Category: Chromebook

Acer has launched a set of four new Chromebooks, two 13″ models with impressive specs, and two 15″ models with so-so specs.  The new models are the Acer Chromebook 13, Acer Chromebook Spin 13,  Acer Chromebook 15, and the Acer Chromebook Spin 15.  As the name somewhat suggests, the two Spin models are 2-in-1 designs where you can fold the screen back onto the device to go into tablet mode.

The 13″ Chromebooks sport a 2256 x 1504 IPS display with a 3:2 aspect ratio.  They are powered by the Intel Core i3 or i5 processors and comes with a minimum of 8GB of RAM.  For the Chromebook 13, you get 32GB of Storage.  For the Chromebook Spin 13, you can get either 8GB or 16GB of RAM which is coupled up with 64GB or 128GB of storage depending on the configuration.

There is a lot of evidence suggesting that we are about to see a Google Pixelbook 2, including a leak from the ever reliable Evan Blass.  But another indicator that we are about to see an update to the Pixelbook lineup is the current generation of the Chromebook continues to drop in price.

Right now at Amazon, Google is selling all three of the current generation configurations of the Google Pixelbook as well as the Pixelbook Pen for far less than their original prices.

• Pixelbook (i5/8GB RAM/ 128GB Storage):  $757 ($241 Off)
• Pixelbook (i5 8GB RAM/256GB Storage) :  $909 ($289 Off)
• Pixelbook (i7/16GB RAM/512GB Storage): $1499 ($150 Off)

If you have a Pixelbook and have been thinking about picking up the Pixelbook Pen, now’s the time for that too.  Right now it is down to $88, a savings of $10.

There is a great deal on a refurbished Acer Chromebook 15 over at Amazon, but you will need to step on it to pick one up.  Right now the online retailer has the well appointed Chromebook for $224, a savings of $55 off the regular price.  It is a great price on a solid Chromebook performer with a large screen and excellent battery life.

For those that don’t recall, the Acer Chromebook 15 comes with a 15.6″ Full HD Touch display, 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB of storage.  It is powered by the Pentium N4200 which has a 2MB of cache and clocked at up to 2.5GHz.  All of this is powered by a 3220 mAh battery that provides up to 12 hours of usage on a single charge.

Google today announced the opening of an Early Access program for their new Chromebook Grab and Go initiative for the enterprise.  Aimed at lowering IT costs and making devices available to anyone, the Grab and Go program provides Chromebooks charged and ready to go for anyone in the enterprise to check out and use for their laptop that day.  Because nothing is stored locally on the device and all in the cloud, the only thing that users need are their login credentials and all their content is there.  It is the ultimate example of the simplistic but powerful way that Chrome OS works today.

Chrome devices and Chrome Enterprise are the key ingredients that make this program so effective. With Grab and Go, centrally-located racks with fully-charged Chromebooks are available 24/7. As soon as an issue arises, employees can grab any of these devices and log in through their corporate account. Because their work is already stored in the cloud, they can jump back into projects immediately, as if they never left their old device.

The post from Google, IHS estimates that large enterprises lose up to $60 per year with IT downtime.  The Chromebook Grab and Go program aims to throttle that back by having devices always available for workers when their primary laptop is down.

Earlier this week I posted an article on an update to Google Duo which brought the ability to register your Gmail account on multiple devices to use the video chat app.  It was a big win for the app and a feature that was sorely needed.

The next obvious question was if Duo could be installed on a Chromeboook that is capable of running Android apps?  It could prove to be a great win for Chrome OS and provide users the option to use the video chat app not just on a mobile but on their laptop too.  The answer is yes, but it is extremely limited right now.

Amazon has once again put the entry level Google Pixelbook on sale to kick off July.  Right now you can pick up the Intel i5 equipped Chromebook with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for $830 at the online retailer.  That’s a savings of $169 off the regular price for the premier Chromebook on the market.

The sale at Amazon also extends to the middle and higher end models of the Pixelbook too.  For $1057 you can pick up the i5 equipped Pixelbook with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.  That is a savings of $142 off the regular price.  For the ultimate Pixelbook experience, you can pick up the Intel i7 model with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $1499.  That’s a savings of $150.