Acer Chromebook 13: The Chromebook Pro



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I love my Google Pixelbook the most, but most people are not willing to pay $ 1,349 for one. If you want a serious, more affordable Chromebook designed for business, think of Acer's $ 799 Chromebook 13 CB713.

Acer makes Chromebook laptops because it still seemed crazy and crazy. Nowadays, Acer Chromebook can run not only Chrome OS, but also Android and Linux applications. If your desktop is linked to Windows, you can run Office 365 natively and integrate your Chromebook with Active Directory (AD) with the help of Chrome Enterprise, a company-centric version of Chrome OS. In short, the Acer Chromebook is ready for your business applications.

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With its attractive and durable all-aluminum design and 13.5-inch HD + 3: 2 screen, the Chromebook 13 CB713 resembles an old-fashioned laptop. It's good for me. At 3.5 pounds, it's a little heavier than I would like, but that's not going to stress my shoulder when I rush to take a flight to the airport.

Under the hood, the CB713 is powered by an Intel Core i5-8250U quad-core processor running at 1.6 GHz and featuring Intel's Burst technology, able to accelerate to 3.4 GHz. Unlike most Chromebook laptops, this model comes with a fan and side and rear vents to keep it cool when it speeds up. Some people might be disturbed by the sound, but I found it barely noticeable.

For graphics, it uses an integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 chipset. This saves a high-brightness 13.5-inch QHD + LED backlit TFT LCD display with IPS technology. This screen has a maximum resolution of 2256×1504. With a rather wide bezel, the display has an old-fashioned appearance. The screen itself, which I'm writing with Google Docs or watching Altered Carbon on Netflix, was nice to watch.

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I would have liked more RAM than the 8 GB SDRAM LPDDR3 memory system. But honestly, I have not encountered any problem. Nevertheless, if you are a developer, you can look elsewhere.

For storage, the Chromebook 13 comes with a large 64GB eMMC SSD. If you need more, you can add storage via a microSD slot.

The chiclet style keyboard will not win any prize, but it fits perfectly. The Corning Gorilla Glass touchpad is however a pleasure to use.

To connect to the rest of the world, vital for a Chromebook, this laptop comes with an Intel Dual Band Wi-Fi chipset 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac. With its 2×2 MIMO dual antennas, the Chromebook 13 does an excellent job of picking up a signal. Plus, I insist on getting laptops with two antennas. They simply work better in places poorly covered by Wi-Fi.

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If you do a lot of videoconferencing, you will like this laptop. Its combination of a first-rate screen, an HD camera (with a resolution of 1280×720 and a 720p HD video recording) and two built-in speakers and microphones works well.

For ports, the Chromebook 13 has two USB 3.1 Type-C ports, one of which you will use to power on the system. It also has a USB 3.0 port, a MicroSD card reader and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The battery life is good, but not exceptional. While working online, I had eight hours of useful light.

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In terms of performance, the Chromebook 13 is not as fast on my Pixelbook, but it's close. I checked it with the ChromeX-specific CrXPRT test from Principled Technologies. With a score of 243, Chromebook 13 performance is more than adequate for all business applications.

Personally, I will not give up my Pixelbook. But, if I had to buy a solid fast Chromebook at a good price, I would seriously consider a Acer Acer Chromebook 13 CB713. So should you.

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