Acer - R 11 2-in-1 11.6" Touch-Screen Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 4GB Memory - 16GB eMMC Flash Memory - White

The Acer R11 Convertible Chromebook I'll try to keep my review limited to the chromebook itself, but since it runs and is dependent UPON the ChromeOS, I'll say a few words about that as well. Build: Very sturdy, heavier than I thought when first opening the package. The hinges are VERY well made and obviously designed to handle many many many flips of the screen. Since there's no latch and the bottom is the same thickness as the top half it IS a two handed open, if only to separate the two parts. The aluminum cover has a nice texture to it and should protect it from dings or scratches nicely when it's closed. This particular model is white and i mean WHITE. It feels like it might glow in the dark. All the plastics used are quality, but it still felt plastic-y in my hands and when toting it around. Not the solid heft of an iPad, which is ironically lighter than this thing. Screen - bright with a surprisingly large range of brightness control. I could turn this thing way down for use in bed without disturbing my spouse. The bezel is a little on the wide side. The corning glass touch screen feels nice to touch and slide, and seems well made. The screen doesn't give or flex when you flip it, even though the materials feel a little plastic-y. It holds it's position well thanks to those hinges. Touches seemed precise and two finger scrolling of webpages was always spot on. Keyboard and Trackpad: The keyboard is the vogue "chicklet" style keys with more room between them than previous designs in laptops. I read other reviews that said the key travel felt short, but I thought the keys felt nice under my fingertips as I typed. The keyboard is a little cramped, and some of the usual keys are in places that will have you stabbing the wrong key in the dark. At this price point I suppose a backlit keyboard is out of the question, but it sure would be nice. I guess it's always an option to flip it around and use the onscreen keyboard in the dark as well. The sensor for deactivating the keys once the screen is rotated past center works well, and I found that I didn't make really any accidental keypresses or mouse clicks when flipping between modes. The trackpad is the new style I've come to hate that has a two level click where the first is a short, soft click and then the actual mouse click is another, farther, mechanical one. My former roommate who sought out old IBM keyboards would love it. I'm not crazy about the trackpad, but at least it didn't lead to too many incorrect clicks like some do. It's liveable. If I truly hate it, I always have the option of adding a bluetooth mouse, or using the USB ports to add an RF one. Connectivity: There aren't a lot of ports on this chromebook, but the ones that are there are essential. SD card reader comes in handy. The HDMI port is wonderful for TV hookups, and the two USBs ports are necessary to add usability to the chromebook. Wifi worked well at both my home and office, and I had no complaints about wireless connectivity. I wished that it used a little more common plug for the AC adapter instead of it's own small diameter one, but that's minor. The power port could be placed a little better for having such a small barrel plug and a right angle on it... the potential for shearing it off feels real. Battery life seems to keep that from happening though. Battery life: I have regularly used this chromebook for up to 10 hours per charge of websurfing and things. Watching videos obviously eats up the battery faster, but I'm very impressed with it's performance so far. When all my other gadgets are dead, this thing is going strong. ChromeOS: I struggled a little to decide where ChromeOS fits in the computing ecosystem. I use the Chrome browser on my work computer so I already had a few extensions and apps associated with my google account that loaded as soon as I logged in. I added a few apps, but those are mildly confusing, as they have their own icon, but simply launch another window of the chrome browser and direct you to a website. I was starting to get used to this, and looking for web services to utilize when I read that the R11 is one of the first Chromebooks to run Android apps!!! this is gamechanging. (Full disclosure I had to enable the dev channel versions of chrome and run an update to get the version that runs Android apps as of this writing. This is NOT something that is recommended) Android support being added to the chromebook opens up a whole new world of on and offline possibilities. I was a little disappointed to find a number of apps that I use on my Android tablet that reported they weren't compatible with my Chromebook, but there were many that were. For all it's limitations, chromeOS is quick and responsive. I find myself reaching for the Chromebook to do things that I might have dug my tablet out to do, since it's handy and ALWAYS has a charge. Final Impressions: ChromeOS isn't for everyone, but if you spend a lot of time online and in the Chrome ecosystem, this is an excellent machine for you. If you've already decided you want a chromebook the R11 is an excellent choice. Add in the convertible touch screen and the ability to run Android Apps and you have one of the best Chromebooks on the market right now with a killer battery.

