BDiddy430
BDiddy430's Stats
- Review Count2
- Helpfulness Votes105
- First ReviewNovember 23, 2013
- Last ReviewMarch 17, 2014
- Featured Reviews0
- Average Rating4.5
Reviews Comments
- Review Comment Count0
- Helpfulness Votes0
- First Review CommentNone
- Last Review CommentNone
- Featured Review Comments0
Questions
- Question Count0
- Helpfulness Votes0
- First QuestionNone
- Last QuestionNone
- Featured Questions0
- Answer Count10
- Helpfulness Votes10
- First AnswerMarch 17, 2014
- Last AnswerMarch 17, 2014
- Featured Answers0
- Best Answers1
BDiddy430's Reviews
Acer - C720 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 2GB Memory - 16GB Solid State Drive - Granite Gray
Acer C720-2802 Chromebook: Take your computer wherever you go without getting bogged down with extra weight. Your programs and websites load quickly, and whatever you save — family photos, games, or videos — are safer thanks to the solid state drive. Learn more about Chromebooks ›
Amazing value
Customer Rating
5.0
Display
4.0
Performance
5.0
What's great about it: Excellent performance for the price
What's not so great: Display not as good as some other Chromebooks
My first experience with a Chromebook was about a year and a half ago, when I tried a Samsung XE303 Chromebook. It was ok, but seemed a little slow, so I returned it. At that time, I also didn't have a really good reason to have one, so it just seemed more like a toy I didn't need.
Fast forward to now--I've recently been contributing to a tech forum, which means I'm often surfing the forums and typing a lot of responses, as well as writing short to medium articles. I wanted something very portable but still very capable that wouldn't break the bank. Since I knew the latest Acer C720 had a much better processor than the first generation (faster and more energy efficient), I thought I'd give it a try, and at $200, there wasn't much to lose.
I have found the C720 to be an excellent device to use while traveling due to its extreme portability--very light, and since the battery life is great (6-8 hours on one charge, depending on your use), I don't feel the need to lug the charger around all the time. It's also a great device to use while just relaxing in front of the TV, because it's comfortable to rest on the lap, and it doesn't heat up as much as a typical laptop will.
I won't go into the difference between the Chrome OS and other operating systems like Windows or Mac OS, but suffice it to say that if you primarily use a browser for your computing needs, then a Chromebook may be all that you need. True, you need to be connected to the web, but much of what I do on a computer these days requires a connection anyway, and public wi-fi is widely available if I need to use it away from home.
Besides browsing, I can be productive as well, since the Google app suite (Docs, Sheets, Presentations) is pretty good. You won't get super-fancy bells and whistles, but it rivals a lot of the free office suites that are available. Obviously, to fully take advantage of a Chromebook, it helps to be fully invested in the Google ecosystem, but it has a lot to offer--like Google Play Music and Google Photos.
A lot of people worry about the lack of a big local hard drive, but if you use a Chromebook for a little bit, you realize very quickly that you don't need one. Store important stuff in Google Drive in the cloud, and just temporarily download it if it's needed offline.
From a hardware perspective, Acer does a nice job despite the bargain price. The unit is all plastic, but it feels solidly built. The keyboard doesn't feel premium, but I can actually type quite easily on it. The touchpad is excellent, allowing for easy scrolling and other Chrome-specific gestures. Connectivity is good, with a USB 3.0 jack and an HDMI out. The screen isn't as good as other Chromebooks (notably the HP/Google ones) in that colors and brightness aren't as vivid, but it also isn't horrible--viewing angles are fine. The speakers are also suboptimal, but I didn't expect anything very good--besides, I prefer to listen with headphones.
Overall, a great buy. I'm finding that I'm starting to use it more often than my Windows laptop!
This product is... A touch pad that works great, A nice compact size, easy to set up, great value
About me... Budget Conscious, Business Professional, Comfortable with technology
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Best Buy number: 0569310541
+11points
11out of 11found this review helpful.
