Deal on Acer at the moment, If you're looking for a premium Chromebook with good specs, lightweight, slim, long battery life, no virus, have Playstore access and can be used as a tablet.
Chrome OS - First 13.3" Convertible chromebook
MediaTek M8173C processor Quad-core 2.10 GHz
13.3-inch 16:9 IPS Full HD Touchscreen (1920 x 1080) Gorilla Glass 4 (scratch resistant)
4 GB RAM, LPDDR3 and 64GB eMMC Storage
Fan-less design - Ultra Fast wireless and Boot-up time
Battery life up to 12 hours
Imagination Technologies PowerVR GX6250 with Shared Memory
Android Support
HDMI out
2 Years Warranty
Latest comments (42)
Supersoul
12 Aug 17#16
I own this and it is a great Chromebook but was initially wary of the Acer brand, however, I couldn't find anything similar on the market at the time of purchase. Google continuously provide updates and the Play Store is easily installed - I mainly use mine as a large touchscreen Android tablet and I haven't missed my old Windows laptop. It is a little bit heavy but the software is very fast and it hasn't suffered with any lag or slowdowns etc.
I bought this for £330 on launch day last year directly from Acer so it appears that it has increased in price. It also arrived next day from the Netherlands and I cannot fault the Acer experience (so far).
Evilmonkey to Supersoul
12 Aug 17#18
Hi Supersoul, (or anyone who owns this chromebook!)
Can I ask you some questions? Mainly I want to know how well do it works in each mode?
Do they have enough grunt to work as a decent Chromebook (how many tabs before it starts to slow down)?
What about as a tablet? Is it light enough? Does Chrome work well as a tablet OS?
I would be using the chromebook to do a fair bit of google docs, slides and sheets work and it would be replacing my old 10.1 asus tablet.
Thanks Picard, I've read a few of the reviews, but other than the fact its heavy, they don't really dwell on the tablet element, especially now it has android play store access.
I was hoping for an owners assessment!
Supersoul to Evilmonkey
13 Aug 17#27
Okay I've just had a play around and tested the Chromebook. I've had 23 Chrome tabs open that includes Google Sheets, OneNote and some webpages that are video embedded and are normally quite intensive in Windows. There is no noticeable delay when switching to the standard webpage tabs. With the tabs containing the embedded videos and adverts, there is a delay but it's a fraction of a second and not an issue to me. I also have 6 Android Apps open in addition to the 23 Chrome tabs and the Apps have no delay. Obviously this isn't an official test and in my typical situation, I would normally have around 12 Chrome tabs open and that never caused me any issues.
As an Android tablet, I find it lightning fast and it replaced a very slow Samsung 10.1" tablet. Typical apps that I use it for include IMDb, LoveFilm, Yatse, OneNote, YouTube, Kindle, TeamViewer, Tonido & Houzz. I would like to test Plex on it at some point in the future when I have some free time.
Negatives include the weight, slightly spongy keyboard and flexible hinge. You can alter the angles but using it beyond 270degs is "bouncy" and not ideal. BTW, I never use it at this angle anyway so it isn't a major issue for me. I also do not know the longevity of Acer products. Before I purchased, the other alternative I was considering was the Lenovo Yoga 10.1" Touch but the technology was too new for me to take a risk.
A lot of the critical comments are related to the MediaTek processor but I can honestly say I have not had any problems and I can only offer my opinion as an owner. It isn't cheap when you consider some alternatives but I'm definitely sold on the Chromebook principle and it suits my lifestyle. Hope this helps.
Evilmonkey to Supersoul
13 Aug 17#29
Thanks Supersoul and sleepymouse, some thorough testing.
Most of the apps I would be using have tablet versions (ticket to ride, comic readers etc.) so hopefully would pick up those versions!
I think I need to see it in action now, to get a feel for the weight etc.
