Chromebooks are generally the best choice for those who are searching a cheap alternative to traditional laptops. But, it doesn’t mean that you may have to compromise on quality and performance. Therefore, business users who want a touch-screen notebook prefer Acer’s C720P. The device is easier to carry and to use than traditional computers. It has no clutter, no waiting and no nagging and you can start it in 7 seconds and it automatically stays up-to-date without interrupting you. As virus protection is a built-in feature of Acer C720P, it will guard against viruses, malware and other problems.
Design
The Acer C720P notebook is a budget device that has made some improvements from its previous version C7 10. However, you cannot see many changes in its design. Its smooth lid features the familiar dark-gray, brushed aluminium finish that can be seen on previous Acer Chromebooks. The underside that is made of hard plastic houses the notebook’s cooling vents, while the inside is reinforced with magnesium alloy. The display is framed with a glossy, plastic and black bezel. The Acer C720P sports a glossy, plastic white or black chassis with rounded edges. The device possesses 2.6 lbs weight and 11.34 x 8.03 x 0.75 inches dimensions.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The Acer C720P has an island-style keyboard, which is decent enough for quick emails or entering URLs. Its keyboard with large and well-spaced keys exhibited little flex compared to its predecessor. However, the keys lack more travel and the layout has a shallow feel. The device also possesses a 3.7 x 2.1 inch touchpad, which is responsive and sensitive enough to give a smooth overall experience. Even though like all Chromebooks, the Acer C720P does not support pinch-to-zoom on the touchpad, both two-finger and single-finger scrolling show no noticeable lag.
Display
The Acer Chromebook C720P has a 11.6 inch display of 1366 x 768 pixel density that is sharp enough for viewing photos, streaming video and reading text. Acer claims that the C720P has an anti-glare, matte display that allows wide viewing angles. However, the tests show dim picture when turning the device at nearly a full right angle to our face.
Ports
You can see most of the ports that a laptop user generally needs in the Acer Chromebook C720P. The left side is occupied with a 3.5mm headphone jack, HDMI slot, a USB 3.0 port, a USB 2.0 port and the device’s power jack. You can see an SD card slot, a lock slot and a USB 2.0 on the right side.
Webcam
The Acer C720P has a 720p webcam that can shoot colourful images with some slight noise. Even though the colours of snaps look accurate and bright in fluorescent lighting, the face of your self-portraits captured by Acer Chromebook C720P may be fuzzy.
Audio
For a system of its size, the Acer CHromebook C720P offers clear and boisterous audio. Even though the vocals sounded crisp and vibrant, the higher tones may slightly be distorted. You will be impressed with how audible the bass is. The C720P can also blast sound as loud as 85 decibels.
Performance
The Acer Chromebook C720P has 1.4 GHz Intel Celeron 2955U processor with Haswell architecture that is plenty capable during everyday use. It allows you to pen apps quickly and play casual games while running several tabs in Google Chrome, without any noticeable lag.
Configurations
The Acer Chromebook C720P touchscreen laptop comes equipped with an Intel Celeron 2955U processor with a 32 GB internal storage and 4 MB of RAM. But Acer provides other options as well. You get the C720 with an Intel Celeron 1007U and 4MB of RAM for the same price. You can also select the same Chromebook with an Intel Celeron 1007U processor and 2MB of RAM or a version with an Intel Celeron 2955U CPU and the same amount of RAM for $299.99.
It allows the users more flexibility to store large files and documents, if internet connection is not accessible. When you have access to Wi-Fi, you can sync your files to Google Drive, which is the tech giant’s cloud storage platform. The users also get 100GB of free Google Drive storage space for the first two years after the purchase.
Connectivity
The connectivity options of Acer Chromebook C720P includes USB 3.0, USB 2.0, Bluetooth 4.0 Compatible, built-in dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Full size HDMI
Apps
Like other Chromebooks, the Acer C720p runs on Chrome Operating system, which is a browser-based operating system from Google. You can find some good essential in the Chrome store like Dropbox, “Plants vs. Zombies”, eBay and Weather.com. Unfortunately, some apps listed in the Chrome Web Store won’t actually run on your Chromebook. For example, the “Need for Speed World” icon takes the users to the game’s website where they are prompted to download a file that is only available for windows. A slew of core online games such as “Tomb Raider Underworld”, “Hitman: Sniper Challenge,” and “Mini Ninjas” won’t function in the Chrome browser after they are installed. The Acer Chromebook C720P comes preloaded with some games such as “Angry Birds” and “Bejeweled” as well as Pandora, photo-editing app Pixlr Touch Up, THe New York Times and Evernote Web.
Battery Life
For a Chromebook, the Acer C720P can last fairly long on a charge. The device claims that it can run up to 7.7 hours with 40 percent brightness on a charge, while the Chromebook 11 offers only 3 hours and 16 minutes. Therefore the device is useful for the business users who depend on their laptop while traveling or conducting business on the go. However, the battery life is determined by usage and many other conditions.
Advantages
The main attraction of Acer Chromebook C720P is nothing but its price of $ 249. It is easy to afford. In addition, you can back up your data up to Google Drive. The Chrome OS that is very fast in average use is another good feature. As web pages load quickly, people prefer it to fancier laptops that run on bloated operating systems. The simplicity and minimal risk of viruses make it a user-friendly device, while its long battery life makes it a travel and productivity friendly machine. Apart from affordable price and good battery life, Acer Chromebook C720P has matte display that reduces glare.
Disadvantages
The Acer C720P provides plenty of annoyances. First of all its keyboard is mushy and cheap feeling. The trackpad is also disappointed. The display that has limited viewing angles and the webcam with only VGA resolution do not satisfy the users. The internal speakers are also not up to the mark. On top of the hardware issues, there are drawbacks of Chrome operating system such as reliance on cloud storage, limited app availability, limited printer compatibility and many more. Chrome operating system, which is different than traditional operating systems, also requires an adjustment period. With its all-browse design and focus on Google services, Chrome operating system takes a while to learn how to use it best.
Acer Chromebook C720P is the first touchscreen Chromebook that is available at the lower price of $299. Even though Acer recently announced C720-2848, which is available at $199, it lacks touchscreen capability. So it is wiser to spend $100 more and purchase C720P with touchscreen.