I've read all of the reviews. I've watched all of the terrible (and some not so terrible) YouTube videos. I hemmed and hawed and waited over a year and then I finally took the leap and bough an Acer c720 Chromebook for my very own. Once it was delivered I was determined to see if I could use it as my sole computer.
Full Disclosure/Pro-Tip: I bought the Acer on ebay for $100 with free shipping.
Model
I bought the 2gb version. Don't believe the hype. The 4gb version is like a unicorn. You won't find one. If you do happen to see one you'll pay a pretty penny for it. And, it's not worth it.
I'm not boring you with the rest of the specs. If you're reading this you know it comes with the Haswell processor or the new i3. Either one is fine. If you're not attempting to launch a vehicle to space using this chromebook you won't notice any difference.
The Real World
I wasn't sure I could live with a chromebook as my daily driver. After all, you're forced to live in the cloud. That was the argument that prevented me from buying this thing in the first place. But then I realized I'm not as sophisticated as I made myself believe. I don't spend my days toiling away on photoshop, lightroom, dreamweaver, etc. Sure, I edit photos, who doesn't, but Pixlr is more than enough for me. If I find myself wanting to do some serious editing I move to one of my 2 iMacs. If I want to edit on the go I use my MacBook Pro. Guess what? I'm not a professional photographer or graphic designer and neither are you. You might think that meme you made is awesome, but it really sucks. Don't worry, you can still make your shitty edits using your chromebook using Pixlr. But, I'm begging you, please don't.
But I use Word! Grow up. Word is shit. Google Docs has everything you need to write, edit, etc. Google Drive has the rest of the stuff you need. If you're a professional, you might need word and excel for work. If that's the case you can't use the chromebook. Sucks, but, hey, you need your job. (Get the Acer c720 for your personal use)
I write books. So, this is fantastic for me. I use Docs for everything that I write. Auto save, up in the cloud, sharing and editing capabilities, collaborative editing, it has it all. All meaning everything that I need.
Shameless Plug: Laugh Your Ass Off Reading My Book: Sh*t.Falls.Up
Pro Tip #2: You don't need to download software. You won't use it. You literally can do everything in the Chrome browser.
I like the Internets. Good for you. You tweet, you post, you love social networking, you browse, you stream shit, you binge on Netflix, you chat and join hangouts with 8 of your friends, you do all of this at the same time. You're in luck. Go ahead, open 20 tabs at once. The Acer c720 can do all of that, at the same time, with no trouble a'tall. No sputters, no pauses, no buffering, no nothing. It all works perfectly and snappy. Fo' Reals.
Added Bonus
If you are entrenched in the Google ecosystem then this is the ultimate machine for you.
Hangouts: The app sits right on the "desktop" and notifies you when you have messages using chatheads.
Google Now Notifications: You are alerted to new messages on the home screen.
Gmail, Drive, Google+, YouTube, Photos, Inbox: All one click away.
Everything runs great. Everything is synced across all of your devices.
Battery Life
8.5 Hours. It's true. I bought mine used and the battery gague was all screwed up. It was telling me I was getting 4 hours. I was pissed. I panicked. I called Acer. I panicked again. I explained the situation. I asked for a new battery. I was wrong. The customer service rep told me to try to calibrate the battery and if that didn't work then, yes, they'd replace the battery. He was right. I calibrated the battery and I'm getting at least 8 hours. More importantly the gauge is showing a better estimation of remaining battery life. Phew. I can relax.
Size
Every video and post that I have read about the Acer c720 has pictures of the chromebook on a table. No one uses this on a table. You use it on your lap. This thing is super light. It doesn't heat up. It's super quiet, the fan never comes on. In short, it's a pleasure to use. In comparison, my MacBook Pro all but burned my legs as the fans roared and the battery quickly depleted.
Boot Up
7 seconds or less. That's from off to browsing the web. It is as quick as your ipad or tablet. That is quite remarkable.
Final Thoughts
I've used the Acer c720 as my daily driver for a week and I absolutely love it. I haven't picked up my ipad or any of my other laptops. It is light, powerful, easy to use, quick to get online and overall a pleasure. This just might be the best hundred bucks that I have ever spent.
Thinking of getting one? Do you already own one? Leave your comments below.
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