Introduction and design
Compared to most laptops, Chromebooks are a one-trick pony: They're good for web-based productivity and not much else. Acer has refined this simple formula with Chromebook 13, which offers a 1080p screen, an outstanding keyboard and a slim and light design. It's also the first Chromebook to feature Nvidia's energy-efficient Tegra K1 quad-core processor, which provides much longer battery life than competing notebooks.
Moreover, at $249 and £219 (about AU$314) the Chromebook 13 is the same price as the Samsung Chromebook 2, which uses a 1,366 x 768 display and a dual-core Intel Celeron N2840 processor. Should this laptop's full HD screen and longer battery life put it at the top of your list?
Design
The Acer Chromebook 13 sports a slim, matte white plastic chassis that's refreshingly minimalist. Small Acer and Google Chrome logos on the left side of the lid serve as the sole flourishes on the otherwise unadorned exterior, and the tapered bottom gives the laptop a sleek look. Despite its thin profile, the notebook feels surprisingly sturdy in my hand.
On the other side of the lid, the laptop features a 13.3-inch display with a matte, glare-resistant finish. The black island-style keyboard stands in sharp relief against the bone-white deck, and the palm rest offers plenty of room for the wrists. A blue LED at the top right corner glows when the laptop is on.
At 12.9 x 9 x 0.71 inches (W x D x H) and 3.31 pounds, the Chromebook 13 is a tad heavier than the 2.95-pound, 13.3-inch Toshiba Chromebook 2 and the 2.65-pound Samsung Chromebook 2 11. Regardless, 3.3 pounds doesn't feel like much when you're carrying it around in your bag, and the notebook's tiny power adapter barely adds to the weight. When I tucked the Chromebook 13 into my backpack, I barely noticed it was there.
The notebook's port selection is typical of most Chromebooks. On the left side of the laptop there's a USB 3.0 port and an SD card reader. A headphone/microphone combo jack is on the right. Somewhat annoyingly, an HDMI port and an additional USB 3.0 port are located on the back of the laptop, which can make it difficult to plug in peripherals if you have limited desk space.
Specifications and performance
For the Chromebook 13, Acer ditched Intel's Celeron line of processors for a quad-core 2.1GHz Nvidia Tegra K1 CPU. In my experience, the notebook handled browsing the web, composing a document or streaming music with aplomb, but performance slowed down noticeably when I opened more than a dozen tabs. The Chromebook 13 also ships with a 16GB solid-state drive, although almost nothing in Chrome OS needs to saved locally.
Spec sheet
Here is the Chromebook 13 configuration given to TechRadar for this review:
- CPU: 2.1GHz Nvidia Tegra K1 CD570M-A1 (quad-core)
- Graphics: Nvidia Keplar
- RAM: 2GB DDR3 (1,333MHz)
- Screen: 13.3-inch, 1.920 x 1.080
- Storage: 16GB SSD
- Ports: 2 x USB 3.0, HDMI, SD card slot, headphone/mic jack
- Connectivity: 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
- Camera: 720p HD webcam
- Weight: 3.31 pounds
- Size: 12.9 x 9 x 0.71 inches (W x D x H)
At $249, this laptop is on par with typical Chromebooks, which is a surprise given its quad-core Tegra K1 processor and full HD display. By comparison, the Toshiba Chromebook 2 features a dual-core Intel Celeron N2840 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 1080p panel for $329 (£217, AU$407). The Samsung Chromebook 2 11, which also retails for $249 (£166, AU$314), uses a dual-core N2840 processor, 2GB of RAM and a 1366 x 768 display.
Unfortunately, a configuration with a 1080p screen is not available in the UK. Instead, users in Europe are limited only to 1366 x 768 models that start at £219. Shoppers in Australia will be even more disappointed, as the Chromebook 13 is not even listed on Acer's site, which only leaves the option of importing a unit for about AU$314.
Performance
The Chromebook 13 easily handles simple tasks like browsing the web with a few tabs open or streaming 1080p video, but it struggled when I streamed music on Pandora with more than a dozen tabs open. I noticed a half-second delay when I typed in the address bar, for example, and Chrome occasionally froze for several seconds whenever I opened a website in a new tab.
Doubling the memory would have significantly improved the Chromebook 13's performance at very little cost. The 11-inch Samsung Chromebook 2, which also uses 2GB of RAM, suffered from noticeable stuttering. By comparison, the Toshiba Chromebook 2, which uses 4GB of RAM, had no trouble streaming music on Google Play with 18 tabs open in Chrome.