I sit typing this review on the Acer R11 chromebook and honestly I’m quite impressed. Essentially 8-9 years ago we’d have called this a netbook, with its Atom... err.. Celeron processor, 11.6” screen size and small internal solid state storage. But those many years ago a netbook didn’t have a sharp IPS screen protected with hardened glass, or multi-touch capacitive touchscreen. Nor did they have a 360 degree hinge allow them to be used as a hybrid tablet. What’s interesting is how much hasn’t changed but yet feels much less strange today than it did those many years ago. Smaller screens are a norm now. Optical disks are all but forgotten, and the inclusion of 2 USB ports feels generous and not stingy. For all intents and purposes the Acer is a refined netbook, building on the strengths of the original design. Here we have Google’s envisioning of a lightweight OS, based on Linux, but much more functional than the more standard Linux distributions before. The storage, screen, and input capabilities are all simply more refined. The Acer also stands out from its grandparents with exceptional build quality. Comparing these devices it’s easy to relate to the 1970’s domestic automobile to the 2010’s domestic automobiles: quality and build are much higher than those of old. There is not a squeak to be had in the chassis, nor any keyboard flex. The lid includes an aluminum plate with a texture that would make the most expensive netbooks of old jealous. The hinge design is quite stable with aluminum reinforcement. The trackpad is also much better with two finger scrolling and a size no less than twice the size of its forefathers. As mentioned before - the screen would embarrass even high end full-sized laptops, with it’s WXGA resolution, gorilla glass, capacitive digitizer and IPS screen is nearly beyond reproach. In fact, there is almost no IPS glow, colors are gorgeous, it presents quite high brightness in an indoor environment and blacks are deeper than I could believe IPS screens could reach on a budget. By modern standards, the Acer is definitely a budget machine. That said, this is by far a premium budget machine. The worst criticism I can levy for the R11 is it’s trackpad. While a good size and very comfortable to use, the scrolling is a bit jarring. When two finger scrolling, slow scrolling accelerates appropriately, but if you flick your fingers too far acceleration is gone and scrolling feels very disconnected. Furthermore, the trackpad has a small break in period which feels odd. The travel involved is nearly equal to the key travel of they keyboard. But what’s out of place on the trackpad, is quite welcome on the keyboard. The key travel is quite nice, linear and forgiving. While the keys are spongy, they are comfortable and accurate and quiet. They lack a backlight, but that’s forgivable. The keyboard has little to no flex, and is standard chromebook layout. You have your normal QWERTY layout, lacking F-keys, replacing them with back/forward, refresh, fullscreen, multitasking, brightness, sound and lock respectively. Caps lock is replaced by search (and luckily ChromeOS allows you to remap it to Ctrl if you wish). The left CTRL and ALT are oversized as on other Chromebooks. Performance is acceptable and that’s the best I can say about it. Inefficient webpages load slowly, but modern efforts work reasonably well. The N3060, while being a modern Braswell CPU, performs much like its predecessors but consuming slightly less power than the previous generation. It easily doubles performance over its grandparents. In fact a Core 2 Duo of this era would be hard pressed to keep up with this power sipping ‘Celeron’ in Atom clothing. Battery life is around stated 10 hours. Currently after being rather active: benchmarking and typing this entire review the battery remains over 70%. This is about 3 hours of continuous moderate to high usage at 60-70% brightness. While some may quibble over one or two hours of additional runtime in larger ChromeBooks, the Acer definitely qualifies for full day battery life. If what you need is a note taker, then the R11 is a definite consideration. Touch is responsive, and ChromeOS has gone a long way to ensuring it’s a good experience. The browser zooms with obvious GPU acceleration, and hence is quite smooth. The capacitive touchscreen has no noticeable lag, and it’s easy to use it to scroll and even play games. ChromeOS is just as adept at adapting to touchscreen as Windows 10. In fact, I’d say the on-screen keyboard is more reliable and predictable than you’d find on Windows 10 hybrids. Of course that all may change as time progresses. ChromeOS does seem to be aware of touch capabilities, as the tab UI seems ever so slightly ‘taller’ than on a pure laptop, ensuring tabs are an easier touch target. Hint: Swiping from the bottom of the screen will auto-hide the shelf. The chassis of the Acer is elegant but a bit hefty. There is a thickness to the R11 that feels unnecessary and makes it stand out as opposed to the non-touchscren/hybrid competition. That isn’t to say it’s