The Chromebook is a bit tricky to understand. It looks like an ordinary laptop but we’re somewhere between tablet and PC, phone-style speed computing and an older, more old-fashioned computer. Chrome OS, which is Google’s browser-based, all-cloud operating system, tries to bridge the gap between a laptop and tablet with an OS that’s really just a fully-featured super-browser with a keyboard, storage and Webcam attached.
Partnering with Acer (and various other companies) Google brings you the Chromebook. These low cost devices, stripped down to the bare necessities ““ low-power processors, low-resolution screens and a minimum amount of memory and storage is a very affordable alternative to the super expensive laptops out there.
It took me a while to figure out just what exactly you do with a Chromebook. First off, make sure you have a stable internet connection because everything happens via the Chrome browser on the device. I found the touchscreen very cool, and almost exclusively used it for navigation around the desktop, browser and all of the applications. The Chromebook is a true “cloud” device and only has 16GB of on-board storage (although expandable via an SD slot). Let’s have a look at the important specs:
Specs:
| Processor | New Intel® Celeronâ„¢ 2955U 1.4GHz Processor |
| Memory | 2GB (up to 4GB) RAM |
| Storage | 100 GB Google Drive Cloud Storage2 with 16GB Solid State Drive |
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics |
| Screen | 11.6‘‘ (1366×768) touchscreen display, 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Ports | 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0 and 1xFull size HDMI Port |
| Security lock | Kensington Lock |
| Communication | 802.11b/g/n; Bluetooth 4.0, Micro SD Card Reader |
| WebCam | HD Web Cam |
| Weight | 1.8 cm thin ““ 1.35kg |
| Version | NX.MJAEK.002 |
| Battery Life | Up to 7.5 hours of active use |
| Color | Iron |
| Box Contains | Acer Chromebook, Battery, AC Adapter, User Documentation |
Build & Hardware
With low cost comes low quality right? Not exactly. Yes Acer may have used A LOT of plastic to put together the C720P but that is no surprise. What is surprising is that the Chromebook is solidly put together, no creaks or squeaks when you are using it. The device feels rigid and reliable in a kid friendly kind of way. The moonstone-white color is a change from the usual brushed steel look of the C7 series. The touchscreen, although very useful as indicated previously, seems a bit gimmicky. It doesn’t quite match up with the small icons and general layout of Chrome OS. I would save some money and go for the non-touch screen model.
Port-wise the C720P offers an SD Card slot, a Kensington lock slot, a USB 2.0 port, a USB 3.0 port, a headphone jack and an HDMI port. The 11.6-inch 1366 x 768-pixel display may be touch-friendly, but the image quality could be better. Colors were noticeably washed-out when viewing photos or video. The viewing angles and brightness of the display are also lacking behind some of it’s competitors (like the HP Chromebook 11).
The speaker system delivers quite nicely. It doesn’t have the best sounding audio in the world but you get what you pay for. The C720P has a good range of sound from audible base levels to higher notes that don’t sound too tinny. When I turned up the volume to the maximum, the speaker sound easily filled the room.
The keyboard is very nicely laid out, although I had to figure out what some of the buttons did. The spacing and response from the keyboard is excellent and I especially like that Acer included discrete keys for volume and brightness, as well as Chrome-specific keys like Backward, Forward and Refresh. The large touch-pad lacks a right-mouse button, but as with any Mac laptop tapping with two fingers causes the right-click menu to appear. The touch-pad performs well above my initial expectations.
Performance, Software and Features
The Acer C720P has a Celeron processor, but it’s a newer one than its predecessors, a 1.4 GHz Intel Celeron 2955U which forms part of the spectrum of Haswell-generation processors. The device performed very well with now stuttering at all. The stripped software environment allows the Chromebook to be super fast with minimal specs. The super fast 7-second start-up also works a treat!
The big drawback of the Chromebook is that you won’t be able to do anything that you can’t already do in Google Chrome on an ordinary laptop. That includes actions as mundane as connecting to a printer that doesn’t support Google Cloud Print, or installing applications like iTunes or Microsoft Office.
The interface is really simple. Upon logging in with your Google account, you’ll be greeted with a plain desktop. In the bottom-left corner, you’ll find the app-launcher icon and a shortcut to the Chrome browser, while the time stamp, battery and Wi-Fi indicators live in the lower-right corner. Clearly this type of interface is suitable for someone that primarily uses the internet as their playground. The heavily sand-boxed applications also allow for a super secure working environment.
There is however a place you can use to get more out of your Chromebook. The Google App Store of course. According to ChromeOSApps.org, a website that keeps track of apps for the platform, the Chrome OS currently boasts 33,614 apps. You can download almost any app currently available on your Android smartphone. Personally I started with Angry Birds.
The C720P also boasts an impressive battery. After streaming a couple of movies, doing a lot of browsing and streaming some music via Simfy the device lasted over 6 and a half hours (display brightness set to 60%).
Conclusion
This hassle free, high performance device is built with speed, simplicity and security in mind. With its insanely quick boot speed and quick response OS the Acer Chromebook C720P is the ideal get-up-and-go laptop/tablet/internet device. Assuming you have a good internet connection and data plan the Chromebook is a great way of computing, allows more functionality than say a tablet, but less hassle than a normal laptop.
You can pick up the C720P for under R5000 which in itself is a good price. What I would recommend though is getting the C720, the model without the touch screen for about a R1000 less. At under R4000 you are getting a hell of a lot of technology and freedom. People should embrace the fact that computing is moving to the cloud (not just storage) sooner rather than later and the Acer C720 Chromebooks makes that child’s play.
Follow Jaco on Twitter: @Jaco_vdWalt
