Coming soon to Australia are two new Acer Chromebook 13 models to be powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra K1 processor with up to 13 hours battery life.
The new models are Acer’s first with 13.3-inch screens and a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra K1 “ARM Cortex A15 CPU” with 129-core GPU, promising a “first-rate multi-tasking experience when keeping multiple tabs open, playing a video and doing more all at once.”
Previously, Acer only used Intel processors in its Chromebooks, with Gartner putting Acer in the No.2 global spot for Chromebook marketshare and No.1 locally, as ChannelNews reported. Boasting a thin-and-light design, the Chromebook 13 has two display options with Acer’s ComfyView anti-glare panels to minimise light reflection.
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| Acer’s new 13-inch Chromebook. |
The first is a 1920×1080 Full HD screen with up to 11.5 hours of battery life, with the second expected to be a cheaper a model with 1366×768 HD display offering up to 13 hours of battery life.
The 192-core GPU is powerful enough to output 4K video from YouTube to a 4K Ultra HD TV or screen, but 4K content cannot be seen on the internal Full HD or HD screens.
Acer says the large 13.3-inch screens provide “rich colours and excellent contrast”, providing the area for a “spacious keyboard that is both comfortable and maximises productivity”.
At 1.7cm thin and weighing 1.5kg, each Chromebook 13 boots up in less than 9 seconds with nearly instant resume from sleep mode. If used, the included WiFi 802.11ac capability provides speeds up to three times faster than 802.11n, with 2×2 MIMO antenna for better connectivity.
Two USB 3.0 ports are included, there’s a multi-gesture touchpad, while HDMI allows output to a larger display or TV and a built-in HD webcam allows video chats or video recordings in 720P HD, with stereo speakers and a microphone.
When it comes to software, the Chrome Web store offers more than 30,000 free and paid apps, themes and extensions.
Unlike most tablets, Chromebooks can be set up with multiple user accounts for use at schools, families or different shifts at a business for personalised access to Gmail, documents, website bookmarks and other information.
Storage of documents on Google Drive also safeguards against data loss in case the Chromebook is lost or stolen.
Online and offline viewing, editing, sharing and collaboration tools are also available for Office documents, Gmail and a growing number of apps.
Acer also promotes security being a key benefit of the Chrome OS, which is automatically and regularly update to defend against “ever-changing online threats”, with the feature mooted as “especially useful for families and schools who want to protect children”.
Sumit Agnihotry, Acer USA product marketing VP said: “The Acer Chromebook 13 is an ideal device for families who need a new or additional computer to share for school projects, research, entertainment and fun online
“The display is large and vibrant, so everything from homework to video is incredibly crisp and detailed. Plus, up to 13 hours of battery life means families can use the device all day for work or school and not have to recharge it for nighttime activities like homework and watching movies.”
