Acer 13 CB5-311-T9B0 Chromebook (13.3-inch Full HD, NVIDIA Tegra K1, 2GB)

CUSTOMER REVIEW



Acer has been dominating the Chromebook market by releasing high-quality, affordable, and reliable Chromebooks that stifle the competition--but does the new Acer Chromebook 13 really offer improvements worth ditching you old Chromebook for this newer one? Let's look at what upgrades have been made and let you decide if it's worth taking the plunge into this new Chromebook.



I'm going to focus a lot on the new processor as it is the first Chromebook to use the NVIDIA Tegra based K1 processor.



THE NEW NVIDIA TEGRA K1 CPU:



Switching to the NVIDIA Tegra based K1 CPU has given the newest Acer Chromebook 13 a peppier power plant while retaining the same 2GB RAM, 16GB on-board storage as its predecessor. The Chromebook c720 was the best Chromebook you could buy until the introduction of the Chromebook 13 although since it's so new, only time will tell if it truly outshines the Acer c720.



While the more powerful NVIDIA CPU may seem like a major upgrade, in reality and actual use-case scenarios, the difference will be virtually unnoticeable to the user. Why? Because the Acer c720, running a lower end Intel Celeron processor packed enough power to do literally everything you needed to do on a Chromebook.



The problem with the new Tegra K1 based processor from NVIDIA is that during extensive testing, it is having problems running some apps because of compatibility issues. Why does that matter? Well, since the Acer Chromebook 13 is the only Chromebook on the market right now using the NVIDIA Tegra based K1 processor, many Chrome app developers haven't built their apps to run on these CPU's and as a result, some apps simply won't run on this new model. While this won't affect everyone, especially those of us who only use the core Chrome apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Calendar, Drive, and so forth, it will affect users who heavily use other niche apps available on the Chrome App Store.



These app developers will likely not be in a hurry to make their apps cross compatible when only one Chromebook model is utilizing the processor, at least not until other manufacturers start using the ARM based processors. And again, there's no guarantee any other manufacturer will. Intel, although known to be the sleepy giant when it comes to introducing new processors, has gotten the hint and is working on a new Intel Core M processor to be used in Chromebook devices and is due to be available in late 2014.



I'm pretty partial to the Intel x86 based CPU's as they're the type you'd typically find in typical laptops and desktop computers and have a proven track record of success in mobile devices such as tablets and Chromebooks. Only time will tell if Acer's switch to NVIDIA Tegra based processors was a good move for the company, or a premature one.



As an avid Linux user who has Ubuntu Linux installed on my Acer 720, I'm also a bit concerned on how the new processor will work with Linux and its apps. Some more detailed testing (which I will update you on) should give us an idea of how well they play together. I know this doesn't apply to most people, however, many of us do use Linux for various reasons and switching processors from x86 to NVIDIA Tegra, could be deal breakers for us.



Since I'm partial to the Intel x86 based processors, I'm personally waiting until later in 2014 when Intel releases its Core M processor before ditching my trusty Acer c720 Chromebook. While the Intel Core M processor based Chromebooks will likely cost a bit more, I personally feel the benefits will definitely be worth it. We should also see the same screen or a slightly upgraded one, perhaps offering touch-screen, or glossy finish versus the current matte finish. Since the NVIDIA Tegra processor is so new to Chromebooks, I want to wait to see how they work in the real-world as people's comments begins rolling in. Will it really be all it claims to be or will the drastic change in processor type be a deal breaker?



BUILD QUALITY:



Like most Chromebooks, with the exception of the outrageously overpriced Google Pixel (top of line model costing nearly $1,500 for a Chromebook,) the new Chromebook 13 sticks to the trend of a plastic body with decent build quality and durability, not much different than you'd find on your typical Windows based laptop.



SCREEN UPGRADE:



Going from the 11" screen to the 13.3 inch screen is a pretty noticeable upgrade especially since it addressed repeated complaints from users of the Acer c720 Chromebook, for example. With this new, larger, and more vivid screen comes a full 1080p resolution, something Acer users have been asking for, for a while now. The new screen is noticeably "clearer" and less muddy looking than the c720's screen and is more on par with your average laptop than your average Chromebook (again, with the exception of Google's overpriced Pixel.) For about $50 more than the Acer 720 Chromebook, this upgrade alone may be the clincher for users to make the switch.



BATTERY LIFE:



The battery life upgrade from the Acer 720 is HUGE. Going from 7-8 hours to 13 hours is an amazing feat. I was expecting to see at most a 2 hour battery life upgrade, maybe no upgrade at all considering the full-HD screen size, but somehow Acer has been able to do it!

In an actual use-case scenario, using not only Google Docs, Sheets, Calendar and so forth, but also streaming YouTube and Netflix, Pandora, etc., I actually only got about 8 hours of battery life out of the Chromebook 13. That's still very impressive but as is usually discovered when using a laptop from any manufacturer, the advertised battery life versus the actual battery life based on real-world usage, is vastly lower, in this case by a huge margin of 5 hours!



CHROME APP TESTING:



When testing the new NVIDIA Tegra based processor on various apps in the Google app store, I noticed that several apps simply refused to run with the new processor and as I mentioned above, it is highly unlikely that the various app developers will be in any hurry to make their apps cross-compatible, at least until more Tegra based CPU's are introduced into the Chromebook lineup. Several popular games refused to run not only for me, but also for another reviewer so this is obviously a problem both Acer and Google are aware of.



OTHER MENTIONABLE UPGRADES:



Besides the faster processor, which as I said before, will be virtually transparent to the user, the larger, more vivid, full-HD screen, and longer battery life, the Chromebook 13 gets some other small upgrades, or maybe I should say, "changes."

The Chromebook 13 moves to a fanless design due to the power-friendly Tegra based processor, but also manages to only gain a little weight, coming in at 3.3 lbs. (and a mere 0.71 inches thick.)



CONCLUSION:



I really feel that the Acer Chromebook 13 is an amazing machine that has addressed upgrade requests from Acer users, specifically in regards to the display. Although I'm extremely impressed with the upgrades to the display and battery life, I'm still hesitant to jump on the bandwagon and make a drastic switch from x86 based Intel processors to Tegra based processors. No other Chromebook utilizes this processor and I feel there may be some hiccups with this processor until Google and its various app developers address them. I'd personally recommend waiting for the next model Acer Chromebook to hit the market and see what it offers before making the switch. As many people will tell you, you never want to be the guinnea pig for a brand new piece of technology... it's best to let the manufacturers and developers work out the bugs and buy a product with all of the issues resolved.



However, if you feel the upgrades Acer is offering in this latest Chromebook lineup is worth it, go ahead and take the jump. Acer has consistently impressed me with every new Chromebook model they release and I have confidence the new Chromebook 13 won't let us down.



I'll update my review as I continue to use the Chromebook 13 and post any mentionable issues I discover.



*** If this review has helped you in any way with your research into a new Chromebook, please let me know [...]. I really love helping others when they're looking at upgrading their computers and other technology and I do my best to provide you with as much information as possible along with my own professional experience in working with these products. Thank you for taking the time to read my review and good luck on your search for your new Chromebook! ***



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