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October 21, 2013

Acer C720 Chromebook Gives The Third Party Option Another Chance

For the most part, when it comes to actual full-on computers, the choices are basically some variant of PC or some variant of Mac. Even those who start with Linux are basically using one of those two platforms, but there's a third option that's been valiantly trying to gain some ground in recent months with the Chromebook. Acer, meanwhile, has recently showed off its newest entry into the Chromebook stakes with the Acer C720, accentuating the positive and working hard to eliminate the negative.

The C720 is said to be not only thinner than the previous Acer Chromebook release -- which is no mean feat in its own right given that the device now weighs a meager 2.8 pounds -- but is also said to boast a battery life sufficient to run for eight hours without needing to charge, or enough to successfully clear a work day. The basic model runs an 11 inch screen showing at a 1366 x 768 resolution, backed up by an Intel Celeron 2955U processor running at 1.4 GHz. Also in attendance are four gigabytes of DDRL3 SDRAM, 16 gigabytes of solid state storage, and an HDMI port to make it more readily workable with larger displays. This whole package comes available for $249.99, which as new laptops go, may well be one of the lowest prices around.

Early reports suggest that these specs should be enough to keep most light applications up and running, though heavier applications—those that might drain battery life to match—will likely prove too much for the Acer C720. But then, this is also proving to be one of the Chromebook line's greatest advantages. Since the system runs mostly on cloud systems—the Chrome OS doesn't run most programs directly—it can keep things generally moving along at a good clip. Of course, it also relies on being within easy range of some kind of Internet connection—shut down the Web and the Chromebook loses plenty of utility—SO there's a certain amount of tradeoff that seems to be happening here.

For those who don't have a problem with this, however, the Chromebook looks to be a sound, low-budget alternative to PC and Mac, and the growing number of items in the line suggests that this is likely to be the case for some time. Though some may not be interested in the trade-offs the Chromebook presents, especially as regards the lack of local operation, there are likely to be plenty that don't have a problem with keeping much of the operations on the cloud. After all, Wi-Fi access is comparatively cheap and often plentiful—most of us can name at least three locations near us where free Wi-Fi is included in the price of a lunch or even just for the asking—so why not offload some of the heavy lifting to an Internet connection? Acer's new solution looks to really emphasize portability, and for mobile workers, portability is vital.

Still, the light weight and overall capability of the Chromebook, and particularly the Acer C720, will likely manage to pull at least some interest from users around the field.




Edited by Rory J. Thompson


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