Acer Chromebook C740

$259, Chrome

Teaches: a laptop

CTR Review

Want an affordable, powerful laptop for your Scratch, Google Docs, Google Hangouts, gMail and YouTube? Are you running a school or library where most people have Google accounts? Keep reading, because Acer has just release an affordable, powerful option that costs less than 1/2 of a new iPad. We spent a month testing the smallest 2015 Chromebook made by Acer -- the 11.6 inch Acer Chromebook C740 ($259 by Acer of America); one of two Chromebooks designed to be rugged enough to survive in schools. Despite being easily twice the bulk of a MacBook Air, Acer's Chromebook is still small enough to slip into a backpack. It's big brother is the Acer C910 ($280), that comes with a larger 15.6-inch display. Both models come with 16 GB of internal memory, reinforced covers and reinforced hinges, and an operating system that supports multiple users, through a sign-on window. Students simply log onto their unique accounts to ensure their project, Gmail and other information is kept safe, even if the Chromebook is lost or stolen. Because all the storage is in the Cloud, the computer is continually updated. Other features include Kensington lock capacity, a full HD IPS (1920x1080 resolution) or HD (1366x768 resolution) for the 15 inch version, anti-glare screens, and all day battery life. The computers are powered either by 5th Generation Intel Core i3-5005U processors or Intel Celeron 3205U processors that are based on the Broadwell Micro-architecture. The Acer C740 provides up to 9 hours of battery life and the larger Acer C910 is 8 hours. We found the keyboard to be well designed. The Acer C910 weighs 2.2kg (4.85 pounds); the C740 weighs 1.3kg (2.87 pounds). Wi-Fi is required. Other ports or connectivity include bluetooth 4.0, USB 3.0, USB 2.0 and HDMI ports and an SD card reader. The laptops can be configured with either 16GB or 32GB solid state drives. The price starts at $259.