Mediocre visuals
Text and graphics look sharp on the Chromebook's 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 screen, but the panel suffers from poor color reproduction. When I watched a high-definition trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, large swathes of the desert and sky appeared muddled, and I noticed pixelation in areas of darkness. Colors in the Jurassic World trailer likewise failed to pop.
The display also suffers from shallow viewing angles. The screen dimmed noticeably when I rotated the laptop a few degrees to the left or right, and when I push the display towards the keyboard the colors began to wash out. This could make using the Chromebook 13 in a cramped environment a bit tricky, as the screen needs to be tilted quite far backward for an optimal viewing experience.
No need for external speakers
Thankfully, the Chromebook 13's speakers hit almost all the right notes. Audio sounds remarkably clear and well-balanced, and I didn't notice any distortion when I cranked the volume to the maximum. Playing Radiohead's "Reckoner," I could hear each snap of the drums, and Thom Yorke's lilting vocals filled the room.
As with most Chromebooks, however, the bass is virtually nonexistent. When I queued up Radiohead's bass-heavy "Idioteque," the electronic beat fell flat. Audio also tended to become muffled when I listened to music with the notebook in my lap, due to the speakers' position on the bottom of the chassis.
Typist's dream
The laptop's island-style keyboard is one of the better I've used on a Chromebook. The chiclet-shaped keys offer plenty of vertical travel and tactile feedback, and the spacing is generous enough that I only made a few adjacent-key errors. I also didn't notice any flex in the keyboard as I wrote this review.
The spacious touchpad is a joy to use as well. Gestures such as two-finger scrolling and three-finger swiping perform reliably, and the pad doesn't require excessive force to depress. As with most Chromebooks, you have to tap with two fingers to open the right-click menu.
Best-in-class battery life
Nvidia promised unprecedented efficiency with the Tegra K1 processor, and it wasn't kidding. The Chromebook 13 lasts longer on a charge than any Chromebook I've seen. While writing this review with the brightness at 50%, watching YouTube videos and streaming music on Pandora, the notebook lasted a jaw-dropping 8 hours and 56 minutes. That's an hour longer than the Samsung Chromebook 2 11, and more than two hours longer than the Toshiba Chromebook 2.
Verdict
The Acer Chromebook 13 stands out from the crowd thanks to its simple but attractive design, full HD screen, quad-core Tegra processor and killer battery life. Even better, at $249 and £219 (about AU$314) it costs as much as Chromebooks that use only dual-core CPUs and HD displays. However, it proved frustratingly sluggish when multitasking, and the only model currently available in the UK features a 1366 x 768 panel for £219.
We liked
The Chromebook 13 sports a simple, stylish exterior that looks equally good in the classroom or coffee shop, and at 3.3 pounds and 0.7-inch thick it fits easily in a backpack or large purse. The keyboard and touchpad are some of the best I've used on a Chromebook, and the speakers deliver nearly pitch-perfect audio (though the bass is lacking).
The notebook's standout feature is its incredible battery life. I used the Chromebook 13 for nearly 9 hours before it ran out of juice, a run time that outlasts the 11-inch Samsung Chromebook 2 and the Toshiba Chromebook 2 by more than an hour. In fact, it's safe to say that the Acer Chromebook 13 has the best battery life in its class.
We disliked
Although the laptop's 1920 x 1080 screen delivers crisp visuals, colors appear decidedly dull. When I streamed high-definition video, colors failed to pop off the screen, and I noticed pixelation in dark areas. The panel also suffers from shallow viewing angles, which can make it hard to enjoy the 1080p display with friends.
More frustrating is the notebook's lackluster multitasking performance. Streaming high-definition video and music is no problem, but I noticed stuttering and occasional freezing when I browsed with more than a dozen tabs open in Chrome. The laptop became particularly sluggish when I opened sites that made heavy use of Adobe Flash.
Final verdict
While it bumped up the cost a bit originally, Acer's decision to switch from Intel's Celeron line of processors to an Nvidia Tegra CPU – the first of its kind in a Chromebook – proved to be a sound one. Thanks to the chip's efficient architecture, the Chromebook 13 lasts almost nine hours on a charge. Furthermore, the laptop's excellent keyboard, reliable touchpad and lightweight design make it an excellent productivity tool.
That said, the Chromebook 13 isn't a perfect machine. Its 1080p screen, while sharp, suffers from dull colors and shallow viewing angles. The laptop also becomes sluggish when handling a dozen or more open tabs in Chrome due to its meager amount of memory. Acer could have dramatically increased performance at very little cost by simply doubling the amount of RAM in the system.
Still, the Acer Chromebook 13 is an excellent choice if you're looking for a lightweight laptop that will last all day (and then some) without needing a recharge.
from TechRadar: Technology reviews http://ift.tt/1H18oHt
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