Acer Chromebook 15

Well my friends, it has been a long time since I blogged about anything. Now that I have some time to sit down and write again, I wanted to tell you all about my new laptop. It’s a Chromebook. As all of my previous laptop reviews, let me start off with what’s inside the notebook. Then I’ll write about why I love it.

Specs:

• Intel Celeron N2830 processor, 2.16 GHz speed
• 2 GB DDR3 system memory (RAM)
• 16 GB eMMC flash drive (instead of a traditional hard drive)
• 15.6 HD LED back-lit LCD screen
• Internal wireless card, WiFi standards B/G/N
• Bluetooth
• 6-cell lithium-ion battery
• HDMI port, 2 USB ports, headphone/speaker jack
• 1.3 MP webcam
• SD card reader
• Full size keyboard and trackpad
• Google Chrome operating system

First of all, let me explain what a Chromebook is. Quite simply, it’s a notebook with Chrome OS installed. For example, Acer built this notebook. Instead of installing Windows or Linux, they installed Chrome OS. What is Chrome OS? It’s a whole operating system built on a foundation of Linux and all of it runs inside the the Chrome browser. Just think of it like this, if you use Chrome for surfing the web imagine someone made a way for that browser to run a laptop. It’s fast, easy, secure. Most of all the apps you can download  for Chrome OS just run in a new tab in the browser. System settings are added to the settings menu in Chrome. Everything is really, really simple. Here, take a look at this YouTube video. It should explain what a Chromebook is in greater detail.

What Is A Chromebook – YouTube

Wanted to start off by telling you why I switched from Windows. You see I loved Windows 7. And I could tolerate Windows 8. I really didn’t mind the Metro interface since most of my programs were launched from the quick launch bar or the desktop. The issue I have is Windows 10. The privacy issues blow my mind. Windows 10 wants control of everything. And when you read the EULA, and read all about how much data Microsoft collects, it’s a real turn off. Of course I have nothing to hide, but on the other hand I value my privacy. And of course Windows 10 was slow. I don’t know if that was because of my hardware, but I would constantly wait for Windows 10 to do things. Took forever to boot, or update. Constantly lost the WiFi signal. So yeah, between all of these issues, I quickly lost interest in Windows 10.

So I started off looking for a replacement. I was thinking a flavor of Linux, but that never worked out the way I wanted. I could never find the right flavor to use, and when I did install a distro, it became confusing, and took hours on Google to figure simple stuff out. I also thought about switching to Apple, but the price to play is just way too high. So when the chance came up to trade my Windows 10 notebook for a Chromebook, I did it. And I’m pretty happy with my choice.

Talk about fast. This notebook goes from a cold powered off state to ready to use in SECONDS. Never seen anything like it before. Even Windows 10 needs a good 20 or more seconds to boot. I think this notebook boots in a mere 3 or 4 seconds. I’m very happy with that. Makes it much easier to start getting work done.

Now as far as storage goes, it only has a 16 GB eMMC flash drive built in to the motherboard. The drive has a much faster read and write time than a normal hard drive. I don’t see why many companies still make notebooks with the old school 5400 RPM hard drives. SSD and eMMC drives are so much faster. This notebook does not need much storage. You see Chrome OS holds all of your documents and photos in the cloud. Yes, you can hold them on the eMMC drive, or in a USB thumbdrive, but the OS is meant to be used in the cloud. So a big drive isn’t really necessary. I do occasionally worry about how long the eMMC drive will last before it fails, but I am confident I will be able to get a few years of service from the notebook.

The OS itself is a pleasure to use. The whole notebook is geared to be fast. No issues with connections or speed on the internet. Think of it like your just using Chrome, and nothing else. Pure simplicity. It has a taskbar on the bottom, much like Windows. You can pin your favorite apps or websites to the bar. However, everything launches inside the Chrome browser. I didn’t think I would like it at first, but after a few days use, I now love it. It is easy to learn and use. It has a small logo in the left hand bottom corner that acts like a “Start” button from Windows, bring up a list of all the apps installed. Just choose what one you wish to use, and off you go. The taskbar shows whats open, and multi-tasking is a breeze. Over by the clock it shows your user photo or whatever photo you choose when you set the computer up, and clicking in this area brings up the little menu to connect to WiFi, turn on/off Bluetooth, volume control, and settings for the computer. There is also a little bell icon that shows you notifications if you have it set up, for example it would show emails or when stuff is updated or installed. Nice and easy setup.

The keyboard is laid out just like a normal notebook keyboard expect the top row. There are no function keys. Instead you get keys for back in the browser, forward in the browser, reload a page, full screen mode on or off, a multiple work space key to switch between desktops, brightness up and down, and volume up and down. Also the caps lock key is replaced by a search key, it brings up a dialog box to search the web or computer for whatever you need. Good keyboard, works very well. The trackpad has a cool feature, if you want to scroll down a page, just put two fingers on it and go from the top towards the bottom. Acts just like a mouse wheel. It’s pretty nice and fluid. Sadly there is no keypad.

Speakers are located on each side of the keyboard. They are plenty loud, and have amazing sound for a notebook at this price point. I have NO trouble with them at all.

So let’s wrap this up. Here are my pros and cons on the Acer Chromebook 15.

Pros:

• 15.6″ screen
• Ease of use
• Fast boot times
• HDMI out
• Secure OS
• Google built in
• Flawless design
• Battery life
• Works with all Microsoft Office documents

Cons:

• Windows programs do not work on this OS
• 16 GB of storage, would like to see more
• Dual core CPU instead of a quad core
• 2 GB system memory, would love to see 4 GB

 

That’s about all. I will add pictures at some point, but I hope you enjoyed reading.