Acer - C720 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 2GB Memory - 16GB Solid State Drive - Granite Gray

This laptop is so powerful and amazing. It recently got the new Chrome 37 update that switch it to 64-bit, so now it is even faster. This computer can play 4K video easily. It hardly ever lags. I use this as my main computer for everything. Although this would probably void the warranty, you could install crouton on this machine, and have Ubuntu run through Chrome OS. I installed Minecraft with it and you get 40 FPS all settings maxed. 60fps, if you play on Normal view distance.

Pros Only $200 Lightweight USB 3.0, HDMI ports, Bluetooth Quiet SSD (Fast Startup and wake from sleep) Google Docs (MSO replacement) Is free and can save files as .doc, .pdf, etc The absence of Fkeys - they are replaces with actually useful shortcut keys. Everything links up with a G-Mail account (this could be a con if you don't enjoy google and g-mail.. but then why would you buy a chromebook?) It's got a webcam Battery Life - I think Acer states it at something like 8 Hours. But less objectively this thing feels like it lasts forever. Easy to Use - If you have ever used a windows computer, you'll pick this up easy. Cons Cannot install or run programs as you would in windows. This is probably the biggest con, and why this probably should not be used as a primary computer (That and the 16gb SSD.. you do get google cloud data for 2 years though). Everything you do on this is run through a chrome web browser window, which also means you 'usually' have to be connected to the internet. You can install a large amount of "applications" and theres usually a work around or a google generic for certain programs. Using google docs is an enjoyable experience (And its free, I may quit Word all together), but not being able to use skype is a major inconvenience (Google Hangouts is the Workaround) Overall I've had a great experience with this. Its an incredible value for anyone that wants a second computer or just needs something for e-mail and internet. It's also worth mentioning that the C720's components are superior to the comparable $250 samsung. (Though not by much. You do have more compatibility and ports with the C720). Let me also say I'm somewhat of a Google fanboy, but they've always won me over with their products. Other Thoughts If you're on the fence about a chromebook, try it out at bestbuy, they also had the best price of anywhere for the C720. I got this as a second computer for myself, its very nice to have for traveling and not worrying about the laptop you use for work or school. I'm thinking about getting one for my mother, as all she needs at home is e-mail and internet.

I was a little worried about buying a Chromebook, i have always been a power freak, meaning, i like to have the latest and greatest computer hardware, and I thought a Chromebook just was not going to cut it for me. I recently got home from being out of the country for 2 years, and soon after I returned, I re-built my computer that I had before I left. So my desktop is now a powerful machine, but I was left with very little money afterwards. Once i started school, i realized that i needed a laptop, I had to have something that i could take to class every day. I did not have the cash to spend on the laptops I really wanted, so I decided to go with a cheaper route, and got me this inexpensive Acer Chromebook. I was worried, because i knew that I would not be able to use Microsoft Office, and other programs I would probably need for school. I found the app "Chrome Remote Desktop", and installed it onto my chromebook and onto my Desktop PC. It is sooo easy to use, and it makes my chrombook look and feel like i am using a PC with windows 8! I am just controlling my computer over the internet, and it doesn't require super fast internet connections either. I love my chromebook, and I am so glad I went the cheaper rout and got it. It was a great investment.

The Acer C720 is a great little machine. First off, understand what the Chromebook is....your new life in the browser. Can you work in that world and get actually work done, you sure can. Lets talk about the machine first. Great little machine. It feels like it may be a bit weak, physically, at first, but over a day or two you begin to understand this thing is stronger than you first thought. The keyboard is nice to type on and the track pad is very serviceable. Is it a Apple Macbook trackpad, not at all, but it is certainly better than most out there on the Windows machines I have used. The battery is amazing. Between the lightweight system and the new battery saving processor, the battery life is 8+ hours, even watching video, playing music, and working. The only downside for the machine is the screen. It is perfectly usable, but if you are use to the high resolution displays, or like a glossy screen, it will take some getting use to. Living in the eco system is what may get tricky, until you get your feet under you. One of the main complaints people have about the chrome book is the lack of office. The nice thing is that Microsoft's online office suite works great on the machine! If you are looking for a laptop to have the keyboard, but would use your tablet more than a full priced laptop, this is for you. If you want a 'beater' machine to carry around and have your nice laptop at home, this is for you. If you don't care about Windows, and just surf the Internet, use e-mail, and watch netflix, this is the laptop for you. Great machine.

