Acer - Chromebook 311 - 11.6" HD Laptop - Intel Celeron N4500 - 4GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Star Black

I am quite pleased with the newest Acer 311. The build quality is decent despite being all plastic. That makes it lighter and more portable. The screen can lay 180° flat, stays up, and does not wobble. The keys have very good travel and feel very tactile. The trackpad is plastic but has a nice feel and is clicky. The bezels are bigger than I’d prefer, making the 11.6” display seem smaller. The HD (1366 x 768) screen has acceptable brightness but is a bit washed out and has pretty bad viewing angles. Nevertheless, I can see all text, graphics, and vide clearly. Sadly, there is no touchscreen support. The sound is what you’d expect from a small laptop. OK volume, clear, but no bass whatsoever. About connectivity, we have a USB-C 3.2 and a USB-A 3.1 port. The USB-C doubles as a power delivery and display port. The laptop is Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth compatible and works well and fast. There’s also a 3.8mm audio headphone jack. The N4500 CPU, Intel UHD Graphics, 4GB LPDDR4X memory combined make for a very smooth Chromebook workflow. I had several internet tabs open, (within reason), watched video, did productivity work, played super-basic games, and yes, streamed games with relatively no issues or slowdown. I did notice the laptop got bit warm but nothing uncomfortable and the fans were not loud at all. The 64GB storage is low but considering that this is designed to be used with cloud support, makes it sufficient. The battery life ranges between 8-10 hours depending on the use -good enough for a full workday. The 720P webcam is nothing to write home about but good enough for those basic video calls. I appreciate the included security cam cover. In the end, I think this Chromebook is quite portable and capable of handling everyday tasks. It’s perfect for student use and for anyone that is looking for simplicity and security. While the price could have been a bit lower, this is a great budget option.

This is a basic Chromebook, without any frills. But if your needs are limited, it does get the job done. == Build Quality == The packaging is minimal and without frills, but that is OK as I would rather the money go towards the computer than something that will be thrown away. Once you open up the machine itself, it seems to be decently built. It is all plastic construction, but you expect that for this price. The bottom features no air vents at all, and this machine has no moving parts; not even a single fan. But given the limited power, this is perfectly acceptable, and means that there is less to break in the future. == Peripherals == Being a budget device, the name of the game is giving you basic functionality for as little money as possible, and this has been done well. Obviously some corners were cut, but nothing was cut back in such a way that caused any problems. Everything here falls squarely in the “usable but not impressive” category. The keyboard is acceptable. It works and feels good, but it is not backlit at all. The trackpad is also well done, despite having a plastic surface. Multi-touch gestures also work well, but it is not especially smooth or gigantic. But it is adequate, and that is enough for this type of machine. There is a camera above the display that is more than good enough for Zoom or Teams meetings, and although it lacks a privacy shutter, Acer thought to include a slim self-adhesive shutter in the package that you can apply if you desire. The display itself is perhaps a little disappointing, being only 1366 by 768, and the contrast and brightness are nothing special. Of note is that the color seems to shift a little bit as you move your head from side to side, but once again, higher quality brings higher prices, and this display is certainly usable. But the largest surprise is that the speakers are surprisingly good given the size and price. There is actually more bass and volume than I expected. As to the included IO, other than the expected BlueTooth and WiFi, it features a single USB-A rated for up to 5Mbps, one 3.5mm audio jack, and a single USB-C port that is used for charging, adding external devices, and can do video out. This computer had no problems driving an external 3440 by 1440 display, if that is the sort of thing that you need. A USB-C power supply is included, but this can use any USB-C charger large enough to drive a laptop. Note that there is nothing inside that is upgradable. Everything is soldered down to the main board. == Performance == They say that it is what is inside that counts, and this does not have much inside, but for many it will be enough. This Chromebook uses a dual-core x86 processor backed up by 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of flash storage. Note that there is no way to expand anything; neither RAM nor SSD. The performance is perfectly OK for light office tasks. Google Docs and Google Sheets both work well, as do the Chrome and Firefox browsers. Sometimes the Firefox browser seemed a little sluggish when starting up or trying to type in a new URL, but they got the job done, even though I had to wait a second or two longer than I was accustomed to. Also inside is a 33 WH battery, which gives around seven hours of life away from a charger with light usage. == Software == The thing about a Chromebook is that it is a Chromebook. You are limited in the apps that you can run. But with that being understood, it can run most Android apps. I had no problems installing Google Docs and Sheets, and Microsoft Teams installed easily, as well as BitWarden password manager. The only issues that I encountered were that I could not install Microsoft Outlook, and the Amazon shopping app (but Amazon Prime Video was not a problem). There is also an option to get a Linux terminal window up, but I am not sure how useful that will be to most people in the market for this type of computer. == Summary == This is a machine with several compromises, but it is built to hit an affordable price point. If you need a Chromebook, and this is a machine that you can afford, then it is worthy of consideration. All of the compromises are acceptable, and none of them are deal-breakers.

The Acer Chromebook 311 CBOA311-1H-C90F is a compact, fast and useful laptop that offers great performance for everyday tasks for everyone in the family due to its portability, let me further explain. The Chromebook 311 has a nice 11.6 inch screen, and it is perfect for movability. It is also lightweight just less than 3 lbs. so it is easy to carry around, either at home, class or maybe at a favorite spot. I like how it feels, it feels sturdy and durable all around and it can withstand minor bumps and drops. It is powered by an Intel Celeron N4500 processor and it has 4GB of RAM, so it easily handles everyday tasks like web browsing, word processing, and streaming best of all it does it well. It works great wirelessly, using Wi-Fi connection all around the house it has worked flawlessly. It does have an HD Webcam with dual built in speakers so our kids can take an online class or just to communicate with others, and it does come with a webcam cover for privacy. Another thing we like about the Chromebook is its good battery life. It can last up to 8 hours on a single charge and that is plenty for most people including our kids at home as well as us adults. Since the Chromebook runs on Chrome OS, it is like having my Android cell phone with a bigger screen, keyboard and touchpad which they are responsive and comfortable to use by the way. The system is easy to use and I can access my Google Drive, Google Docs as well as other applications from the Google App store. Overall, the Acer Chromebook 311 CBOA311-1H-C90F is a great choice for family like ours, that we can share it since it is very portable and reliable for everyday use. Now that the kids have recently returned to school, they are ready to use the Chromebook too.