Acer Chromebook 13
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Which Chromebooks are worth buying?
Seven years ago, netbooks were all the rage with consumers, providing a cheap and easy way to get online and carry out other basic computing tasks. They died out as cellphones and tablets became popular, with some companies even forecasting the death of the laptop entirely. But it turns out that people still need notebooks for some things, and it helps if the device is cheap -- but most people still want a little more oomph than the standard low-power netbook. That's where Chromebooks step in. Small, lightweight and running Chrome OS, Chromebooks have exploded in popularity the past few years. As such, we've found ourselves reviewing quite a number of models in recent months. But which one should you buy? We've recommended a few devices in our buyer's guides before, but it's never one-size-fits-all. So we took a look at some recent releases, peeping at our own reviews as well as those of other trusted critics to make your buying decision a little easier.
Acer Chromebook 13 review: long battery life, sharp screen, good price
After years of getting little respect, Chromebooks are finally on the rise (at least in schools), which means every major PC maker is trying to get in on the action. That includes chip makers too, like NVIDIA. Though the company previously shied away from Chrome OS devices, it's now pledging to power a whole range of different Chromebooks with its Tegra K1 chip, each of them promising long battery life and more graphics muscle. The Acer Chromebook 13 is the first of the bunch, and while some of you might be Chromebook'd out, we were actually excited. Here was a $300 laptop boasting at least 11 hours of battery life, a 1080p display option and enough horsepower to clobber Intel at things like gaming and rich websites. As it turns out, it was all just a little too good to be true.
Acer's Chromebook 13 lasts a stunning 13 hours on a charge
Until now, if you wanted a Chromebook with a full HD display, you only had one option: the 13-inch Samsung Chromebook 2. Want epic battery life? Yep, all roads lead to Samsung there, too. Well, not anymore, anyway. Acer just announced the Chromebook 13, and it matches Samsung nearly spec for spec with an optional 1080p display and NVIDIA's quad-core Tegra K1 chip, promising up to 13 hours of runtime (details on that after the break). This is interesting for two reasons. First off, although this is essentially the same class of product as what Samsung is selling, it costs $100 less: $299, versus $400 for the Chromebook 2. Sounds good, right? What's more, this is the first-ever Chrome OS device with an NVIDIA processor inside.
