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Acer's popular C7 Chromebook gets an update

A touch screen and new color, for only a little more than the bargain-basement models.

Dan Ackerman Editorial Director / Computers and Gaming
Dan Ackerman leads CNET's coverage of computers and gaming hardware. A New York native and former radio DJ, he's also a regular TV talking head and the author of "The Tetris Effect" (Hachette/PublicAffairs), a non-fiction gaming and business history book that has earned rave reviews from the New York Times, Fortune, LA Review of Books, and many other publications. "Upends the standard Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg technology-creation myth... the story shines." -- The New York Times
Expertise I've been testing and reviewing computer and gaming hardware for over 20 years, covering every console launch since the Dreamcast and every MacBook...ever. Credentials
  • Author of the award-winning, NY Times-reviewed nonfiction book The Tetris Effect; Longtime consumer technology expert for CBS Mornings
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Dan Ackerman

Chromebooks are big business, if the 2013 holiday hype is to be believed. These systems, most with small screens and low prices, all run Google's Chrome OS, which is essentially an expanded version of the same Chrome Web browser you may already be using on your PC or Mac.

Acer owns a big chunk of this growing market, much as is it did during the similar netbook craze of several years ago. At CES 2014, the company is adding a new configuration to its Chromebook line, the 11.6-inch C720P-2600 model.

While Acer has had 11-inch Chromebooks before, this specific configuration is new to the market. It includes a white chassis, in a color Acer calls Moonstone White, an Intel Celeron 2955U processor, and a 1,366x768 touch screen. Battery life is estimated at 7.5 hours, and the system weighs just under 3 pounds.

With 32GB of SSD storage and 2GB of RAM, the internal specs are about what you'd expect from a Chromebook, but considering these are devices intended for online and cloud use, not local storage or running local apps, its reasonable, and even large enough to store a few downloaded movie files.

The Acer C720P-2600 Chromebook will be available for $299 starting in early January. That's a little more than some Chromebooks we've seen, but the addition of a touch screen, and 10 bundled Gogo Inflight Internet passes, add some extra value.

Acer