Acer - 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 2GB Memory - 16GB eMMC Flash Memory - Moonstone White

I normally don't buy low end computers, but I ended up getting this so I could connect to my Chromecast and cast videos/photos etc. to it. I m surprised to say I'm shocked on how good this Chromebook is in terms of use and possible replacement to a laptop. First thing you need to know is I want to say majority of the functionality of this chromebook is dependent on you being connected to the internet. At first this turned me off on getting a chromebook, but then I thought about it and I was like well, that's the same thing as my gaming laptop. If I didn't have internet I would only be able to type essays or spreadsheet etc. I can write an email without being online...hmm wait this is starting to sound like a regular laptop. So anyways, that's what my first impression of this was. Note: The Chromebook is essentially the Chrome browser. In reality, you could just install the Chrome Launcher on a Windows/Apple computer and you just made your own chromebook. Most people who buy this are buying it for the portability and an extra extension of the computer. PROS: -The battery life is simply amazing -No fan on the bottom but it never really gets hot at the bottom at all -Google Remote Desktop: Essentially you connect to your computer at home and use it on the chromebook. I love this feature a lot since I sometimes need more Microsoft Excel capabilities than the Microsoft Excel Online provides. Yes, Microsoft Office does work on Chromebooks. Basic functionality on the browser tab, full functionality when you Google Remote Desktop. -Keyboard is extremely responsive. I can type really fast and after the browser settles in, it registers every letter immediately when I press it. -No viruses (yet). Of course in the future there will be, but at this time, it's really really impossible to get a virus on the Chrome OS. -Always up to date -Free Google Cloud storage for 2 years -Free GoGo sessions on airplanes (limit # of times though I believe) -While there are laptops at $199.99 or $299.99, this does it better because of no fan noise since there isn't one. -My friend's 8 month old banged on the keyboard and started playing it like a piano My chromebook is something I don't need to worry about because it's so low priced and it sustains itself WELL. I was shocked. -SD card slot (wish it was micro) -Sound is surprisingly decent. Not the best, but it resonates well. -HDMI port and charging port on the back. Really like this placement instead of on the side. -Trackpad is NICE. Great responsiveness with 2 finger swipes and all. I was very surprised by the responsiveness. It's like the Apple's trackpad, even the 2 finger tap to right click. -Benefits TREMENDOUSLY with Chromecast NEGATIVES: -Initial lag when opening a document or etc. but then it subsides; unless you have a ton of browser tabs open. -The viewing angles are horrible. But this is expected considering what type of screen it uses. -Feels like if you push the screen back, it'll snap since it's made out of plastic. But plastic is stronger than people think. I mean look at Costco water, it's in plastic. It can hold that weight! -Can't install software and run them offline. -Extremely internet dependent -SD card sticks out. -Camera quality is noisy, but expected at this price point. -Can't see the screen in the sun -Screen feels grainy compared to my UHD screens, but it's because of the screen it uses. I'm spoiled =P All in all, I decided to keep it. The portability, the no fan noise, the low price I don't have to worry about it like my gaming laptop, the security. What's not to like? Only thing I would change? The screen.

If you are looking for an inexpensive laptop and you mainly surf the internet and check emails then you should seriously consider this Chromebook from Acer. Especially with it on sale, as of Nov 10th, it's a terrific value. The biggest plus with this Acer Chromebook is how lightweight and compact it is. I love how easy it is to sit it on my lap and cruise around the internet while I'm watching TV. It's not uncomfortable on my lap even after long periods of use. The keyboard is perfectly fine. Takes a little getting use to when moving from a more spacious keyboard of a larger laptop, but it doesn't take long to adjust and type away. I am actually typing this review on it right now. I have been more than satisfied with the performance of this Chromebook. There was only one time I noticed it slow down but I had numerous (around 8 or so) tabs open at the time and something running on one of those most likely was the culprit. I have had that many tabs open since then and didn't notice any performance degradation. Chrome was my favorite browser to begin with so for me, getting a Chromebook when my old laptop bit the dust was appealing. It seems a little slow reading the memory card with full resolution pictures from my Nikon D5300 but it's nothing I'm too concerned about. I haven't tried to set up printing on it yet nor have I messed very much with trying to save documents but am sure so long as I took the time to read how neither would be too difficult. One thing I like a lot is when I take pictures with my cell phone and then log on to my Chromebook and open up Google+ Photos they are already there for me to use. This is extremely convenient but obviously would work best for somebody who has a cell phone with the Android operating system. While the screen is nowhere near as impressive as the new Toshiba Chromebook 2 13" HD screen (no other Chromebook is that I have seen) it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be based on reviews. Yes, it gets washed out if you don't look at it with just the right angle, but honestly I am perfectly fine with it and do not find it to be an issue. One thing I wish Acer would have done though, and this might just be me, but I rest my palms below the keyboard when I type. I realize this isn't proper form but it's how I type. The problem is the palm of my right hand winds up touching the touchpad at times and causes the cursor to move about. Usually this isn't an issue but it is a little annoying. Acer could have shifted the touchpad just a little to the left and it would be perfect. But I stress this is minor and may only be something I experience. Bottom line is this is a great machine for sending emails and looking at websites which is what I did 90% of the time with my previous Windows laptop. Add in how lightweight and portable it is and it's a winner in my book. Very pleased I decided to get it and makes me wonder if I will even bother with a Windows laptop again.