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Toshiba - Satellite 15.6" Laptop - Intel Pentium - 6GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - Satin Black
Toshiba Satellite C55-A5302 Laptop: Video chat with friends and family, watch movies in high-definition, organize your digital photos and more with this Toshiba laptop. An HDMI port lets you connect to your HDTV or a second monitor to share content on another screen.Learn more about the New Windows ›
Great budget laptop
Customer Rating
4.0
Display
4.0
Performance
4.0
What's great about it: Excellent performance for the price
What's not so great: Somewhat cheap materials
I got this as an all-purpose kitchen laptop, but it is actually powerful enough for moderate business computing. The Pentium 2020M CPU is a relatively little-known processor, since Intel pushes their Core i3/i5/i7 line much more aggressively, but it delivers very good performance (PassMark score of 2315). The overall Windows Experience Index (which is no longer measured on Windows 8.1) was 5.2--it's rare to see anything above 5 on a sub-$500 laptop (I got this one for $329). It also comes with 6 GB of RAM, which is unusual for this price point, although the 500 GB HDD is a little small by today's standards (but plenty big for me).
The screen is decently bright, with good viewing angles. The keys feel a little flimsy, but I'm able to type quickly and smoothly. It's also nice to have a full number pad, since I tend to use that frequently for work. The touchpad works well, and has a slightly granular feel to it, which I much prefer to the kind that are completely smooth.
There are 3 USB ports, one of which is USB 3.0, which helps to make this laptop a little less prone to early obsolescence. An HDMI output as well as a standard VGA output give some flexibility for external video.
Windows 8 really isn't that bad or that hard to learn. Really, don't be afraid of it!
The main downsides are to be expected for a $329 machine. Everything is made out of plastic (but it does have this oddly satisfying linear texture to it). The keyboard, as mentioned above, feels a little flimsy--just don't let your 3 year old play around with it, or else you might find some keys missing. The hard drive is a little small, if you intend to load your entire photo and video library. Battery probably lasts <4 hours, but this thing is intended to stay plugged into the kitchen. Speakers are tinny and weak.
Overall, if you're looking for a really cheap but surprisingly good all-purpose machine, this is one to consider strongly.
This product is... A touch pad that works great, easy to set up, great value
About me... Budget Conscious, Parent with kids, Number cruncher (10-key needed), Business Professional, Comfortable with technology
I would recommend this to a friend!
My Best Buy number: 569310541
+89points
94out of 99found this review helpful.
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BDiddy430's Questions
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BDiddy430's Answers
Acer - C720 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 2GB Memory - 16GB Solid State Drive - Granite Gray
Acer C720-2802 Chromebook: Take your computer wherever you go without getting bogged down with extra weight. Your programs and websites load quickly, and whatever you save — family photos, games, or videos — are safer thanks to the solid state drive. Learn more about Chromebooks ›
Is this good for gaming?
I know it's a laptop but i wanted to be sure before i buy it. Can i play games like Driver San Francisco with this? I really like the design and the weight..i just hope it's capable for gaming..
Thank you,
Thank you,
Chrome OS is completely browser-based, so you can't play games designed for the PC. Chromebooks are not aimed at serious gamers.
10 years, 1 month ago
by
Posted by:
BDiddy430
from
Sunnyvale, CA
Acer - C720 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 2GB Memory - 16GB Solid State Drive - Granite Gray
Acer C720-2802 Chromebook: Take your computer wherever you go without getting bogged down with extra weight. Your programs and websites load quickly, and whatever you save — family photos, games, or videos — are safer thanks to the solid state drive. Learn more about Chromebooks ›
Will you recieve 100 GB of Googe Drive storage?
Yes, for 2 years for free. Then it goes back to your previous 15 GB of free storage unless you pay $1.99/month afterwards.
10 years, 1 month ago
by
Posted by:
BDiddy430
from
Sunnyvale, CA
Acer - C720 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 2GB Memory - 16GB Solid State Drive - Granite Gray
Acer C720-2802 Chromebook: Take your computer wherever you go without getting bogged down with extra weight. Your programs and websites load quickly, and whatever you save — family photos, games, or videos — are safer thanks to the solid state drive. Learn more about Chromebooks ›
Is the Acer spreadsheet & word document capable?
It uses Google Docs and Sheets, which can import and convert Microsoft Office documents. You just won't have as many of the special features that the Office programs have, since Google apps are more basic--but I'd say that the vast majority of people only use about 10% of Office features anyway.
10 years, 1 month ago
by
Posted by:
BDiddy430
from
Sunnyvale, CA
Acer - C720 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 2GB Memory - 16GB Solid State Drive - Granite Gray
Acer C720-2802 Chromebook: Take your computer wherever you go without getting bogged down with extra weight. Your programs and websites load quickly, and whatever you save — family photos, games, or videos — are safer thanks to the solid state drive. Learn more about Chromebooks ›
Does it have a touch screen?
Not this one. The touchscreen Acer is the C720P, which starts at $299.
