mostly use your laptop for internet-based programs (facebook, email, google-docs, youtube, et al) OR if you wish to have a portable netbook to supplement a desktop or high-end laptop you already own.
Best Deals for 11.6" Acer C7 C710-2856 Chromebook Intel Dual Core 847 2GB DDR3 RAM
I've owned a number of desktops and laptops over the years, and this little Chromebook is the best laptop I've ever owned. It's so lightweight and easy to use, I can take it anywhere. There's no chunky charge cable, the lid closes so easily, there's no button that weakens over time causing it to have problems opening. For being a small screen, it's really easy to read, browse and type. There's no Windows to wait for every time you want to use a computer. Want to search for something, anything? No problem... my Chromebook is on, ready to go, and opens up Google Chrome the moment I open the lid, whether it was shut down or just in standby. I can find things faster on this than any other device I own. And pictures and videos? Not a problem, at all!
My son is a gamer, has an upgraded PC and the newest XBOX 360, and before my Chromebook he had the fastest systems in the house, but not any more. I tested this theory out the other day. We decided to look up videos on YouTube at the same time on our different systems. My Chromebook searched faster, found the video faster, and started playing the video faster than his systems. I was thoroughly impressed. I still am impressed, every time I use it there's something new I discover it can do. You can't download software on to it, and it's version of Windows Explorer lists external storage devices a little bit different than Microsoft based systems, but what it does have is amazing.
The number of apps that are available for the Chromebook is mind-boggling. There's games, utilities, news, weather, entertainment, and more apps. It even comes with a webcam and microphone built in, ready to use. I can chat with any of my friends online using video call through Google Mail. Everything you can do with Chrome on your desktop, you can do with Chromebook... and more! And being Google, everything sync's... want all your bookmarks from your desktop available on your Chromebook? You got it. You want all your contacts on your Chromebook? Not a problem.
Everything you do on the Chromebook is stored online through Google's cloud drive, which is accessible anywhere a computer and the internet are available. I haven't started my new semester yet, but I can't wait to see how my Chromebook handles my online classes. I suppose I might need to access my documents on my Chromebook on my desktop if my professors want MS doc files, but I can still use my Chromebook for all the typing and research and lectures. No longer will I have to use my desktop to download documents or videos because it downloads fast but can't play anything, go to my laptop to watch the videos (it's too slow for downloads, but the graphics are better), then try and figure out what system I should use to write my paper because eventually I'll have to go back to my desktop, because it's connected to the internet (my laptop had issues finding it), so I can actually write my paper and submit it. I am so looking forward to using my Chromebook this semester. It already loads Blackboard faster than any other system I've had.
My best friend got me the Chromebook for my birthday from Wal-Mart. There was practically no setup. We have wireless internet at home, I took it out of the box, put in the battery, opened the lid, it asked for the internet's password, then my Google account info, and I was online and using my Chromebook. I've never owned any Apple products, but I have seen them and played with my friends. I would consider my Chromebook a cross between an iPad Touch and a smart phone, with an attached keyboard. But it's so much better than that, because it's a laptop that happens to have cloud based storage. In fact one of the offers I got when I first used my Chromebook was an extra 100 GB of cloud storage space.
The speakers are pretty darn good for being a little laptop as well. The screen is an HD screen and everything looks so much sharper and cleaner than any other computer I own. Watching Amazon Prime videos or Netflix is a whole lot easier on my Chromebook, as well. And for those of us who like to play computer games now and then, and might have Steam on our desktop, if you purchase a game on the Chromebook, you have access to it through Steam as well, without having to purchase it twice.
It took a little while to get used to how the Chromebook functions. There's no Windows, no start button, no desktop icons, but there is a taskbar, and all the apps you want, every single one of them, is located on the taskbar, in it's own icon. I would definitely recommend starting with the "Get Started" app when you first get a Chromebook. Not only do you get to see everything the Chromebook has to offer, but it gives you a feel for using it and practice using the touchpad mouse. The Chromebook is a Linux based operating system. Now I've used Linux based computers and been less than impressed, even if they did have fewer problems than Windows, and never have blue screens or black screens. Because it's all online and cloud based, and its Google, there's never viruses to worry about, there's no constant update reminders, and anything you have stored that's supposedly not Google Chrome compatible? There's an app for that.
The Chromebook is so much fun to use, easy to use, and it does have the ability to work offline, if any reason you need to be, you can choose what you want access to when you can't be online. It's the most amazing little laptop I've ever owned, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a small, easy to use, lightweight laptop. Once my semester starts and see how handy (or not, but I doubt it) my Chromebook is for my homework/classwork, I'll post another review. I'm anxious to see how it will work if there's any outside software I need, or if I choose to use online textbooks.
Cheers, Laura :)
Honest reviews on 11.6" Acer C7 C710-2856 Chromebook Intel Dual Core 847 2GB DDR3 RAM
I love Chromebook and I love the Acer C7; see my big review at Acer C710-2833 Chromebook.
The Acer C7 version, C710-2856, is identical to the Acer C710-2833 Chromebook, which is currently available for $199. That's the right price, so get it instead. (If Amazon raises the price on the C710-2833, look for either version cheaper at Newegg or Best Buy.)
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This is not a full featured, maximum capacity, BUSINESS oriented product. So don't buy it if you absolutely need MS Office to function or if you MUST load the latest version of Mortal Kombat, because this won't work.
That said, if you like to browse social media, check your email, and and even use Google+ Hangouts with your knitting friends (it can't just be me who does that), then this compact, lightweight and inexpensive Chromebook might be for you!
I love this Chromebook. I opened the box, popped the battery in and plugged it in. Bingo, it was running. Nothing to download, upload or update. It updates automatically each time you turn it on.
I was already a big fan of Google chrome and Google drive so as soon as I had it running and I signed into my gmail, then it synced to all my other devices. The Chrome OS automatically loaded my bookmarks. It was like this brand new device had known me all my life. Whatever I have put in the cloud I can access where ever I go and as light as this is, it can go everywhere. It even fits in my purse like a tablet, but has a keyboard.
Can you tell that I am impressed?
