Moonstone White Chromebook from Acer Runs Intel Celeron

By Kevin Parrish
published

The new Chromebook is Moonstone White.

Acer revealed on Friday that it has updated its popular line of touch-based Chromebooks with a new model sporting a new color: Moonstone White. The entire chassis is white, from the spaces between the keyboard keys to the frame around the Chromebook's 11.6-inch display to the multi-gesture touchpad. The hardware, it seems, remains the same as all the other C720 models.

The specs show that this new Chromebook sports an 11.6-inch LED-lit display with ten-point touch input and a 1366 x 768 resolution. This screen is powered by an Intel Celeron 2955U "Haswell" processor clocked at 1.4 GHz, 2 GB of DDR3L-1333 SDRAM, Intel HD Graphics, and a 3-cell Li-Polymer battery promising 7.5 hours.

Acer's Chromebook also provides a 32 GB SSD, dual-band Wireless N and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, and an integrated HD webcam. There's also one USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0 port, two built-in speakers, HDMI output, and a full size Acer FineTip keyboard. The Chromebook measures just 0.78 inches thin and weighs 2.98 pounds.

"Acer Chromebooks utilize Chrome OS to give customers access to everything they need to be productive, stay in touch and be informed. Chrome OS is updated automatically, so it always has the latest features and multiple layers of security," explains Acer's press release.

Acer believes its Chromebook line is ideal for situations where the device will be used by multiple users, such as in educational settings and at home. Like Microsoft's Windows, Chrome OS allows users to have separate accounts so that their emails aren't read and their Tumblr trolling isn't seen by other users.

The Acer C720P-2600 in Moonstone White will be available from early January in the United States at $299.99 USD. In EMEA, the Chromebook will be available in Switzerland, Germany, UK, France, Russia, Netherlands, Sweden and Finland with a starting price of €299.

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Kevin Parrish
12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • JD88
    Very nice model. Much better looking than the silver version. Performance and battery life should also be impressive.
    Reply
  • popatim
    While you are entitled to your opinion, what do you base it off?

    My co-worker has been using one for over a year with only some file compatibility problems. While I'm not a fan of the OS (yet) the laptop itself seems to be reliable. He uses it everyday at work.
    Reply
  • WebsWalker
    Stupid question maybe, but why does companies like Acer still use Pentium over last gen Atom for the "low power" laptop?
    Are the Atoms that much more expensive? I guess they would provide a really much more powerful computer no?
    However I don't like the Chrome OS, I spend too much time on the road without stable internet to really enjoy an OS like this one ^^ But it's a matter of user habits and tastes I guess...
    Reply
  • JD88
    12350873 said:
    Stupid question maybe, but why does companies like Acer still use Pentium over last gen Atom for the "low power" laptop?
    Are the Atoms that much more expensive? I guess they would provide a really much more powerful computer no?
    However I don't like the Chrome OS, I spend too much time on the road without stable internet to really enjoy an OS like this one ^^ But it's a matter of user habits and tastes I guess...

    The Haswell Celeron used in the Chromebooks is much more powerful than any Atom chip while still providing excellent battery life.

    Also, I think you would be surprised at the offline capabilities of Chrome OS. Google's full Office suite is available along with apps for photo editing, video editing, and web development. Also, there are quite a few offline games available now.
    Reply
  • WebsWalker
    Thank you for your answer about the Celeron!
    However I will maybe start a war here, but Google Office is a crap to me. I am working with MS office only. When you really need to work with excel (not just the basic budget computation) there is no real other choice than MS. Aple or Google despite providing interesting tools to compete with PPT and Word are just no match with Excel.
    And most of my offline work is related to data management and I use Excel a lot, thus offline chrome is no use for me^^

    But I can understand someone could find it adapted to his/her needs, but it doesn't fit to mine ^^

    Thank you for the answer anyway!

    PS: I almost don't play, but when I do it it's only on "heavy" games. I don't enjoy the time-killer games...
    Reply
  • amk-aka-Phantom
    Acer revealed on Friday that it has updated its popular line of touch-based Chromebooks

    Stopped reading at "popular". Whom are you trying to fool, Tom's?
    Reply
  • g-unit1111
    12358141 said:
    Acer revealed on Friday that it has updated its popular line of touch-based Chromebooks

    Stopped reading at "popular". Whom are you trying to fool, Tom's?

    Good question! I don't think I've ever met anyone that owns a Chromebook! :lol:
    Reply
  • ZolaIII
    Re think again about the Atoms cpu performance (in multitrading) & especially considering performance per W!


    http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Pentium-N3510-vs-Intel-Celeron-2955U
    Reply
  • JD88
    12362685 said:
    Re think again about the Atoms cpu performance (in multitrading) & especially considering performance per W!


    http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Pentium-N3510-vs-Intel-Celeron-2955U

    You're forgetting to take the integrated GPU into account which is quite a bit stronger on the Haswell unit. Also, Chrome OS tends to favor single threaded performance.

    For those saying no one wants a Chromebook or that they don't sell well, I would encourage a little light reading:

    http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/technology/bits-bytes-google-chromebook-s-market-share-gain-worries-microsoft/article_6215c742-616a-59af-b62c-4421c7bd5c8f.html

    http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/28/googles-chromebooks-have-hit-their-stride/

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2013/12/29/heres-why-microsoft-is-worried-about-google-chromebooks/
    Reply
  • ZolaIII
    @JD88
    Well that what you are encouraging is nice bat you can do some to!
    I see this just as a hardware! For some reason Intel is packing ivy GPU in N series (probably not to kill U & Y series) besides open source gpu driver's for intel are in much better shape for ivy then Haswel. Any Linux don't have problems with multitrading, bat most light apps are ment for single.
    I couldn't find better comparation because Atoms have ¼ of standard ivy gpu bat top one Atom Z3770 on top turbo frequency (2.39 GHz) is 25% slower then this Haswell based celeron single traded naturally. Unfortunately turbo is disabled on this N Pentium...

    Booth processors are capable to spin full Linux or even windows bat you won't fit windows in those 32 GB of NAND.

    Some obscure performance comparations of CPUs:

    http://www.computingcompendium.com/p/arm-vs-intel-benchmarks.html?m=1
    Reply