uncomfortable to hold or too heavy. In some ways it’s just right - with the proportions perfect in laptop mode. Stand mode and tablet mode feel less natural due to the total thickness of the device, measuring in at .8”. The device never feels too heavy or unnatural to hold. I did however have some odd behavior in tablet mode - where occasionally the keyboard wouldn’t deactivation. Windows 10 seems to have this down to a science on hybrid devices I’ve used, whereas ChromeOS still has it’s rough patches. One thing I've always loved about ChromeBook's is the fact that they always include good wireless hardware. The Intel 7265NGW includes dual band AC. I easily hit my maximum internet speed via speed test. It's refreshing to see a budget machine with great wireless hardware. Interestingly, the Acer R11 is one of the first Chromebooks to be inducted into the Play Store club. If you put the R11 to the ‘dev’ channel, you’ll find the Android Play Store accessible. Of the few apps I’ve tried, they all seem to work well. The biggest downside is the lack of certain capabilities due to lack of sensors. Riptide GP2 runs smoothly with graphics on high, but you must rely on the touchscreen controls. Microsoft Word installs and works well with the keyboard. While I only used a few apps, this is definitely exciting times for ChromeOS. The real question is if this is the right device for you. If you don’t need a large screen or full desktop applications, ChromeOS is a definite contender. Productivity is easy to have on this device with the full power of Google’s suite at your disposal. Where most Chromebooks fall down is performance in the face of a power user, and the Acer R11 is no different. The N3060 CPU keeps up, but barely. The GPU keeps graphics flowing, and there’s a definite advantage of this new GPU evident, but the CPU is marginally faster than each prior generation. While it is blindingly fast compared to 10 years ago, it’s still slower than the high end of 10 years ago, so keep that in mind. The screen is great on a device like this, so don’t feel like there is any compromise going on here. The trackpad is flawed, but the touchscreen and keyboard make up for its issues. Apps are plentiful and HTML5 is in a much better place than it was when the first netbooks roamed the earth. Chrome OS has Android as a great fallback for more apps. The R11 is a capable machine at a decent price. The netbook is dead, long live the ChromeBook!

I’ve been working off of laptops for most of my adult life. Desktop computers have sort of become a thing of the past except for those people who need it for a specific purpose like gaming. I’ve had a variety of laptops throughout my life and really like how easy it makes working on the go. Mobile computing has been evolving for the past several years and now there are hybrid laptop/tablets like the Acer Touch-Screen Chromebook. The Acer Touch-Screen Chromebook takes the best of the tablet and puts it into a small laptop form. It’s an 11-inch small-form laptop with a 360-degree dual-torque hinge for the screen. This allows the user to flip the screen around so that you can use it in full table form. It’s quite an interesting device and something that I’ve really enjoyed testing out. Here are some of my experiences with this Chromebook. First Impressions The Chromebook arrived in a simple brown cardboard box. When I opened it up, the laptop was encased in a soft cloth sleeve and was held in place by a couple of pieces of pre-formed styrofoam. Along with the computer and its packaging, there was a power cable with wall adapter and minimal paperwork. When I took the laptop out of the packaging, I found a beautiful, clean, white computer with two simple logos on the cover – Acer and Google Chrome. Lifting the lid, you will find a soft fiber/cloth keyboard/screen protector. I would suggest if you don’t keep that one in place that you find one to use with the computer so that you have little risk of damaging your screen. Before I started the laptop up for the first time, I plugged in the power adapter. I was surprised to find that this very portable Chromebook came with such a large power cable. I really expected it to have a single charging cable like most tablets do. But, Acer provided a fairly old-school, but standard AC adapter. This is one thing that I hope Acer would take note of in future updates – this computer should charge with a single cable and one that is universal like USB. The specs for the Chromebook are quite impressive. It has an Intel Celeron quad-core processor with 1.60 GHz processor speed. The computer has 2GB memory and 32GB Flash storage. You can expand your storage by using Flash Drive or SD cards. The screen is 11.6 inches in size and features in-plane switching. The screen has a resolution of 1366 x 768 (HD). It does have 1 HDMI port and 2 USB 3.0 ports, and an SD card reader built-in. Since it’s an internet-based machine, I was impressed by how many ports for external support it has. First Startup There is a simple power button on the side of the computer. I would have