I got my wife the Acer 13.3 inch Chromebook with the Nvidia K1 processor and it's great. 11-13 hrs battery. No slowdowns or hiccups. Processor is sufficient for needs and never feels bogged down. I wanted an even smaller and lighter chromebook for myself and was very pleased with the Acer 13.3 inch, so I took the plunge on their 11.6 version. My concerns going in were the Intel processor, only 2MB RAM, screen quality, battery life. Size/Build - I really like this 11.6 inch size. Super portable and it feels even lighter then the specs say. Keyboard feels great. I like the bright white plastic. It feels of solid quality plastic with no flex. Screen - Not super sharp, and angles are limited, but it's a fine machine for one person, straight on viewing. It gets really bright, but I like it at about 50%. This is not super sharp like your high end smartphone or iPad tablet. -0.5 stars here. Intel inside - Netflix, Youtube, browser, gmail... handles everything pretty smoothly. Does not feel noticeable slower than the Nvidia K1 in the 13.3 inch model. No fan, no noise, and no heat. No issues with RAM. Does the job, no complaints. Battery Life - Bought it on a Sun afternoon. Took 2 minutes to log into my wifi and gmail, then was immediately online. Plugged it in, only needed 21 min to fully charge as it came partially charged already. Spent 4-5 hours web surfing that night. It sat idle for 18hrs, then I watched youtube videos for about 3.5 hrs. Then it was idled again for 10 hrs. Then I watched anime on crunchyroll.com for 2 hours before I needed to charge the battery. So, the battery was under heavy use for 9-10 hrs and on standby for another full day plus before needing first charge. That is frickin awesome. Plus, it's crazy inexpensive.

I gave my daughter my Samsung 303 Chromebook to replace her ailing windows laptop thinking I could use a windows laptop work gave me. However, I couldn't stand the slow boot time, long updates, and inconsistent browsing experience using a windows machine. Given 99% of my time on a computer is spent online, I found myself once again in the market for a Chromebook. For those of you thinking a chromebook is limiting...well that is totally incorrect. In moments after booting up this Acer it had updated itself and I had access to all my programs and documents. The Acer CB3 is a much better chromebook than the Samsung 303 in all categories. The build is much more solid with none of the flex experienced with the Samsung 303. The battery lasts at least 2 hours longer and the screen resolution and brightness is amazing. The processor is noticeably quicker and I can have more tabs open without experience lagging performance. Finally, the stereo speakers are much louder quality than any of my devices including the 303 and my Nexus 7 tablet. This is now my go-to device for watching Netflix. Finally, I am glad to have the normal sized HDMI port as I use this computer as my presentation machine rather than using the windows computers built into the classrooms. It isn't much fun to have the windows computer decide to reboot and update in the middle of a lecture. The only way the Samsung 303 is better is that it has a micro SD slot for memory which means you can go up to 64 GB. However, I have never found myself using more than 4GB of memory for storing offline documents so....

I have wanted a Chromebook since August, 2014 and have researched many models from Toshiba, Samsung, Dell and Acer. I finally zeroed in on the Acer 11.6 CB3-11 model and waited for the Black Friday sale to get a good deal. After finally buying the Chromebook from Bestbuy in the early hours of Black Friday, I was sorely disappointed to see the message, "Chrome OS is missing or damaged" on starting my new Acer chrome book. I wasn't expecting to see this on a new laptop. Anyways, after this initial setback, I downloaded a recovery image in a pen drive from my roommate's Windows laptop and then plugged it into my chrome book. It took approximately 20 minutes for Chrome OS to get loaded into the laptop and after that the chrome book started into the normal welcome screen. I am happy with the overall working of this chrome book, it is quite responsive with no noticeable lag. I love the white color of the laptop and the screen too is quite good for the price of the laptop. Now, the second setback I am facing is that when I begin to redeem the free Google drive storage that comes with this chrome book, I am getting a message that my chrome book is ineligible for this offer. I have contacted the Google support team for help and I am waiting to see what happens next. I am left with the feeling that I am getting what I deserve for buying this chrome book at a very low price in a Black Friday sale. Was this chrome book previously returned to Bestbuy and this is why I'm facing these issues? I guess I will never know. In conclusion, the perks offered with this chrome book have been fruitless for me and I will always need to have a recovery image in a pen drive which effectively kills the main purpose of this chrome book. Lets hope I don't face any further issues and I have written this review to let prospective buyers know about what can go wrong in spite of the great reviews this chrome book has received on various websites.

