14 DAY TRIAL // Acer has been struggling to keep its business afloat for a really long time, but if there’s something that keeps it going, it’s its Chromebook portfolio.
The company put out some pretty interesting products on the market so far from this category, including the only Chromebook with a touchscreen display and Chrome OS laptop running on the NVIDIA Tegra K1 platform.
Well, Acer is apparently looking to innovate some more in 2015. According to sources familiar with the matter that talked to OMG Chrome, Acer is gearing up to release a rugged Chromebook of its own.
Acer C740 Chromebook incoming in 2015
Earlier this year, Lenovo announced the ThinkPad Yoga 11e Chromebook which has been designed especially for education and ruggedized for classroom performance. Even so, there aren't many Chrome OS laptops out there equipped with such properties.
When you think of Chromebooks, you naturally conjure up a cheap, light ad portable device that’s not exactly that sturdy.
According to the report, the new Acer Chromebook will be called the C740, but ruggedness isn't the only thing that will make it stand out from the crowd.
Acer's new laptop to pave the way for Broadwell Chromebooks
Apparently, the laptop will be one of the first to be powered by an Intel Broadwell-U Celeron processor. It will be targeted at education and will boast an 11.6-inch form factor.
Acer will market the C740 to mass-consumers as well, but the two versions will bear distinct specifications that will allow users to easily tell them apart.
Since most of Intel’s Broadwell chips are expected to make a debut on the grounds at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this January, we can’t tell you which chips will go exactly into the upcoming Chromebook.
We could hypothesize a dual-core Intel Core i3-5010U clocked at 2.1GHz (with Intel HD 5500 graphics) might be the right choice for a Chrome-OS based laptop.
The source also shared with us a picture of the upcoming C740, which shows Acer has chosen to opt for the overall look and feel of the current CB3 and CB5 models, but has added a brushed iron metal design plus reinforced hinges and display to make the laptop rugged.
As for the rest of specs, the notebook will have an 11.6-inch screen size boasting the average 1366 x 768 pixel resolution. A bit disappointing for those hoping they will be getting more.
The laptop will arrive with 16GB/32GB SSD options, 2GB / 4GB of RAM, an USB 3.0, SD card reader, HDMI out, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 LE. The battery inside is expected to be able to sustain up to 8.5 hours of battery life.
The new Chromebook will probably go official in March 2015. When it hits retail, the 2GB of RAM/16GB SSD will sell for $259 / €208 while the 4GB of RAM / 16GB SSD will sell for $279 / €224.
