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Acer stands out in the otherwise stolid Chromebook market for trying to push performance closer to traditional laptop standards. The company previously released a Chromebook with the high-end (for a Chromebook anyway) Intel Core i3 processor and now Acer has launched the new Chromebook 13, the first Chromebook to use Nvidia's Tegra-based K1 processor. The Tegra, which you might recognize from the world of Android tablets, is supposed to match the performance of Intel's Celeron series, while using less power and giving off less heat.
The new Acer Chromebook 13 offers a 1080p screen, a really nice keyboard and a slim and light design. The Acer also sports what's become a pretty well-established standard of Chromebook ports, namely a USB 3.0 port and an SD card reader, located on the left side of the device and a headphone/microphone combo jack on the right. The Acer deviates from the norm by putting the second USB 3 port and HDMI port in a somewhat unusual spot -- the back, which I find annoyingly inconvenient.
The keyboard is also the standard layout for a Chromebook, though the wider body of the 13 inch models feature the slightly more spread out, roomier keyboard. The Acer keys are lightly textured and sit quite high which takes a little getting used. The touchpad is likewise nice and big and works well, including multi-touch gestures like pinch-to-zoom.
This model is available in white plastic, which often ends up looking cheap. Somehow though Acer manages to pull this off and ends up with a machine that looks more sleek and minimalist than cheap white plastic. This is also one of the more solid Chromebooks I've tested, the frame is stiff with almost no flex to it and, frankly, feels more like an ultrabook than a cheap Chromebook.
But of course this is not an ultrabook and expecting it to be one is a recipe for disappointment. If you're not totally sold on the minimally-powered, cloud-based, Google-centric world of Chromebooks, the Acer is not the machine for you.
What sets the Acer apart from other Chromebooks is the bigger 13 inch screen (1,920 x 1,080) and the Nvidia Tegra K1 processor. The Tegra K1 allows Acer to get away with not including a fan and it's supposed to perform on par with the Intel Celerons found in most other Chromebooks. That's the theory anyway.
The reality differs considerably from the theory unfortunately. Since this is a Chromebook, meant to be used primarily for web-based tasks, common tasks like opening a new tab should not have the half second or so hesitation you get with this Acer. Likewise, streaming music while editing documents in Google Docs should not cause periodic stuttering of sound. These aren't occasional occurrences either, they happen consistently across network connections (in other words Rdio isn't stuttering because the network is slow).
The performance is disappointing in part because everything else about this Chromebook is great. The fanless design means it's always silent and the Tegra K1 certainly sips power -- I routinely got over ten hours out of the battery with no screen dimming or other power conserving tricks at all. The Tegra lives up to the hype when it comes to staying cool, the Chromebook 13 barely gets warm to the touch even without a fan.
I have seen some users mention that a few games in the Chrome Store don't work with the Tegra chip because it doesn't support Google Chrome's Native Client implementation. The only game I found that had this problem is [Bastion](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/bastion/oohphhdkahjlioohbalmicpokoefkgid), but be aware that apps which haven't updated recently may have some problems with the non-Intel chip.
It's tempting to say that if Acer simply swapped out the Tegra K1 chip for the Intel i3 found in its other recent Chromebook you'd have the perfect Chromebook. But of course you'd lose some battery life and need a fan to avoid overheating it. Once again the compromises necessary in the world of Chromebooks means you end up with a really nice laptop that just doesn't live up to the hype.
Still, if your priorities are battery life and the peacefulness of fanless silence, this makes a great Chromebook. If you plan to be multitasking, gaming or pushing the performance limits look elsewhere.
Wired: Thin, solid design with minimalist lines makes this a great looking Chromebook. The high resolution screen, fanless design and long battery are all best in class.
Tired: The great looks and long battery life don't make up for poor performance. The occasionally incompatible app makes this a slightly crippled machine even by Chrome OS standards.
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