Chromebook Acer 720 vs Toshiba Chromebook 2?

[Ns1]

Does anyone here have experience with either chromebook? Wife is looking to replace her iPad2 with a laptop and chromebooks seem reasonable for her use cases.

It seems my choices are power (720) or screen (Chromebook2)

thoughts?

 

[kommisar]

Other main differences are:

size

c720 = 11.6" cb2 = 13.3"

linux capability

c720: can dual boot or entirely replace chromeos
cb2: can only co-boot linux in a chroot

 

[Kaido]

I have a C720P. 2GB is surprisingly capable. I hate the touchscreen: it is not very sensitive (I also have an 11.6" Lenovo Windows laptop, which has a much more responsive screen) & it is annoying if you get dust or a hair on the screen since it starts scrolling or clicking when you wipe it off (or adjust the screen & get your thumb on the screen and close the window you have open lol). They also sell a 2GB & 4GB non-touchscreen; I would go with the 4GB non-touch if I were to buy again (I tend to have about 30 tabs open). Battery life is amazing & performance is great, would definitely recommend a C720 if you want a very portable Chromebook.

The 1080p IPS Toshiba Chromebook 2 is what I'm looking at upgrading to. IPS & Full HD would be really nice. However, the 11.6" size of the Acer is really really REALLY nice. Grab & go. But sometimes I'd like a larger screen with a bit more screen real estate. I'm in no rush, so I'm thinking about waiting for the upcoming Cherrytrail Atom chips later this year, which support ChromeOS, so we should have some pretty awesome x86 options towards Christmas. Anyway, if your wife is upgrading from an iPad, she may like the Acer because it's about the same size, but the keyboard makes a WORLD of difference - I upgraded from an iPad to the Acer C720 & have been extremely happy with it.

 

[Ns1]

I upgraded from an iPad to the Acer C720 & have been extremely happy with it.

Hm thanks. That's the exact path we are taking.

 

[Kaido]

Hm thanks. That's the exact path we are taking.

I like the concept of the iPad; the problem was, for me, the keyboard - the keyboard gives you a physical way to type instead of a touchscreen-only one (I found the iPad's giant touch keyboard to be very cumbersome), and also provides a base for the screen to stand on, at an angle. Sure, you can get Bluetooth keyboards with laptop-style cases, but it's just not the same. And since so many things are online (forums, Youtube, Gmail, Evernote, Todoist, etc.), it wasn't a huge loss for me not to have the apps, since I still have them on my iPhone, plus the 11.6" size of the Chrome keeps it in the same "small size" range as the iPad.

Also, a couple notes about the Acer. For starters, they do have a more powerful i3 version available now, which isn't heavily publicized. So if you do want something a little beefier, you can get the i3 + 4GB RAM version for $320 on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-C720-3404-11-6-Inch-Chromebook-Granite/dp/B00KOUIZBC/

Also, because the C720 series is Intel-based (not sure if this runs on ARM-based Chromebooks), you can run Arc Welder, which lets you run a truckload of Android apps:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/arc-welder/emfinbmielocnlhgmfkkmkngdoccbadn

For example, my smarthome system (Wink) only has apps for iOS & Android, nothing else, but that system lets me run the Wink controller app on my Chromebook, so I can adjust the thermostat or turn on lights right from my laptop. Pretty nifty!

 

[Kaido]

One other option - Asus has a new 2-in-1 flip Chromebook for $249:

http://www.omgchrome.com/asus-chromebook-flip-specs-ips-tablet/

Coming out this summer - you can flip it into a tablet, just like the iPad:

http://d0od.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/asus-flip-tablet-mode.jpeg

That would be awfully useful with the Arc Welder plugin!

 

[Ns1]

thanks all for the replies; I deemed it unsuitable for the wife and got her an MBA instead.


Might sell my surface and get a gaming rig + chromebook though...