Acer Chromebook 14 Review
Pros | Cons |
Sturdy Aluminum Design |
Low quality keyboard
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Summary: Starting with the design, unlike most Chromebooks out there which are made out of plastic, this one has an aluminum build all around it. It retains its chromebookness: lightweight at 3.4 lb and with a long battery life at 8 hours(12 hours is claimed by manufacturer). Yes it is a bit on the heavy side but this is expected from its displaying features.
The screen is not just huge for a Chromebook, it’s also a full HD display with IPS technology (the other model came with 1366×768 for resolution) . Both features make it a pleasure to watch lectures or videos and get some work done with it. The viewing angles from the IPS are quite high too: you can up to 170 degrees and still clearly distinguish what you are looking at. Add on top of that its anti glare coating and a good brightness levels, you got yourself one of the best displays Chromebooks can offer even in 2017. As a bonus, even though the speakers are positioned underneath they have good audio quality. However that’s all the good stuff ends. The performance on this Chromebook is average. Like most Chromebooks it has settled with an Intel Celeron Processor instead of the high tier core m3 and core i3 the expensive Chromebooks have. The RAM and storage capacity aren’t bad however: 4GBRAM and 32GB. Enough for a decent amount of multitasking with multiple browsing tabs and what you’ll pretty much find even on more expensive Chromebooks. Another downside is the number of ports: This model however has no SD Card Reader(the one with a lower resolution does) so you’ll be stuck with 32GB if you were thinking of plugging an SD Card permanently for extra storage. Lastly, the keyboard quality isn’t the best according to consumers. They are quite harsh to register but at least they do report the trackpad working just fine. This isn’t a chromebook I would recommend for writing and data input especially in large amounts. However if you are looking for a Chromebook with one of the best displays, an average performance for basic tasks, then this is still a good deal. |
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Reading Writing Price |
Google Store Apps
Android Apps Video
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Specifications | Acer Chromebook 14 CB3-431-C5FM & CB3-431-C0D0 |
Screen | CB3-431-C5FM:14″ Full HD Widescreen IPS LED-backlit CB3-431-C0D0: Matte 1366X768 |
Processor | Intel Celeron N3160 Quad-Core Processor 1.6GHz up to 2.24GHz |
Video | Intel HD Graphics |
Memory | 4GB LPDDR3 SDRAM Memory, |
Storage | 32GB Internal Storage |
Connectivity | 802.11ac WiFi featuring MIMO technology (Dual-Band 2.4GHz and 5GHz) Bluetooth 4.2 |
Ports | 2 – USB 3.0 Ports, 1 – HDMI Port ,headphone jack & SD Card (CB3-431-C0D0 only) |
Baterry | 12-hours Battery Life (measured by Manufacturer), 8 hours (3rd party testers) |
OS | Chrome OS |
Size | 11.4 x 8 x 0.8 inches |
Weight | 3.4 pounds |
Extras | HD Webcam (1280 x 720), Android App Support |