I love the Acer Chromebook because it's super fast, small, light-weight, and easy to take with me when I'm on the move. A fully charged battery allows the Chromebook to operate 6-8 hours without being charged. I was thrilled to find that I can get my Kindle books and all my stored music on the Chromebook. There are plenty of apps to choose from. The sound system is better than the iPad, but the display is not as good as the Kindle Fire. The keyboard has a light touch so I don't have to pound my fingers on the keys to type as I do on my desktop computer. Because programs are not downloaded, the chances of catching a virus are slim to none. This is a great product for school kids. The $199 price makes the Acer Chromebook affordable for nearly everyone.

When I pre-ordered this Chromebook, I started worrying that I had spent my money on something I wasn't going to like... boy, was I wrong! I LOVE this thing! I actually use it more than my desktop PC and laptop PC now!!! It's so lightweight that I can put it in my backpack and it doesn't even feel like anything is in it. I can pick it up with one hand too and comfortably carry it around with ease. The load times on this thing are amazing too! When I open the lid, it starts up and is ready to go in less than 5 seconds from a full power shutdown, and less than 2 seconds from sleep mode. The speed of this thing amazes me too. When I open an app, it's ready to go almost instantly. The controls took a bit to get used to... for instance learning to right-click (which is basically tapping two fingers on the trackpad at once) and turning on CAPS (pressing ALT & Search), but it's was very simple to pick up. The screen is a little hard to see if you don't have it open at the right angle, but of course that's easy to fix. If that's going to be a problem, you can hook this Chromebook up to an external monitor or even a TV set with an HDMI input! The one really good thing about this screen is that it's glare resistant. The sound on this thing is incredible, full and vibrant and it amazes me that such a little Chromebook can put out that kind of sound. The other great thing about this is that the battery seems to last forever. I've gone 3-4 days without charging. The Acer C720 also allows upgrading the SSD if you need more storage space. What many people don't realize about these are that you can't just install programs to it like you can a PC, nor does it have a CD/DVD drive. That's not a dealbreaker. You can find many replacement apps in the Chrome Store that can do what the apps you have on your PC can do. MIcrosoft has even released the Office suite to Chromebooks, so I have access to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. If they ever decide to get greedy (like they do), it's no problem as Google has Docs, Spreadsheets, and Presentations as apps on it as well and they do everything the Office suite does. One thing that I was really surprised to see was that when I signed into the Chromebook for the first time with my Google account, it downloaded everything I already had installed on my PC's Chrome web browser. All the apps, extensions, etc. It was a seamless and flawless experience. Anyhow, I am very pleased with this purchase. If you're looking for a low-cost, web-surfing, productive, and fun making piece of technology, look no further... this is it!

Character is not sharp on screen, read it long time can hurt your eyes. Suggest that you enlarge the character size from setup. SD card doesn't get all the way into computer, 2/3 of the SD card exposed outside. So you need to store SD card separately. See photo. Perfect for Chromecast you can put everything on computer to TV wireless easily. But cast from chrome will need to keep your computer running all the time. From youtube you can turn off computer. Take some learning curve. Has limited keys on keyboard. I figured out Alt+Search equal "cap lock" and Alt+backspace equal "delete" key. But cannot figure out what combination for the "insert" key, if anyone can share your finding will be great. Other than those, this is great machine, well worth the money.

Chromebooks are the best value you can get and C720 for 199 USD is the best of the bunch in price/performance. The feel of the laptop is comparable to ultrabooks 5 times the price, its snapppy, boots really fast and wakes up as fast as you can open the lid and the laptop lasts about 6 hours intensive use with wifi on one charge. Many say chromebook is just a web browser with a keyboard. That is not the case anymore as chrome os incorporates many offline capabilities including audio and video playback and even opening Microsoft Office documents and editing Word documents. For me the C720 works great for work (lots of typing and online research) and private use (online video, music, some games, social networks), i can get some photo editinng done as well. For that price its simply the best computer i could buy for my needs