10 years, 1 month ago
by
Posted by:
BDiddy430
from
Sunnyvale, CA
Acer - C720 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 2GB Memory - 16GB Solid State Drive - Granite Gray
Acer C720-2802 Chromebook: Take your computer wherever you go without getting bogged down with extra weight. Your programs and websites load quickly, and whatever you save — family photos, games, or videos — are safer thanks to the solid state drive. Learn more about Chromebooks ›
Does this chromebook come with the built in virus protection
Does this chromebook come with the built in virus protection
Not necessary with Chrome OS, which is one of the big benefits.
10 years, 1 month ago
by
Posted by:
BDiddy430
from
Sunnyvale, CA
Acer - C720 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 2GB Memory - 16GB Solid State Drive - Granite Gray
Acer C720-2802 Chromebook: Take your computer wherever you go without getting bogged down with extra weight. Your programs and websites load quickly, and whatever you save — family photos, games, or videos — are safer thanks to the solid state drive. Learn more about Chromebooks ›
How much does cloud storage cost?
You get 100 GB of Google Drive storage free for 2 years. After that, it will either go back down to the typical free 15 GB (with the potential of losing any data over 15 GB that you may have stored), or you can pay $1.99/month to continue 100 GB (not bad for $24/year, and better than most other cloud storage solutions). Here's the Google support page: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2375123?hl=en
10 years, 1 month ago
by
Posted by:
BDiddy430
from
Sunnyvale, CA
Acer - C720 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 2GB Memory - 16GB Solid State Drive - Granite Gray
Acer C720-2802 Chromebook: Take your computer wherever you go without getting bogged down with extra weight. Your programs and websites load quickly, and whatever you save — family photos, games, or videos — are safer thanks to the solid state drive. Learn more about Chromebooks ›
Can I plug a jump drive or mouse to this laptop?
Yes you can. You can use a mouse with a USB connection (wired or wireless) or a Bluetooth mouse.
10 years, 1 month ago
by
Posted by:
BDiddy430
from
Sunnyvale, CA
Acer - C720 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 2GB Memory - 16GB Solid State Drive - Granite Gray
Acer C720-2802 Chromebook: Take your computer wherever you go without getting bogged down with extra weight. Your programs and websites load quickly, and whatever you save — family photos, games, or videos — are safer thanks to the solid state drive. Learn more about Chromebooks ›
what printer is compatible
You can't connect a printer directly to a Chromebook. Assuming you have a printer connected to a desktop or laptop at home, you can use Google Cloud Print, which can allow your Chromebook to access the printer connected to that desktop and print from there. So you could print something at home while you're working on your Chromebook at a cafe, for example.
10 years, 1 month ago
by
Posted by:
BDiddy430
from
Sunnyvale, CA
Acer - C720 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 2GB Memory - 16GB Solid State Drive - Granite Gray
Acer C720-2802 Chromebook: Take your computer wherever you go without getting bogged down with extra weight. Your programs and websites load quickly, and whatever you save — family photos, games, or videos — are safer thanks to the solid state drive. Learn more about Chromebooks ›
Howdo you connect your IPot to your chrome laptop?
iPods aren't compatible with Chromebooks. You could upload all of your iTunes music to Google Play Music using the Google Music Manager program. Then, once all of the music is uploaded there, you can play all of your music from any device that can access the Google Play Music website (including the Chromebook).
10 years, 1 month ago
by
Posted by:
BDiddy430
from
Sunnyvale, CA
Acer - C720 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 2GB Memory - 16GB Solid State Drive - Granite Gray
Acer C720-2802 Chromebook: Take your computer wherever you go without getting bogged down with extra weight. Your programs and websites load quickly, and whatever you save — family photos, games, or videos — are safer thanks to the solid state drive. Learn more about Chromebooks ›
Can't Connect To My Wi-Fi
I cannot connect to my Wi-Fi. The Chromebook can find the network and attempt to connect but fails. Occasionally it will briefly connect but then loses the connection and just continues to try unsuccessfully to connect. I brought the Chromebook in and had The Geek Squad look at it. They couldn't solve the problem so I'm left with a Chromebook that can't connect to my network although I can connect to other Wi-FI networks. I have another computer at home that can connect to my Wi-Fi
I'm probably too late, but did you try rebooting your router? Other things to try include turning off the router security temporarily, changing the router to "N only," and making sure the router isn't using a congested wi-fi channel.
10 years, 1 month ago
by
Posted by:
BDiddy430
from
Sunnyvale, CA