The Acer C720 Chromebook is an affordable,easy to use, reliable, and fast laptop computer which starts up and shutdowns in seconds. I like how the Chromebook does not slow down, and I do not need to run disk defrag, scan disk, disk cleanup, install drivers for my sound and video adapter like my old laptop, and other routine maintenance tasks like Windows based laptops because the C720 uses a 16GB SSD which does not need disk defrags, scan disks, and disk clean ups. The Chromebook also comes with built-in virus protection, and security, so it is easy to safely use the Chromebook without the need to manually install an Antivirus, install updates, and run scans with the antivirus like Windows or Mac. Google Chrome automatically updates itself, so there is no need to manually install updates. Chromebooks also come with 2 years free of online 100GB Google Drive storage for storing and backing up your files online.
The Chromebook turns on in a few second once you open the lid, or press the power on button. It also turns on from sleep in a few seconds as well.
There are offline apps like Google Drive, Gmail, Google Docs, and tons of offline Apps which you can download from the Chrome Web App store which let you use a lot of apps offline once you download, and install them on your Chromebook. There are also games like Angry Birds which you can play offline after you installed them from the Chrome Apps Store in the Offline section for Chrome Web Apps store. You can plug in a USB to Wired Ethernet Adapter if you do not have Wi-Fi internet in your home, or prefer a wired ethernet connection rather than Wi-Fi.
Using Chromebooks are also very easy. I just need to login to my gmail account after I login to my wifi, and start using Google Chrome, or a Chrome web app which is like a program inside a pop-up window or web browser. You can also install Chrome Apps on Windows, Mac, and Linux with the Google Chrome browser installed on it. There is a launcher menu on the bottom right of the desktop which has shortcuts/bookmarks to apps like Google Docs, Hangouts, and YouTube by clicking on the icons in the launcher to launch the apps. The Chrome browser is easy to use like other web browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Opera which is now very similar to Chrome. There is an incognito mode which let you open a private tab in Chrome to browse privately.
There is also a guest account built-into Google Chrome OS for letting your friends or family use the Chromebook without using in your account. You can also easily add their Gmail/Google account to your Chromebook if they use your Chromebook often.
For a $199 laptop, the Acer C720 Chromebook is pretty good since it has the latest Intel Celeron 1.4 GHz (Haswell micro-architecture) CPU Processor. It comes with 2 GB DDR3 RAM which is pretty good for a Chrome base laptop. 2GB of RAM may not sound like a lot of RAM, but it is enough RAM for the Chromebook to run smoothly since Chrome OS is a very lightweight operating system which does not use up a lot of RAM like other lightweight operating system like Windows XP, Lubuntu, and PuppyLinux which run very quickly on computers with only 1-2GB of RAM unlike Windows 7 which sometimes needs 3GB of RAM just to run smoothly when an Antivirus, Antispyware, Web browser, and other programs like an Office Suite is running in the background. The CPU, and amount of RAM on the C720 Chromebook is good enough for having many browser tabs, windows, and a web apps open at the same time in my experience because Chrome OS is a very light operating system which does not use a lot of RAM, or CPU cycles.
There are also 4GB versions of the Chromebook from Acer, HP, and other companies, but I recommend the 2GB version because it is cheaper, and should be enough RAM for doing most tasks like web browsing, office work, 3D flash games, and watching online videos in my experience.
It also has 16 GB Solid-State Drive which makes it boots up very quickly. The C720 also has 1 SD card slot, 1 USB 3.0 port, and 1 USB 2.0 port, so you can plug in a USB flash drive, or memory card with the SD card reader to expand the storage. There is also 2 years of 100GB Google Drive online storage, You can also use the USB ports to plug in USB keyboards, and mouse to improve your typing, and mousing experience.
The C720 has a 11.6-Inch Anti-Glare matte Screen is good for doing most tasks like typing, web browsing, and online video. I like that the screen is matte, and not shiny, so I can use the C720 near a Window, or bright light source like a lamp without seeing my reflection of myself and the room on the screen, and I don’t need to turn up the brightness when the room is too bright. The Intel HD 128MB Graphics chip on the Chromebook also can play 3D flash games, HTML5 games, playback HD video on YouTube very well without slowing down, or skipping. There is also an HDMI port for pluging the C720 with an HDMI cable into a HDTV or monitor with HDMI ports. The 8.5-hour battery life is also very good, and last me for most of the day, or multiple days if I only use the Chromebook 2 hours a day to check e-mail, type documents, and read websites.
