We go hands-on with the Acer Chromebook C720!
Today, we’ll be talking about Acer’s C720 Chromebook, the first such device to be officially offered here in the PH. while the C720 kind of looks like a traditional
notebook, it’s anything but, as it runs on Google’s Chromebook OS that’s specifically built with the web in mind. This particular Chromebook was sent to us by Smart, as it will be exclusively be offered by them.
Acer Chromebook C720 specs
- 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Celeron Processor
- 2GB of RAM
- 11.6-inch HD display, 1366 x 768 resolution
- 16GB of SSD storage
- HD webcam
- WiFi, Bluetooth
- Chrome OS
Initial Impressions: Not your ordinary notebook
When you first see the Acer C720, you’d probably dismiss it as a regular notebook made by Acer. We wouldn’t fault you though – it definitely looks and feels like a typical notebook, and the only thing that would clue you in that it’s a bit different is the Google Chrome logo on the lid of the device.
Before we go any further, let’s talk Chrome OS basics. The Chrome OS is an OS built by Google to work with both web and installed applications. Chrome is unique
in that it relies heavily on an internet connection to do a majority of the stuff that you do on your Windows-powered notebook or desktop. A Chromebook lives on the
cloud – most of the applications that it runs all run from the cloud, connected to Google’s services.
Even though the C720 is a new breed of notebook, it still has the trapings of old-school notebooks. There are two USB slots (with the one on the left of the chassis being the faster, USB 2.0 variety), HDMI slot, SD card slot and VGA camera.
Once you turn on the C720, you’ll discover that it’s no ordinary notebook. For one, boot times are lightning fast, thanks to the 16GB SSD drive and the zippy Chrome OS that powers it. Even though the C720 is running the bottom rung of Intel’s silicon, it doesn’t feel that way – navigating through the OS and opening apps and Chrome felt fast, and overall the notebook felt extremely responsive.
While the 16GB of storage is limiting, you have to wrap your head around the fact that Chromebooks are meant to live in the cloud, and are not designed to run native apps the way typical notebooks don. That being said, you can install apps that you get from the Chrome web store directly to the Chromebook, and Google is giving Chromebook users 100GB of storage in Google Drive to supplement that tiny 16GB SSD drive in the C720.
That’s it for this hands-on. Watch out for the full review in the coming weeks.