The Acer C7 Chromebook is radically different from anything consumers have ever used before. It comes at an unbelievably low price of $200 a so-so build quality and a netbook-grade processor, giving consumers ample reason to be doubtful about whether this is the ideal device for them or an immensely poor choice for their requirements. It comes with a lot of trade-offs and is certainly meant for a specific target group of consumers.
Design
A quick look at the C7 reveals that it’s a small computer, weighing exactly 3 pounds and the hardware seems to be entirely constructed of incredibly light plastic. The downside to this is that most of the bulk comes from the battery in the rear and this gives the machine a slightly unbalanced feel to it. The lid is grey-blue with a bit of speckled shine, silk-screened Acer logo in the centre and the Chrome logo at the top corner of the lid. The glossy black hinge makes an uncomfortably audible pop whenever the laptop is opened or closed.
Hardware
The C7 runs on a 1.1 GHz dual-core Sandy Bridge Intel Celeron processor with 2GB of RAM and a 320 GB HDD, which is exceptionally good for the price. The laptop boots in an impressive 20-25 seconds and is capable of handling browsers with multiple tabs without any difficulty. However, the Chrome OS is unsuited for any kind of productivity work, with the mantra of the operating system being the cloud. Some offline functionality is present, but most of the functions of the laptop are accessible only through online Google services.
Operating System and Battery Life
Along with the surprisingly spacious hard drive comes a two-year license that provides the user with 100 GB of storage on Google Drive, which is a boon if you use Google Drive for storing documents in the cloud. The user can still use Gmail and Drive offline as they are capable of re-syncing whenever an internet connection is provided. Disappointingly, the C7 comes with only a 4-cell battery rated for 3-3.5 hours, as compared to six hours plus for the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook which packs a 6 cell battery. A better configured $299 variant of the C7 has also been announced and makes for a better deal with a six cell battery.
Conclusion
Overall, the $200 Acer C7 Chromebook’s specs are eerily close to that of a netbook despite being marketed as a laptop, and it fails to compete with cheaper alternatives like the Nexus 7, Kindle Fire and the iPad when it comes to utility. Both these categories of devices trump the C7 in terms of functionality and overall performance and come for roughly the same price. To make matters worse for the device, it barely competes with the Samsung Series 3 Chromebook which, at only $50 more, is slimmer, has a better processor and nearly twice the battery life. As a whole, consumers hoping to buy a Chromebook are better off paying the extra $50 and choosing Samsung’s Chromebook over the C7 for a vastly better experience.
