Once upon a time, before the Pixelbook was even a rumor and Kaby Lake processors were a thing of the future, one Chromebook topped my list as my favorite device to have with me at all times. No, it didn’t have a Core processor and it wasn’t a convertible. This Chromebook didn’t come with a stylus or even have a touchscreen, for that matter. What it did have was a unique look and a “premium-esque” build that set it apart from Chromebooks of that day.
The Gold Acer Chromebook 14 was and still is dear to my heart. I still have my trusty old “Edgar” and frankly, I still enjoy writing on it from time to time. The all-aluminum chassis made it one of the first Chromebooks on the market that felt like it should cost way more than $300. The quad-core Intel Atom chipset was more than capable of handling everyday tasks at a time before Linux apps on Chrome OS were a thing and Android on Chromebooks was still in its infancy.
Chrome Unboxed’s $250 Visa GiveawayThe Acer 14 started its life as an understated device that came in the typical Silver finish that so many Acer computers carry. It wasn’t until the Gold refresh landed that we realized what an impact this device would have on the Chromebook market, in general. Nearly four years after its release, Acer has refreshed the Chromebook 14, if only in color, and the device remains a popular seller on Amazon and at retailers like Costco that frequently bundle it with a mouse and sleeve. As much as I love the Acer Chromebook 14, it’s getting difficult to recommend it at $250-$300 simply because of its age. Even with the additional year that Google added to its life recently, the Acer will only get updates through June of 2022. When you can grab a device like the HP Chromebook x360 14 for $349, the Acer becomes a hard sell.
Now, if you cut the retail price of the Acer Chromebook 14 in half, this becomes an entirely new conversation. Robby recently pointed out that the Samsung Chromebook 3 is actually a good deal right now thanks to the $99 deal that Walmart is offering but for only $50 more, the Acer brings a lot more to the table than the very budget-y Samsung. You get the aluminum chassis, a14″ Full HD 1080p display, 4GB of RAM and the N3160 Intel processor that is significantly more capable than the dual-core chip in the Samsung. Not to mention the fact that it just looks so much more like a premium device.
If you’re looking for a cost-effective Chromebook that will handle daily tasks like surfing, video, banking, email and such, the Acer Chromebook 14 will serve you very well and for the next few hours, you can pick it up on Amazon for only $149.99. If you were considering a cheap device like the Samsung, I would definitely recommend forking over the extra $50 on the Acer Chromebook 14. Now that I think about it, I’m going to dust mine off and work from it for a bit.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.