Torkijo to Supersoul
7 Sep 17#42
Do Android game apps work on it? Wondering if a good idea for a student as a multi device?
irabbs7
2 Sep 17#40
Anyone have this and would recommend this?
irabbs7
2 Sep 17#41
Price gone up now expire
Kingkaikaioriginal
20 Aug 17#37
Can this run Adobe illustrator and Photoshop?
plap to Kingkaikaioriginal
23 Aug 17#38
No
thegorilla to plap
2 Sep 17#39
What about the Adobe Android apps, do they run on Chromebooks?
greenandwhite
17 Aug 17#36
Pretty expensive for a chrome book especially with the MTK Processor. It's about £100 more expensive than my 2 year old Toshiba Chromebook 2 which has better specs and has held its full price since I bought it (imported mine from Amazon USA). In 2 years time will this one still be worth buying for £350? I doubt it. But I like that it has 64GB of storage instead of the standard 16GB. It means you can have even more user accounts on it whereas with 16GB machines you're doing well if you can fit more than 2 on it. Sure you can add a 128GB SDXC Card in them for external storage but the whole sandboxed Chrome OS environment has to be kept in internal storage so the 64GB will definitely be advantageous. Not a bad Chromebook by any means but it's overpriced by too much for me. I'd consider it if it drops sub-£280 and the feedback on it was mainly positive.
foes4you
15 Aug 17#34
This costs more than an ipad 2017, is it faster ? Why should I buy this instead ?
CoeK to foes4you
15 Aug 17#35
Because you want a chromebook with android support instead of a ipad with ios?
xicosm
12 Aug 17#12
Cold ... if you keep an eye on laptops direct they are usually in stock for around £200
I bought mine from them ... great machine to take on trips
Garstonk to xicosm
12 Aug 17#14
Too big and heavy to be used as a tablet. Asus Chromebook FlipC213 fits the bill perfectly.
Evilmonkey to Garstonk
12 Aug 17#17
Any idea on when this will be in the UK and how much?
I actually saw this at an educational show back in January, and it is very plasticy. It's designed for education, so rugged is the key word here!
Garstonk to Evilmonkey
14 Aug 17#33
Sorry, don't know. The HP X360 Chromebook looks interesting too.
win26 to xicosm
12 Aug 17#15
I have been checking their price for two months. Around £290 refurbished with 3 months warranty. This is new with 2 years warranty.
Ergates to xicosm
12 Aug 17#19
Are you sure? :-/
pants to xicosm
13 Aug 17#28
£290 for refurb with 3 month warranty at Laptops Direct right now, not sure that's a better deal :thinking:
wilc
14 Aug 17#30
Anyone know if new chromebook owner still get upgraded google drive storage? My 2 year 1TB from my last chromebook just ran out, thx
win26 to wilc
14 Aug 17#32
You get 2 years of 100GB Google Drive storage and a 90 days trial of Google Play Music. This was back in May.
BadBrainz
14 Aug 17#31
Shame about that Mediatek processor...gonna hold out for a deal on an ASUS c302ca.
Still heat for price.
winchman
12 Aug 17#10
I thought the whole idea of a chromebook was to be cheap, £350 isn't expensive but to my mind this should be £250ish?
chaywa to winchman
12 Aug 17#11
Find me a decent android 13.3" tablet with connected keyboard, the same specs (incl battery life) for less, including VAT. Then you'll realise what a good deal this actually is.
plewis00 to chaywa
13 Aug 17#26
But it's not an Android tablet is it, it's a Chromebook with Android support which will likely have some disadvantages or quirks. While the Mediatek processor is probably fine, it's a bit low rent for a machine of this cost and spec.
kjfrazer to winchman
12 Aug 17#13
I would agree, but this is a laptop/tablet hybrid, and touch screens aren't cheap (well, the crap ones are).
If you want a good quality, cheap Chromebook then I got 2 of these for my parents to use since they won't use a touchscreen or Android apps - ebay.co.uk/itm…229
CampGareth
13 Aug 17#25
I tried this model in-store and really didn't like the keyboard. Very mushy and the centre of the keyboard flexed easily. Ended up going for the Asus C100PA which had a much more solid one but isn't comparable given the 10" screen and older CPU.