liked to see this be a part of the keyboard instead of next to a plug port because there would be less chance that I might tap the button when I’m plugging something in. The Chromebook powered up very quickly and prompted me to enter a Google account to keep all my information synced. What was interesting to me was that the operating system, as fast it is, it is essentially just Google Chrome? Most of the activities you can participate within the OS are internet-based. All your data is stored in the cloud. This is kind of the essence of the Chromebook. While it was kind of a shock and a different experience for me since I’m primarily a Mac user, but also have quite a bit of experience with Windows. Chrome OS was new to me. It’s very minimalist, which I like. So, after I entered my account information, I began working with the interface. It is fast. I think that is perhaps because the system is not cluttered or weighed down with any big files. It is simple and clean – much like the hardware itself. One of the things I like most about this laptop is the keyboard. It has very soft, quiet keys. This makes it ideal for late night work when I take my computer to bed with me. The keys are full size and spaced out very well. The Chromebook has an impressive array of input ports, which is surprising since this laptop is supposed to be minimalist and extremely mobile. I’m not complaining. It’s very helpful to be able to connect various accessories with no trouble. The Acer Chromebook is also Bluetooth compatible. One of the first things I did was to connect a Bluetooth mouse to it so that I could manage files easier and more efficiently. As a tablet, the Chromebook works very well. It’s a little larger than some hybrid’s I’ve seen. The touch screen is very responsive and transitioning between the two methods of computing with this device. The screen rotates very easily and it functions well as a tablet. Testing & Benchmarks As I mentioned above, working with Chrome OS was a bit new to me. It has a strong look and feel and it’s very intuitive. You can use “Ok Google” as a voice assistant to help you with searching for information online. I have to say that it worked remarkably well when I tested it out. I was in a noisy room and even though the microphone was picking up the other noise in the room, it still understood my command. My basic testing for performance included internet searches and browsing, composing a blog article, and reviewing the interface as a whole. I think that some people might get confused about the cloud-based, internet-only nature of the OS, but for me, I definitely see the benefit. As far as benchmarks go, I found that with Chrome OS you have to use a system called Octane, which measures the JavaScript engine performance. I tested the Acer Touch-Screen Chromebook three times and found that its performance level is greater than most other Chromebooks in the market. Conclusions The Acer Touch-Screen Chromebook is a very capable mobile computing device. I really enjoying using it, especially for light computer work. It’s great for anything internet-based, but if you need something for more than that, you may want to look elsewhere. It’s not that the hardware can’t support it, it’s that the OS isn’t built for it.

Was anxious to try out this complimentary Acer Chromebook R11, 2 in 1 unit, because I was not familiar with any Chromebook kinds of computers, nor, the Google Chrome OS. I asked myself is this unit supposed to be a tablet, I-Pad, or laptop? What is it? As I took it out of the box I noticed that the top (housing the screen) is made of aluminum while the bottom (with the keyboard) is made of composite plastic. Both sides of the unit have an etched-pattern for easy gripping and handling. Since I have arthritis this is a big plus for me, and, probably great for the smaller hands of children also. Another plus is the ease at which this unit can be opened, folded, or configured in any one of four ways: tablet, tent, display, or laptop mode with the 360 degree hinges. It is lightweight and only weighs approximately 2 ¾ pounds. Set-up was so simple I kept thinking to myself (after all of my experiences setting up MS computers out-of-the-box) that there has got to be more to this, and, I must have missed some instructions? However, just five minutes out-of-the-box, it was ready to use. I already had a Google and G-mail account, which further simplified my set-up. You are required to have a Google account to sign-in, however you can create one during the set-up. I am impressed how simple this R11 actually is to use, and, navigate the web using the Chrome OS browser. After using many Windows OS over the past 26 years, this one is a breeze to use, simplistic, and similar to Win 10 in lots of ways. It is designed to use Chrome apps, which are available at the Google Web Store. This model, the Acer R11, is slated to have the capability to utilize Android apps later on this year or in 2017. Chrome is basically app-orientated, OS. You cannot download or install programs, and, or, software that is 