Although Chromebooks haven't exactly taken the market by storm, companies such as Acer are pushing ahead, producing new models every year. Today the company has unveiled the C720, a new 11.6-inch Chromebook powered by a low-end Haswell processor, following on from last year's C7 model.
For $249, the C720 comes with understandably modest specifications, including a 1366 x 768 display, a 1.4 GHz dual-core Intel Celeron 2955U processor with 4 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of internal storage. Overall the device weighs 1.25 kg and comes in at 19mm thick, and features dual-band Wi-Fi as well as USB 3.0 ports. While not confirmed, there's a possibility Acer will also release a model with a touchscreen, and potentially 4G LTE connectivity.
Acer's new Chromebook is another in a series of new mainstream devices that Google announced at the Intel Developer Forum, competing with HP's $279 Chromebook 11. The inclusion of Intel's Haswell processors is said to increase the battery life of these devices considerably, giving up to two times more stamina than previous generation Chromebooks.
While $249 is a low price for an internet- and cloud-centric device like this, buyers have generally been opting for tablets over Chromebooks, due to the more perferable form factor and inclusion of large app marketplaces. Google has been continually adding functionality to Chrome OS, bringing more offline features to devices, but in many peoples' eyes the operating system still remains a glorified web browser.