Musicrab
13 Aug 17#24
Can you put Windows o this ;-)
sleepymouse
13 Aug 17#23
I have had this netbook for about 4 months (I paid £329 in Currys). I find it better than a laptop and does everything I need including word processing, spreadsheets and basic photo editing. For surfing it is excellent and I have had eight tabs open with no sign of issues. The android apps work well, my only criticism is that some apps are designed for phones and don't appear full screen (they are a phone size rectangle in the middle of the screen). To everyone comparing it to a laptop, they are not the same!. The processor is more than adequate. I would not personally go back to a windows laptop, a Chromebook is faster starting. Faster working, more secure.
Picard123
12 Aug 17#20
Nice Chromebook but £350 is just silly when you can buy a thin/light Windows based laptop for less that does a whole lot more.
doggboy10
12 Aug 17#9
What the hell is this thing? This is like the bat signal to my gadget buying obsession
BeerGoggles
12 Aug 17#7
Does anyone know if the SSD card is removable and hence changeable for a greater capacity?
WalkableBuffalo to BeerGoggles
12 Aug 17#8
It doesn't have an SSD it has eMMC memory, which is an essentially an SD card soldered to the motherboard. So it's quite unlikely that it's removable.
gacameron01
12 Aug 17#4
Can this one run android apps?
vaiopup to gacameron01
12 Aug 17#5
I assume " android support" means it can.
win26 to gacameron01
12 Aug 17#6
Yes, this has Google play support.
Ergates
12 Aug 17#3
Very tempting! :thumbsup:
chaywa
12 Aug 17#2
10% Quidco cashback as well
chris2010uk
12 Aug 17#1
Cold.. I'm looking for a chromebook WITH virus :disappointed:
Opening post
Latest comments (42)
I bought this for £330 on launch day last year directly from Acer so it appears that it has increased in price. It also arrived next day from the Netherlands and I cannot fault the Acer experience (so far).
Can I ask you some questions? Mainly I want to know how well do it works in each mode?
Do they have enough grunt to work as a decent Chromebook (how many tabs before it starts to slow down)?
What about as a tablet? Is it light enough? Does Chrome work well as a tablet OS?
I would be using the chromebook to do a fair bit of google docs, slides and sheets work and it would be replacing my old 10.1 asus tablet.
That Mediatek CPU also looks a bit feeble....
notebookcheck.net/Med…tml
I was hoping for an owners assessment!
As an Android tablet, I find it lightning fast and it replaced a very slow Samsung 10.1" tablet. Typical apps that I use it for include IMDb, LoveFilm, Yatse, OneNote, YouTube, Kindle, TeamViewer, Tonido & Houzz. I would like to test Plex on it at some point in the future when I have some free time.
Negatives include the weight, slightly spongy keyboard and flexible hinge. You can alter the angles but using it beyond 270degs is "bouncy" and not ideal. BTW, I never use it at this angle anyway so it isn't a major issue for me. I also do not know the longevity of Acer products. Before I purchased, the other alternative I was considering was the Lenovo Yoga 10.1" Touch but the technology was too new for me to take a risk.
A lot of the critical comments are related to the MediaTek processor but I can honestly say I have not had any problems and I can only offer my opinion as an owner. It isn't cheap when you consider some alternatives but I'm definitely sold on the Chromebook principle and it suits my lifestyle. Hope this helps.
Most of the apps I would be using have tablet versions (ticket to ride, comic readers etc.) so hopefully would pick up those versions!
I think I need to see it in action now, to get a feel for the weight etc.
Why should I buy this instead ?
I bought mine from them ... great machine to take on trips
I actually saw this at an educational show back in January, and it is very plasticy. It's designed for education, so rugged is the key word here!
The HP X360 Chromebook looks interesting too.
Still heat for price.
If you want a good quality, cheap Chromebook then I got 2 of these for my parents to use since they won't use a touchscreen or Android apps - ebay.co.uk/itm…229
To everyone comparing it to a laptop, they are not the same!. The processor is more than adequate.
I would not personally go back to a windows laptop, a Chromebook is faster starting. Faster working, more secure.