'executable' with the Chrome OS like you do in Windows 10. It does not provide storage for files other then pics and Google documents. You do receive 100 GB of Cloud Storage up to two years free with the Acer R11. The Intel® Celeron®, dual-core, N3060, is the entry-level processor that drives this Acer R11. Internal memory is 4 GB, which allows me plenty of memory to have multiple tabs and apps, open and running for multitasking and surfing the net. This unit is MU-MIMO (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac), and since I have a MU-MIMO router the transfer speeds are astonishingly fast on a 5 GHz radio setting. WooHoo! Be advised that you cannot expand internal memory or storage capacity. But you can utilize SD cards for photo transfers, or, use USB Flash Drives since it has an internal one. It has one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0 ports. The internal storage capacity is 16 GB Flash, which is more then adequate using the myriad of apps that are available. The Acer R11 also has a full size HDML port for connecting to another monitor, TV, or, for displaying photos, movies, or other kinds of media. It has a webcam for video chats, but you have to use Google 'Hangouts' between both computers with the Chrome OS. Skype is not available at this time. It does have a 3.5mm headphone / auxiliary speaker jack port. For word processing Google documents have an array of tools, which allow for varied document formats, spread sheets, and presentations utilizing Google Slides. You can convert your documents into many different formats to include, 'Word', 'OpenOffice', Rich Text, and 'PDF' to name a few. You can print your documents through the web-based, Google Cloud Print. You will have to set-up your printer so that it will enable 'Cloud Printing'. When you complete a document you wish to print out, clicking on the print icon will give the instructions on how to set-up your printer in Google Cloud Printing so you basically can print documents from anywhere. Super-neat feature. However, be aware that older printers may not be able to access Google Cloud Print. The audio is very good from its dual stereo speakers on the bottom of the unit, which can be turned 360 degrees for richer sound delivery. Since it has Bluetooth I paired my wireless Bluetooth speaker in order to play music from the Chrome Pandora app. I also paired a Bluetooth mouse to the R11. The Acer R11 is much more versatile and usable then a 'tablet' and costs approximately the same. It has many features that tablets do not offer: SD memory card slot; physical keyboard instead of qwerty; larger HD, touch-screen; quality stereo sound speakers that can be re-positioned in several configurations for even richer sound; 360 degree rotation, for laptop, tent, display, and pad positions; MIMO technology, which provides amazing speeds over the latest MU-MIMO, Wi-Fi, routers; fast start-up and web surfing; free virus protection, which updates itself; up to 10 hours of battery usage before charging; through Google Cloud Print you can print a document from anywhere there is an Internet connection; for word processing, spread sheets, and presentations it allows for a higher level of productivity because of a physical keyboard and a variety of tools provided by Google Documents. There is no need to purchase expensive anti-virus protection. It is included and updates itself when needed. The Acer R11 provides a one year warranty on both parts and labor. The only negatives I found were with the keyboard. There is not a caps or delete key, which are very helpful using word processing and spread sheets. It would have been nicer if, the keypad was lighted also. If you use a Bluetooth mouse like I did, be aware you cannot 'disable' the keyboard trackpad. The Acer R11 answered my question of, what is it? The R 11 is a mulch-functional, entry-level, notebook / tablet / laptop, with exceptional speed for web-surfing, productive word processing, spreadsheets, and presentation capabilities. The two most important attributes are the exceptional speed and simplicity of operation. It provides great value and affordability for the features and functions you receive. Plus, it is Wi-Fi, MIMO enabled, which 'future-proofs' it for years to come. All of the latest devices will now feature MU-MIMO, Wi-Fi, enabled cards. I enjoy using my Acer R11 and am so impressed with it, I plan on buying one for each of my two, school-aged Grand kids before school starts. The R11 Chromebook is an outstanding, entry-level unit for children. For adults it is far superior in practicality then 'tablets', especially in physical features and size. I prefer to use this unit over my tablet and much pricier I-Pad. The Acer R11 will never replace my laptop, but it does provide me with all of the 'basic' features for productivity and the convenience of lightweight and portability. Again, I love the simplicity of the Chrome OS. The Acer R11 is amazingly fast. I highly recommend the purchase of this Acer R11 over any tablet and as a less expensive alternative to an I-Pad.

