Acer’s new thin-bezel, lightweight Chromebooks come in all sizes

By Arif Bacchus September 4, 2019

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ifa 2019 acer announces new line of chromebooks chromebook spin 311 cp311 2h 2hn 03

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Ahead of the IFA tech show in Berlin, Acer is announcing four new Chromebook models. Available in 14-inch, 15.6-inch, and 11.6-inch sizes, the new devices pack everything you need for productivity and entertainment when on the go.

Leading the lineup is the new thin-bezel Acer Chromebook 315, available later in 2020 in the UK for around 379 British pounds, or $415. This Chromebook features a large 15.6-inch FHD 1,920 x 1080 resolution touch or non-touch IPS display. It sports an anti-glare coating, as well as a numeric keyboard, which is a rarity for a Chromebook. Under the hood, it is powered by the Intel Pentium Silver N5000 processor, combined with up to 8 GB of RAM. As for storage, the device sports a 128 GB eMMC drive. Battery life is rated at 12.5 hours.

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For something a little smaller, but still “big” in size, Acer is also launching the Chromebook 314. It sports a 14-inch display, at the same 1,920 x 1,080 display as the bigger Chromebook 315. Powering the device is the latest dual-core Intel Celeron N4000 or quad-core Intel Celeron N4100 processors. It comes with options for 64 GB of eMMC storage and 8GB of RAM. Pricing starts at 249 pounds, which is roughly $273.

Topping out the lineup is the Chromebook Spin 311 and Chromebook 311. Both of these devices are meant to be portable and are smaller in width and depth than a sheet of A4 paper. The Chromebook Spin is fully convertible, so that means it has an anti-microbial touchscreen, and support for a Wacom EMR stylus. It also sports a world-facing camera for capturing 1080p video. The Chromebook 311, meanwhile, is a standard clamshell laptop, and weighs in at 2.3 pounds, making it easy to carry around.

As for configurations, the Spin 311 can be configured with up to 64 GB of eMMC storage and 8 GB of dual-channel SDRAM. The Acer Chromebook 311 offers up to 32 GB of eMMC storage and 4 GB of dual-channel SDRAM. Battery life is rated at 10 hours on both models. For pricing, the Spin 311 will be available starting at 329 pounds, or $360. The Chromebook 311 is cheapest at 229 pounds, or $251, with availability confirmed for 2020.

All these new Chromebooks are fanless, so they run quietly. Two USB 3.1 Type-C and two USB-A 3.1 ports are standard on models. The USB-C ports can also be used for charging or data. All models will also feature a front-facing HD webcam and support for with Intel Gigabit Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0.

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