I got this to quickly grab emails and for general web access in the bedroom. I ended up with a chromebook because they aren't fussy and are easy to maintain. Efficient as computing gets. My non-tech mom can use it with no support. I have quite a few PCs, laptops, and tablets and they all have compromises regardless of price. I even own a Macbook. If you buy this knowing that this isn't going to be a workstation or game machine then it will meet and exceed all expectations. It boots almost instantly, supports AC wireless, is small and light, has HDMI out, its stable, and battery life is excellent probably due to the new low power Intel processor. Maps, mail, youtube, Netflix, web centric tasks all run with ease and no issues. As for features, the Screen is decent given the price; better than some of the higher priced chromebooks I checked out. It was between this and the Toshiba 13" HD which was double the price. Although the Toshiba had a nicer screen, I talked myself out of it due to the intended purpose. The acer screen is decent enough. No blue tint to the display like a few of the other competitors. Yes viewing angles are a little limited but no worse than most of the cheap laptops. Its light, portable, and fairly sturdy. Battery life is amazing at this price. I would say easy 7 hours of use cruising the web. Cons: My only complaint is not having the ability to upgrade memory. 2 GB is, at times, a bottle neck and you do see slow downs if you are multi-tasking. In its defense, I realize adding a memory slot costs money; I guess compromises had to be made given its price point. All in all, I can safely say its the best chromebook value at the moment. No real flaws functionally and the compromises are bearable. I got it on sale and below $200 and would say its the best chromebook value. I direct friends and family to this model.

I bought the Acer chromebook in preparation for a backpacking holiday. Not wanting to risk the well-being or safety of my Lenovo Flex i5 I figured the chromebook was a good travel companion that could handle the email / browsing needs during travel without being heavy on the wallet or on the backpack. Today after having returned I believe it was the right decision and worth every penny. It's incredibly light and the size is great for a small backpack or bag, the make is rugged and while not the best aesthetically does a good job of keeping it from scratches (though there is a tendency for smudges and dirt to accumulate on the outer cover). The battery life is excellent and I have used it for 6-7 hours on a full charge. The USB ports work when the lid is hinged and that makes it great for charging phones. No problems with USB flash drives or connecting with my phone. The wifi works well enough. The OS is minimalist but has everything needed for general use, even a lite version of Word that can do basic doc editing. The startup and response times are the best of any laptop I have seen till date - it literally resumes from hibernation the moment the screen is opened. The keyboard is not Lenovo-quality but good, nonetheless. Best of all is the low weight that makes it ideal for whipping out easily, balancing on knees during long airport layovers and fitting back into overhead storage. Even the charging cable and adaptor are lightweight. The slight niggles are the need to press Alt for right click and a slight connection problem with my BT headset that manifests on occasion. Using a memory card on this model results in a slight protrusion from the chassis that's a bit annoying - I wish the onboard RAM was a bit more. There are a few software downsides with the limitations of Chrome but that's ok since its not meant to be a substitute to my regular notebook. Highly recommended.

I've been toying with buying this Chromebook as a backup machine to my 17" Windows based Toshiba Laptop. I know I can't go without a Windows based machine because I run Quicken and Turbotax on my present laptop. Quicken is more robust than online Mint, and because I prepare taxes for a number of people, Turbotax online isn't a viable alternative. That ebing said, I thought it would be nice to have something that had a very fast boot time and long battery life. I've been doing some writing, and thought a small Chromebook would be nice to have. I toyed with it in the store for about a half hour to get a feel for the machine. The construction is plastic for the most part. This device won't win any beauty contests, but for a very low priced machine, that isn't surprising. I will say that I was impressed with the keyboard and track pad. They both had a much better feel than I expected. The in-store demo was a bit of a pain as I was trying to use the machine, but I was able to get enough of a feel for it. For someone on a budget that can use Google Docs and uses the machine to surf the web, this is a fine companion. I like the idea of sitting out on my patio and writing for hours without having to plug it in. But...the 17 inch screen on my Toshiba is really nice. The entire build is...it feels like quality. As I toyed with this one, it felt useful, but it was a diminished experience compared to the bigger machine. I think if I spent a lot of time away from home near wifi connections, I'd be more inclined to want this because it would be easier to bring with me than the 17 inch. Even though the price point is nice, do I really need to spend the money just so I can boot up in 7 seconds instead of 2-3 minutes? I don't think so, because I already have a laptop. If I didn't really need a Window's based machine, I'd be quite happy with this little guy at this price. It is a great value for what you can do with it.