Acer R11 11.6 inch touch screen Chromebook: This was my first foray into Chromebook land. I didn't know what to expect, actually. First, let me comment on the Chromebook itself, and then I'll followup with the Chrome OS a little since it's essential to the Chromebook operation because it's different than what most people are used to who use iPhones, iPads, Macs and Windows PCs/laptops/tablets. The Acer R11 is attractive & durable. It has an HD (720p) IPS screen, which offers a good quality screen visible directly in front of the screen as well as off to one side or the other. In my opinion, the 11.6" screen is a great size without getting cumbersome to pack around. It is a touch screen so it offers another way to interact with the browser, apps or what-have-you in addition to a mouse or touch pad. The touch pad (track pad to some) is really good and large. I've used many types & I'm surprised to find one that works as well as this one on a lower end unit like the R11. I say lower end because it sells for between $249 and $299 depending. That's not a lot of money for a 2-in-1 laptop with a touch screen. It also offers a USB 3 port, USB 2 port, HDMI port (for running an external monitor if you like) along with a headphone jack and an SD card reader. You pop in an SD card of choice, which gives the R11 a lot more storage room. The size of the card is up to you depending on your needs and budget. The card, if full size, or when using an adapter for smaller SD cards, fits all the way into the card reader's slot so that nothing protrudes beyond the R11's case. Speaking of the USB 3 port, I connected two different USB 3 external hard drives to my R11 and both powered directly off the USB 3 port and mounted in the Downloads or Files app (window). In the Files app you will also see your SD card assuming you have one in the R11's card reader. On the SD card or external hard drive you can copy files to or from either without issue. Before I forget, the keyboard is very good! Plenty of key travel, the space between keys is more than adequate, and you'll find key controls for many of the Chromebooks functions (screen brightness, sound level and others) all easily visible and available. I mentioned earlier that the Acer R11 is a 2-in-1: that means the screen will fold back 360 degrees so that the back of the screen will rest against the bottom of the keyboard. This gives you a traditional laptop effect along with being able to "tent" the R11 to stand it on a table to watch videos without the keyboard being in the way. With the screen opened a full 360 degrees you will have something you can hold and use as a tablet - a thicker tablet to be sure, but a tablet nonetheless. The R11 also sports a HDR webcam for you folks that want to connect visually with your friends while talking with them. I haven't specifically tested the R11 for this, but my use suggests that the advertised battery life of 10 hours is attainable without jumping through a lot of hoops; however, any battery life of any device regardless of type or manufacturer is proportional to how heavily you're using the device. I would guess you will average 8 hours anyway with ordinary consumer use and perhaps better. The Acer R11 is easy to carry around too. It weighs around 2.4 lbs, but the exterior is "grippy" so you don't feel you're carrying something that will slip out of your hand when you're not noticing. The Intel Celeron N3060 dual core processor does a good job maintaining snappiness and fluidity while in use. I've had it running for several hours on my lap and could only feel a slight warmth to one spot on the bottom of the case that houses the keyboard. So heat isn't an issue. Of course, the Celeron processor isn't going to be as strong as the Intel i Core processors (i3, i5, i7) or even the Intel Core M processors (used in fan-less designs). But keep in mind what this Celeron processor is powering - the Chrome OS, which only runs about 200+ MB in size compared to, say, Windows 10 at between 3GB to 4GB in size. Nor is the Celeron powering complex programs like Mac & Windows OS's do. That brings me to Chrome OS. It does not run Windows or Mac programs (there are some extreme-nerd-tinkering projects that can allow this to a limited degree, but that's only for the less than 1% of intrepid users). That leaves the normal user with some Chrome browser extensions and some Chrome OS "apps" that are more like shortcuts to web pages for the most part. Chrome OS, while able to operate certain apps offline (Google Docs & a few others like Gmail Offline), is primarily an OS that need internet connectivity where you can access even web based MS Office apps. All of this means that if you're primarily using a Chromebook for web browsing (got to have that internet!), email, streaming video, light word processing, light spreadsheet activity and other such lighter tasks, you're going to be good because you've got a durable, snappy, long battery life device you can easily take wherever you go that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, but internet connectivity is essential overall. You can even use the Google Remote app on your Chromebook to remote into another desktop or laptop that will run high-powered software you need offered by Mac or Windows. Again, this may be more for those who want to push the boundaries a little and still use a Chromebook for all their needs. Depends on your needs and how "techie" you are. Here's the game changer: The Acer R11 Chromebook is slated as the second Chromebook to receive the ability to run the Play Store from Google and all it's content - yes...you will be able to run all the Android apps you want right on your Acer R11 probably by September of this year. Other Chromebooks will be added to this functionality later. Android provides almost unlimited functionality for your Chromebook. This definitely puts the Acer R11 (and most other Chromebooks because some will not be able to handle this functionality) more in the true laptop category, yet for the R11 anyway, keeping the cost reasonable - there are some expensive Chromebooks out there. Now, virtually all Chromebooks offer either 16GB or 32GB drives (eMMC rather than SSD - SSD is faster but more expensive). It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that 16GB (this is what most Chromebooks offer, and maybe 6 or 7GB are taken up by the OS & necessary files) won't go very far if you start downloading Android apps for your use. As it stands now, Chrome OS installs what few Chrome OS apps to it's resident drive only. I suspect this will change in the Chrome OS very shortly so that Android apps can be installed to an SD card or external USB drive. We'll see in the next few weeks about that, but that seems to be a given since the drives on Chromebooks are so small (they were small since there was little but data files of your documents and such before the inclusion of the ability of Chrome OS to handle all the Android apps). The Acer Rll Chromebook is a great little 2-in-1. Compared to a traditional Mac or Windows laptop they are limited in what they can do, but they are traditionally inexpensive with fast boot up and shut down times: however, as they stand right now they are great for the casual consumer who wants something easy to carry around and operate (the Chrome OS updates itself: you don't have to worry about all that). Within weeks or a a couple of months, the Acer R11 will take on functionality through Android apps to rival many traditional laptops while maintaining a simpler OS and ease of use.

