PC manufacturers are making their Chromebooks stand out with a roost of features like rugged designs and convertible designs, but the Acer Chromebook 11 CB3-132-C4VV scores differently. This 11-inch laptop fuses a non-convertible design with all the features you’d need in a Chromebook, and nothing extra. By all feature we mean a long-lasting battery, a svelte and light design, stable performance and an insanely low-price tag.
Design
Acer has a way of making ‘simple the new smart.’ The Acer Chromebook 11 CB3-132-C4VV doesn’t get much in looks and styling, just a clean white exterior dotted with a micro-pattern embossed into the cover for extra grip. Its easy to spot on any non-white surface, and the two aluminum hinges make it even more visible. The plastic casing may pass as cheap at first, but it makes up with solid performance.
At 11.57 x 8.03 x 0.73 inches, the Chromebook 11 is a small device that will comfortably slip into that backpack you always tote around. It the same size as its convertible-sibling, the Acer Convertible Chromebook R11, which comes with a touchscreen display.
Weighing 2.4 pounds (1.1 kg), this system is at par with any other 11-inch mini laptop we’ve reviewed before, but it might not be the smallest or slimmest around. We have the 11-inch Asus Chromebook Flip that weighs only 1.96 pounds (890g), though both can easily slip into a messenger bag or back pack.
Display and Inputs
The Acer’s 11.6-inch IPS screen has wide viewing angles and doesn’t have any noticeable glare. It’s a 1,366 x 768 resolution display that works with both indoor and outdoor settings, while keeping web pages and streaming videos visible and clear.
The IPS technology is very useful, especially on the convertible Acer R11 when changing from one viewing mode to the other. The display is quite okay for casual use, but the 1080p resolution seen on the Toshiba Chromebook 2 brings the difference due to its high-resolution and clarity.
On the Chromebook 11, the keyboard is compact and will take a while to get used to, especially if you’re coming from a full-size keyboard on a notebook. You don’t get the little niceties like backlit keys, which is quite normal at this price.
Connectivity comes via a single USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0 port, and SD card reader, and one HDMI in case you need to view content on a bigger display.
Performance
As with all chromebooks, all apps and tasks run on the Google Chrome browser, which makes everything as basic as just flipping between browser tabs. Powering the Chromebook CB3-132-C4VV is a dual-core Celeron N3060 (2.48GHz) processor, 4GB system memory and 16GB flash storage. With these, the Chromebook 11 easily handles most everyday tasks, but performance can lag if you run too many demanding sites with heavy workloads (i.e. graphics processing, HD video streams etc).
When running multiple YouTube tabs open, performance noticeably takes a dive, with delayed maximizing and minimizing videos. The Intel Celeron delivers the kind of performance we expect of an entry-level Chromebook, and portability is a bonus. If you’ll b e running heavy tasks, most of them will be executed in the cloud, giving you a smooth experience so long as you have stable internet.
Meanwhile, the Chromebook does a nice job recognizing voice searches and loads web pages and images swiftly. Above that, there isn’t much you can expect from this clamshell laptop, since it doesn’t get features like tablet conversion r military-grade ruggedness, which we’ve seen in some Acer Chromebooks.
Battery Life
Acer bills the Chromebook 11’s battery at about 10 hours, but you can easily manage an extra hour –or two, if you don’t run heavy tasks and perhaps reduce the screen brightness. This is in the same ballpark as other competitors like the Dell Chromebook 11 and Asus Chromebook that offer 8-9 hours of daily use.
With just over 10 hours of battery life, that’s enough power to last through a day of watching YouTube videos, streaming music and accessing Google Docs. Once you decide to plug it in, the Chromebook charges up very quickly, so you can be on the move without missing a moment.
The Bottom Line
The Acer Chromebook 11 CB3-132-C4VV is sturdy, affordable, Chromebook that is a perfect choice for cloud computing. It bears a stylish design, a bright IPS display, and a reasonably-low price tag, which should make it ideal for anyone in the market for an attractive yet decent Chromebook for work, college and entertainment.
Nevertheless, the minimalist look may be discouraging at the first look and it does feel rather cheap. But the convenience of accessing all your stuff with just a click and solid performance makes up for all the Chromebook 11’s drawbacks in a nice way.
