What you should know:
Pick up the Acer C7 and you'd swear you're holding a Netbook. Acer's clearly taken a Netbook body and shoehorned Chrome OS in. That's okay, but the Acer C7 isn't as thin or as clean-looking as Samsung's recent Chromebook offering. At 3 pounds and a little under 1 inch thick, it's still easy to tuck in any small bag, and the AC charger plug is pretty small, too.
The plastic body feels undeniably "budget," without the often more premium touches of many tablets. A somewhat flexible plastic top lid, glossy plastic screen bezel, and thicker-than-you'd-expect sides with ugly vent grilles complete the portrait of a product that defies any desire to show it off.
Its 11.6-inch display has a standard-for-a-laptop 1,366x768-pixel resolution, with adequate but not impressive brightness, color richness, and off-axis viewing angles. It's good enough for Web browsing and basic apps, but pictures and movies won't look that impressive.
What it offers:
At $199, the Acer C7 is an attractive proposition for anyone looking for a supercheap portable laptop, but the Chrome OS and short battery life mean you'll have to accept a lot of compromises.
The advantage:
The Acer C7 Chromebook's very affordable price is its best asset, plus it's got plenty of ports and a large hard drive. It boots up quickly and is simple to use.
The unfavorable:
Saddled with an ugly design, finicky touch pad, and short battery life, this feels like a far cry even from most budget laptops. The Chrome OS is still too limiting, though it's made some strides in a year.
The price:
$199.00 to $289.96
Pick up the Acer C7 and you'd swear you're holding a Netbook. Acer's clearly taken a Netbook body and shoehorned Chrome OS in. That's okay, but the Acer C7 isn't as thin or as clean-looking as Samsung's recent Chromebook offering. At 3 pounds and a little under 1 inch thick, it's still easy to tuck in any small bag, and the AC charger plug is pretty small, too.
The plastic body feels undeniably "budget," without the often more premium touches of many tablets. A somewhat flexible plastic top lid, glossy plastic screen bezel, and thicker-than-you'd-expect sides with ugly vent grilles complete the portrait of a product that defies any desire to show it off.
Its 11.6-inch display has a standard-for-a-laptop 1,366x768-pixel resolution, with adequate but not impressive brightness, color richness, and off-axis viewing angles. It's good enough for Web browsing and basic apps, but pictures and movies won't look that impressive.
What it offers:
At $199, the Acer C7 is an attractive proposition for anyone looking for a supercheap portable laptop, but the Chrome OS and short battery life mean you'll have to accept a lot of compromises.
The advantage:
The Acer C7 Chromebook's very affordable price is its best asset, plus it's got plenty of ports and a large hard drive. It boots up quickly and is simple to use.
The unfavorable:
Saddled with an ugly design, finicky touch pad, and short battery life, this feels like a far cry even from most budget laptops. The Chrome OS is still too limiting, though it's made some strides in a year.
The price:
$199.00 to $289.96