A bit of a preface, this review is possibly one of the most difficult I have had to do. This Chromebook is definitely different - almost a bit too different. The hardware: well done for a Chromebook and a computer at this price. You get island keys, an Intel processor, the now common 360-degree hinge and an aluminum top case. The build quality is very nice - I have not had a single plastic creak since getting it. Keyboard is nice with sufficient travel (just slightly less than that of a Macbook); size of the keys and keyboard as a whole feels very close to a desktop size, maybe about 90% as big if I had to guess. The top row is dedicated to ChromeOS function keys, however this can be converted to standard function keys if desired. The trackpad is severely lacking, as is the touch input on the screen. The trackpad is a single sheet of plastic - right click operations are only available via two finger click, as are a number of other operations. The display touch is slightly disappointing though as several times throughout testing I had tapped on something only to have the element be highlighted like I was hovering over it. I will admit however, the screen is nice and vibrant, if a tad bit small for the 1” large bezel surrounding it. As one final redeeming factor, the device does not have a fan - meaning it is ultra quiet at all times. Battery life seems about on the mark - maybe seven hours in place of the nine suggested. The one major hit to this device, as mentioned above, is the pointer navigation. Not more than ten minutes into using this machine I wanted the Lenovo trackpoint mouse back from my work laptop. The software: I’m not going to ding the device for the OS. In another life, I worked tech support and ChromeOS has its followers and has a ton of people who just want something more powerful - usually Chromebooks had the highest return rate. I typically work on a full desktop and as such it’s a bit weird being on such a light OS. The software itself is powerful and Google is working to make it more powerful each day (will get to that in a second). Most of what we do day to day now is based on the web, so as long as you are comfortable with Google Chrome, you should be fine. The OS is a perfect match for the hardware; everything the hardware knows how to work with is done seamlessly by the OS. Screen rotation is automatically performed with no hassle, as is disabling the keyboard when the screen goes beyond 180-degrees. ChromeOS has gotten a lot better over the years for sure. Most things that one could want are included - even to include an offline mode for Google Docs. Google is taking this Chromebook to the next level though, future updates will include support for Android apps! After switching this machine to developer mode, I was able to install all the apps from my phone that I would have wanted. The concept is in early beta and is prone to crashing, but this made me fall in love with this device even more and get excited about what might be in the works. Ideal usage could appear in colleges for majors not requiring major computer work (and ones that can safely write papers in Google Docs). I’m out of college now, but I find myself reaching for this laptop more and more for most of my day to day activities - paying bills, checking bank accounts, writing prompts, basic work tasks like remote console connections, etc. Personally, I would suggest that you try the ChromeOS in the store and see if you can use it as a daily driver. Disclosure: Best Buy provided this machine for me to review at no cost in exchange for an honest review. I’ve got a problem lying on these kinds of things - this is my honest opinion after days of contemplation.

