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The new Acer Chromebook Plus 514 is a device I didn't fully appreciate until I actually spent some real time with it
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And because of the way things lined up, I've actually been using this one for nearly a full month every single day
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And though it cuts some corners here and there, what Acer is built in this ridiculously affordable Chromebook is pretty insane
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And at just $249 most days since it debuted, it's 100% worth your consideration
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So let's get into it. But before we dive in, I wanted to let you know about our new upgraded Chrome Unbox Plus community
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We're growing by the day. And if you're a fan of ChromeOS and Chromebooks, this is the place to be to chat about all things Chromebook with a group of like-minded, equally ChromeOS obsessed people that have a great time together in a positive and uplifting community
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Joining is simple. And for just two bucks a month or $20 for the whole year, you get access to the community and add for
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experience on chrome unbox.com and ad-free podcast, the ability to get in on exclusive giveaways and
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content, and even AMAs with the ChromeOS team. You can check it all out and learn more at Chromeunbox.com
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forward slash join, and we really hope to see you over there soon. I say it all the time, but price
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informs opinion. It just does. And when a device comes out and is on sale for just $249 most days
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it affects the way that you look at it Minor issues become non and thoughtful inclusions become a big deal and good performance doesn go unnoticed And all of this is fully on display with the latest Acer Chromebook Plus 514
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and it's made a very deep impression on what I understand can be delivered on a shoestring budget
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And a quick note before we get into all of that, I have to say latest when I refer to this one
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because there was a prior Chromebook Plus 514 that was pretty different and was the final Chromebook Plus
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that we reviewed from the last batch of devices that were released last fall
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So don't let that confuse you. This one is a different device, and in a lot of ways, it's really worth your attention
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At the center of this Chromebook, you have all the stuff that makes for a solid experience
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It's a clamshell, it has a touchscreen, it's got a keyboard and a trackpad
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upward-facing speakers, and solid internals. The primary formula for a good Chromebook isn't really tough to decipher, and Acer has delivered it on this one
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The build is all plastic, but surprisingly sturdy. It doesn't feel like Dragonfly Pro quality or anything, but it isn't bending and creaking under
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its own weight either. It is what you'd expect aesthetically from an ACE or Chromebook and
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generally gets the job done without a lot of fuss. Now crack that chassis open and you'll see a
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screen that's surprising for this kind of price range. Sure, it's 16 by 9 instead of the 16 by 10 that
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we've been getting, but it does hit 300 nits, has anti-glare on the surface and provides touch input
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The colors are good there not a bunch of ghosting on the screen and when I move windows around It looks good It just a great screen for this price point The 1080P camera above the screen is fine but the colors aren great With Chromebook Plus you do get all the new camera tricks though
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and you can blur out your background, improve your lighting, access live captions, add noise cancellation
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and even tap into those new AI powered backgrounds as well. Now, the keyboard underneath all this is surprisingly good here
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even though there's no backlighting to it. It's not the best keyframe I've typed on, but it has been used to write a lot of post for me in the last month
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and I don't find myself wishing I was on another device every day. And the same is true, the ocean glass track pad
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It's large enough and smooth enough for all my daily routines, but the click mechanism is a little bit interesting
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At the very bottom of the trackpad, things feel pretty good. But moving up just a little bit from there makes the click really firm
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and almost impossible to click above that halfway point. Not a huge deal, but it just cheapens the experience a little bit
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Flanking the keyboard deck is a set of upward firing speakers that are decent, but not exceptional
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for video calls or some YouTube watching, they're just fine. But I wouldn't want to go watch hours of content with only these speakers
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And to the sides of those speakers are all the ports that get you most of what you need
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There's a USB Type A and Type C on each side, a headphone microphone jack, Kensington lock
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and a microSD card for expansion, which is odd, and you'll see why here in just a second
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Though I wish they would have thrown in an HDMI port, this is a pretty solid selection of I And now we come to the internals and things get a little bit more interesting The processor is the very capable Intel Core I3 and 305 that we seen before gets a decent eight to ten hours of battery life and is paired up with eight gigs of RAM and a whopping
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512 gigs of SSD storage. Yes, for 249 bucks you're getting a capable Chromebook with half a
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terabyte of storage. And though I have no use for this amount of space on my own Chromebook
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I'm always happy to have it. And that's surprising inclusion along with the solid keyboard and the
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really nice screen, highlight what is so great about this new Chromebook Plus 514 from Acer
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Simply put, they've just delivered the core things you need in order to build a great Chromebook
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experience and then they've done it on a wildly low budget while also throwing in a few
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unexpected upgrades along the way. Sure, the MSRP is $349, but this device has been $249
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at Costco for almost the entire duration of its life cycle. There are a few things you can buy for
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that sort of money that are this effective at helping you get stuff done. And for the money, I can
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think a few other Chromebooks I'd recommend at this point over this one. So well done, Acer
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Guys, that's it for this one. If you enjoyed this video, give us a thumbs up, head down there, hit that subscribe button, and be sure to ring the notification icon as well
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If you'd like to be alerted when we make future videos just like this one, until next time
