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’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.

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 had heard so much about Chromebook, and most of the stuff I do everyday is on the internet. For the price and the features that it offers, this cannot be beat. Full HD touch-screen with x360 screen. Pros: - Features: touch screen, x360 screen - Great battery life - Lightweight - Fast Most of the cons I can think of are mostly due to Chrome OS not directly regarding Acer as manufacturer. Cons: - Changing basic setup is not the easiest to find (such as changing wall-paper, adding shortcuts to the desktop, etc) Again, this is mostly Chrome OS in general - No Caps Lock button????? Again, this is true for all Chromebook - No back-lit keypad - Google Docs features are limited and you can't install Microsoft Office So, bottom line, if your usage is strictly on the internet, this is a great choice. Especially for kids if you're afraid of getting viruses from the games they play. Or also for older adults who might also get malware from the emails they get. But if you need to use Microsoft Office, this is not for you.

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.

The Acer R11 Chromebook is an amazing piece of hardware for many reason, and both to the novice computer user, as well as to the more industrious and adventurous users out there. First off, in the box you'll find a power cable, the Acer R11 Chromebook itself, a warranty card, and a quick start guide. Setup is a snap. Plug the Acer R11 Chromebook in and get it charging, then power it on. You will be asked to sign into your Wi-Fi network, then into your Google account (or to create a Google account if you don't already have one). After that, the novice user is all set. The can enjoy a very solid Wi-Fi signal to browse the Internet, send emails, work on documents or spreadsheets, or use any of the plethora of Google Chrome Apps. All with a battery that will last 8-11 hours in my tests. At an affordable price that won't break the bank, this can accomplish all of your average user's needs. Coming soon, the Chromebooks will be adding a new feature via software updates allowing the user to install any Android software that can be downloaded from the Google Play store, just like on your Android phone. This expands the available apps and overall usability of the Acer R11 Chromebook by a huge amount. In fact, if you are an adventurous user, you can switch to the "Developer Channel" to receive experimental updates, allowing you to load Android Apps RIGHT NOW. This feature will be brought to the mainstream user soon. Finally, using an application called "Crouton," you can even load Ubuntu Linux on your Acer R11 Chromebook, allowing you to run software such as Steam, which can effectively turn your Acer R11 into a simple, efficient, gaming rig. The Acer R11 Chromebook is a piece of technology I wasn't initially excited about when I got my hands on it. My entire opinion has changed, and I see that the potential for these devices is incredible, and these are a very sound investment for your average computer user. The one downside is that currently, Windows programs cannot be used on any Chromebooks. While this may change, it may prove frustrated for users who are married to a Windows app. That being said, there are ChromeOS and Android alternatives to most Windows app needs.

I took a chance and decided to try a laptop with a different Operating System then Windows. Right off the bat I noticed a larger learning curve then I was expecting. I knew there would be a learning curve to understand functionality and navigation however didn't expect me to have to "Google How-To" every other function. The Laptop itself is lightweight, thin and screen is touchscreen which is a nice feature. I also enjoy how both speakers are on the keyboard layout instead of the sides of the laptop. it is a full size keyboard with a mutli-function mouse pad meaning you can click/drag while using the mouse pad for scrolling. The screen has good image quality and brightness to easily see during full sun. It never became hot in my lap and the dual wireless is a nice feature. It is a very slim OS without bloatware unless you consider any of the google features bloatware. Battery life has been good with the help of standby mode, unfortunately the battery is not swapable. Pros- Lighweight Does Not Get Hot In Lap Good Battery Life HD 1080p Nice Picture / Brightness and Touchscreen Good Price Range Cons- Moderate Learning Curve 3rd party support/applications limited Non-removable Battery for replacement Overall I would recommend this product for anyone who is interested in trying an Operating System outside of windows and willing to learn how to use it. The price makes this a good buy along with the laptop features, however it is Google heavy on applications so 3rd party support is still limited at this time. Specs: CPU: 1.5GHz Intel Celeron 3205U (dual core, 2MB cache) Graphics: Intel HD graphics. RAM: 4GB DDR3. Screen: 15.6-inch Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, LED-backlit display. Storage: 32GB SSD. Ports: 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, HDMI, SD card reader, headphone/mic jack. Connectivity: 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0

It seems that everyone is coming out with true wireless earbuds lately, so how does one brand/model stand out? Great sound quality, solid connectivity and a few uncommon features. These Sony buds hit the target on most everything. They sound great, are comfortable and have a nice charging case to supplement the built-in charge. What these buds have that most others don't is active noise cancellation and it works great! Of course, that comes at the expense of battery life which is a modest 3 hours on a charge, but the improvement in sound quality is noticeable. The charging case is a tad large but the shape is comfortable to fit in a pocket. It's metal and has a nice cool to the touch feeling. A minor complaint on the case is that it tends to topple over when the lid is open due to the weight of the substantial dual-hinged lid. The buds tend to stick out from the ears a bit as to make them noticeable but not so much as they're uncomfortable or unwieldy. The voice prompts are nice, too. As with many buds of this class, they have an app that allows for various adjustments. While other true wireless buds advertise for sports use, these are aimed more for daily use while traveling around town or just listening to music. I appreciate that as I don't always want to look like I'm on the way to or from the gym when wearing my earbuds. Overall, a nice pair of great-sounding buds. I'd give them a 5-star rating if they had a tad longer battery life or a smaller case, but they are definitely worth a look (and listen).