INTRODUCTION: I have owned two Chromebooks prior to the R11. I am familiar with the Chrome OS ecosystem, what it has to offer, and where it falls short. BUILD QUALITY (3/5): The build quality of the R11 is average, at best. It has a patterned aluminum cover/lid, but it doesn’t make the device feel any bit premium, and I wouldn’t count on it providing any additional protection to the display. The unit I received has misaligned hinges, which causes the device to rock a bit at certain angles—in addition to being an eyesore. That being said, I don’t feel as though it will cause any harm to the device in the long-term. I had no issues with flipping the display 180 degrees. Typing on the keyboard was fine, but I personally felt as though the keys could have had less resistance or bit more vertical displacement. I had to press harder on these compared to other keyboards I’ve tried on Chromebooks around this price range. DISPLAY (3/5): The 11.6” display runs at 1366x768—resulting in 135 ppi (pixels-per-inch). Comparatively, a 13.3” display at 1920x1080 results in 165 ppi. The R11 display is adequate at this resolution—text is sharp enough to avoid complaining, and viewing images and videos is enjoyable. That is, unless you’re trying to use it in direct sunlight. This display is quite reflective, so you won’t be using this much in direct sunlight. With a bit of shade, you’ll be fine. Indoors, the display is adequate and provides adequate brightness. The display is also quite reflective and is also a smudgy fingerprint magnet, which is why indoor use in moderate lighting conditions is ideal. As for the touch screen, it works quite well. If anything, Chrome OS needs more refinement and more features to really utilize the touchscreen. Multi-touch worked without issue. However, modern web content isn’t really suited to touch screens, so it’s definitely a bit awkward to have a touch screen, at the moment. PERFORMANCE (2/5): I really can’t give this Chromebook a 3 because there are older, cheaper Chromebooks that outperform this more expensive R11. The Intel Celeron N3050 is really a bottom-bin Intel Atom, more than it is a Celeron. These fanless processors (aside from the Core M series) don’t come close to the U-series Celerons. Sure, you’ll get more battery life, but what is that worth if it’s a pain to use the device? With my bookmarks, caching, history, extensions, etc. that is associated to my Google account, this Chromebook could not handle more than a few tabs without throwing a fit. When I used Guest mode, the Chromebook performed adequately with 4 tabs—to the point where scrolling was not abysmal. That being said, I had much better performance on a 13.3” 1080p Chromebook using the Intel Celeron N2840 and 4GB of RAM—which was the same price as the R11. Even Acer’s own C720 outperforms the R11. BATTERY LIFE (4/5): The battery life on this Chromebook doesn’t quite stand up to some other contenders, but with light processor usage, it shouldn’t have any problem lasting throughout the day before needing a charge. However, the idle drain is not very good. For a fanless design, you would expect low power consumption when the device is idle, but you will want to turn the device when you aren’t using it for long periods of time—otherwise you will be saying goodbye to 10-20% of your battery. CONCLUSION: Over all, the R11 is an average product. It doesn’t really get any high marks, and its touch screen really isn’t useful with the current state of the web and Chrome OS. Once Play Store integration with Chrome OS becomes stable, these touch screens will make more sense. But until that day comes, the vision for this Chromebook is very fragmented.

Pros: Fast Boot/Resume times Quality Sound Battery Life Bright Display Touchscreen Security Parental Controls Bluetooth Lightweight Clean Design Cons: - Not all Internet sites move smoothly like they do on a PC - Cannot Install full Applications like you can on a PC/Mac (this may or may not be a negative thing to everyone as there are lots of good cloud/Internet-based services and apps that allow you to do a lot of what you can do with applications on a PC/Mac!) - Small Local Storage (though really you don't need it as you store any files you use on Google Drive) - No Actual Printer Support (ChromeOS uses Google Cloud Print, so as long as your printer is cloud-connected or if it's not is connected to a computer that has the Chrome browser installed it'll work... otherwise it won't) All in all, if you're looking for a very straight forward computer to use for surfing the Internet, checking and writing email, editing basic documents, and Social Media this Chromebook good overall. Hardware-wise the only real negative thing I noticed using this Chromebook is that not all websites loaded/scrolled smoothly as they were loading. Once a page was fully loaded, however, they were smooth to scroll through. On the positive, I will say that the sound from this Chromebook is very good/loud, and in fact actually surprised me the first time I loaded up a movie on Netflix with the volume level being loud and full. I'd definitely say this is not something I've seen in all notebooks! For watching Netflix or Amazon Videos, this notebook is perfect! In addition to good sound, the screen is bright and crisp. Software-wise you can use Google's Chrome Web Store apps to enhance the experience and functionality on the Chromebook, and use some Android Apps/Games and Cloud-based apps like Google Docs. Some Apps like Google Docs do have an Offline mode so that you can "work offline" but otherwise you need to be connected to the Internet to use the Internet of course. It's important to know that with ChromeOS everything is designed to be Internet based, and thus does not really rely on local hardware or storage for anything more than the operating system and rending/processing websites or running Chrome Web Apps. Overall, I'd recommend this for someone who doesn't want the fuss associated with owning a conventional PC or Mac and wants to use it for Internet browsing and internet based apps/services. Hardware wise this Chromebook is better than my last one and is faster loading pages than it was. The sound is also vastly better with a brigther screen.