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Acer R11 Chromebook

I've been tempted to buy light portable touch Chromebook for myself for a while now. I initially considered the Asus Flip which has a nice design, but relatively slow processor and small screen. Instead I bought the Acer R11 Chromebook as its get a faster Intel processor, 11.6" IPS screen and currently can be had for £179.99 compared to the £200+ of the Asus.

Now I have a 2013 Pixel which is a great device but it has a few shortcomings. Firstly, the battery life is only a few hours and secondly it's quite heavy and a bit big to lug around. The other issue I have is that I use Realtime Board and Explain Everything quite a lot and while they work fine on the Pixel - the positioning of the screen is not ideal for writing on. The Flip feature of the R11 allows you to work at what ever screen angle you want.

The good points of the R11:

  • Seems pretty robust - despite being a plastic case.
  • Keyboard is OK as is the trackpad.
  • IPS screen is far better than most Chromebooks.
  • Touch screen is responsive and works well with touch apps. Handwriting in Google Docs works well.
  • Currently it tells me I have over 7 hours of battery life.
  • Good 720p webcam.
  • Price - bargain for what you get. 

Less good

  • Its not as fast as the Pixel - but does not feel that much slower to use. Intel seem to have done a good job getting performance out of their latest low energy devices. This model has a 1.6Ghz N3050. Octane score is a little over 8000.
  • In tablet mode it's a little heavy for a one handed hold.

Some picts



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