Acer announced a new lineup of back-to-school PCs and Chromebooks for the fall. Among them is the world’s first 15-inch Chromebook convertible.
“The Chromebook Spin 15 is the industry’s first convertible Chromebook with a 15.6-inch display, so it can be used in four modes,” an Acer representative told me. “Also, the new line of Chromebook 15 models offers large-screen Chromebook capabilities at an affordable price.”
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I was invited to the Acer announcement, which was held today in New York, but couldn’t attend because of my podcasting schedule. But the firm provided me with a rundown of the day’s announcements, which also include some gaming and business PCs.
Among them:
Chromebook Spin 13 and Chromebook 13. Designed for productivity use, these new Chromebooks feature attractive aluminum designs, and 3:2 aspect ratio displays. The Chromebook Spin 13 is a convertible with 360-degree hinges, and it comes with a Wacom stylus and can be used in four modes.
Swift 5. A consumer notebook with a new design, the Swift 5 weighs in at just 2.2 pounds but features a 15.6-inch display with small bezels.
Chromebook Spin 15 and Chromebook 15. As noted above, Acer now offers both clamshell and convertible versions of its Chromebook 15.
Acer Nitro 50 Series Desktops. Aimed at the casual PC gaming market, the Nitro 50 PCs are affordable and powered by up to 8th generation Intel Core i7 processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics.
Predator Orion 3000 Series Gaming Desktops. These midrange gaming PCs provide up to 8th generation Intel Core i7+ processors and up to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics.
Predator Helios 500 and Predator Helios 300 Special Edition Gaming Notebooks. Powered by 8th generation Intel Core i9+ processors, these new gaming rigs are VR-ready and feature advanced thermal technologies. The Predator Helios 300 Special Edition includes upgraded specifications and a cool-looking white body.
Predator Orion 5000 Series Gaming Desktops. Designed with expansion in mind, these gaming PCs offer superior performance with up to 8th generation Intel Core i7+ 8700K processors, the latest Intel Z370 chipsets, and up to 2-way NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics in SLI mode.
skane2600
<blockquote><a href="#278276"><em>In reply to JG1170:</em></a></blockquote><p>Step 1 for having business software on Chromebooks is for the OS to provide a rich native API. In other words, making ChromeOS more like Windows, MacOS, or Linux. </p><p><br></p><p>Of course the entire philosophy of Chromebooks revolved around the idea that web apps were enough. This concept has already started to crumble as Google allows Android apps to be installed. It would seem that the broader market (i.e. not education) has rejected that notion and Google is responding to it.</p>
FaustXD9
Premium Member<p>Here is my "issue" most of these models while ~$300-500 cheaper than the higher end Ultrabooks out there sacrifice options for 16GB of RAM and a 4K display. Both of those seem to be "critical" going forward if you are keeping the device for a few years. So do I go with a cheaper "disposable" laptop right now for casual gaming while on the road or get a higher end model and suck up the money to buy longevity? I really wish a i7 discreet graphics Surface Book was closer to $2K than $3K with Thunderbolt. </p><p><br></p><p>Paul/Brad, I hope you write some of your thoughts and evaluations down as you make your next laptop choice! </p>
FaustXD9
Premium Member<blockquote><a href="#278359"><em>In reply to coeus89:</em></a></blockquote><p>I looked at those but was higher than I could spend. I was able to find a AMD Radeon version of the 15" Spectre that might fit my requirements. It was supposed to be the equivalent of a mobile 1050 which should be good enough for me. Of course no one has actually gotten a final review unit, but I am going to give it a shot. The total was around $1600 for a 4K display, 16GB or RAM, and a 512 GB hard drive.</p>
Bats
<p>15 inch Chromebook? I am so getting that for my mom.</p>
skane2600
<blockquote><a href="#278354"><em>In reply to Daekar:</em></a></blockquote><p>You can get a cheap bluetooth keyboard for under $20 and pair it with your Android phone. Of course if you need a laptop form-factor that's another story although Android wasn't really designed for that.</p>
skane2600
<blockquote><a href="#278614"><em>In reply to JG1170:</em></a></blockquote><p>I find it odd that your idea of what non-tech people want is a DeX like experience that not even a significant number of nerds have experience with. That sounds to me like you're projecting your own desires on others.</p><p><br></p><p>Even among non-tech people there are different levels of need. For those with the most basic needs Android, as it exists today, running on a phone is perfectly adequate. They don't need a laptop-like experience. </p><p><br></p><p>I disagree with your notion that Google made a big mistake in designing a smartphone OS for a smartphone rather than some kind of hybrid experience that even today hasn't proven to be viable in the market. Apparently Apple made the same "mistake" leading to the unfortunate consequence that they make more money from the iPhone than any other company does on their smartphones.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>