Acer Chromebook Ur11Full evaluation
As we head toward the potential of Google android apps being obtainable on Chromium Operating-system, the concept of a small, convertible touchscreen Chromebook makes a little even more feeling. Before that statement at Search engines I/O 2016, a Chromebook that could collapse back again into a touch-only device didn't really have much attractiveness. Stainless apps weren't prepared for contact, and the OS as a whole still chosen a mouse and key pad.
The Chromebook R 11 sports a premium aluminum top panel that is made even more attractive with a unique engraving-like pattern. Acer uses special nano-imprint technology to create this sophisticated texturing that helps you to grip the notebook firmly – and which looks as good as it feels.
The Acer Chromebook L11 is one of these convertible Chromebooks that launched a bit forward of its period, being ready for the touch screen convertible potential future before Android app support emerged to the Operating-system. And also at this stage, though we know Google android apps are arriving, they won't be right here for everyone for various a few months. There's little reason to purchase a Chromebook for what itcoulddo in the future - what it can performbest todayis definitely far more essential.
Acer understands the Chromebook entire world, and has the product sales numbers from the past few years to prove it. But does the Chromebook L11 carry on the corporation's background of producing excellent Chromebooks with this convertible-style laptop computer? Our full review will inform you simply that.
About this evaluation
I (Toby Martonik) was creating this evaluation after over a 7 days using the Acer Chromebook Ur11, configured with 4GM of Ram memory and 16GT of storage, which had been provided to Android Central for review by Acer. The entirety of the review was composed with impacts of the laptop computer operating on the steady station of Chrome OS, except where mentioned.
Simple, but built nicely
Acer Chromebook R11Equipment and display
The Chromebook Ur11, simply like the non-convertible Chromebook 11 before it, builds on a standard design that Acer provides been using since the initial G720 Chromebook. It's i9000 a mashup of different plastics of differing thicknesses and textures, accented by an etched metallic lid that provides some hold and design to what will be normally a very bland laptop. However the soft plastic material on the inside clashes with the uneven plastic around the screen and sides, while open screw holes along the bottom part and there are noticeable seams all around that remind you of an old style of notebook. It pales in comparison to the smooth all-metal look and feel of the ASUS Chromebook Flip, its major rival.
![Acer chromebook 11 manual Acer chromebook 11 manual](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125664505/145050594.jpg)
With all of that being said I nevertheless don'tbrainthe look, even in the white colour I have got right here (a black choice appears to become sporadically accessible) - I just wish there had been a bit even more of a cohesive design here that didn't appearance like it was put together by a committee of individuals who were never put in the same room.
In typical Acer style, the Chromebook R11 can be still constructed to take a beating, even though the plastic material doesn'testosterone levels immediately give you excellent feelings about how sturdy it can be. The framework doesn'capital t unnecessarily flex in your hands, the keyboard offers great traveling without jump in the body and the screen hinge is tight. You shouldn't move tossing this around the room, but obtaining bumped around in your back pack or thrown on the couch isn't heading to result in any issues.
And that'beds a great factor, because the Chromebook R11 can be quite small - and while it's i9000 not really the thinnest laptop computer ever it weighs in at simply 2.76 lbs, light good enough to bring about every day time without issue.
Though the quality of the Chromebook Ur11's 11.6-inch screen is certainly a considerably discouraging 1366x768, it is absolutely great in terms of clearness, lighting and colours. Following to the display on the ASUS Chromebook Turn (which is definitely also smaller sized, it should become said), this will be quite possibly the nicest Chromebook display I've ever noticed (Pixel aside, of training course). And that's i9000 really stating something contemplating it'h notably a action straight down from the Dell Chromebook 13.
Male impotence. take note:An initial edition of this review indicated that the ASUS Chromebook Turn acquired a 1080p display. This error has become adjusted.
This is definitely furthermore a touch screen, of training course, which is definitely plenty responsive and supports multi-touch adjustment. And also though there isn't very much of an program for touch on Chrome Operating-system as it stands nowadays, the potential will provide Android apps that you may end up being far more inclined to use directly with the touchscreen. Those who possess no wish to use the touch screen will possess to either understand they're paying out extra for a feature they gained't use or look somewhere else. But thinking of the inexpensive cost of the Chromebook L11 and the excellent high quality of the -panel itself (contact apart), you shouldn't write off it simply because you aren't heading to end up being tapping and swiping on it every time.
What'beds inside
Acer Chromebook R11Specifications
You get a quite standard set of internals and slots on the Acer Chromebook L11, with a mid-range fanless Celeron processor chip backed by 2 or 4GT of RAM, and 16 or 32GB of storage space. In terms of slots, it's all regular Chromebook: a few of USB slots, HDMI out and an SD credit card slot. Nothing too fancy here.
Class | Features |
---|---|
Screen | 11.6-inch 1366x768 IPS |
Processor | Intel Celeron N3150 quad-core 1.6GHz (turbo 2.08GHz) |
Storage | 2/4GN DDR3L |
Storage | 16/32GT |
Connectivity | 802.11achemical Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 |
Slots | USB 3.0, USB 2.0, HDMI 1.4 microSD credit card, headphone/mic |
Electric battery | 3-mobile Lithium-ion, 3220 mAh 9.5 hrs estimated electric battery life |
Charger | 45W/19V charger proprietary put |
Camera | HD web cam (1280x720) |
Good | Stereo audio speakers microphone |
Dimensions | 294.6 x 203.2 a 19.2 mm |
Pounds | 2.76 pound |
One good, one bad
Acer Chromebook R11Keyboard and trackpad
The keyboard situation on the Acer Chromebook R11 is identical to Acer's previous Chromebooks, which is to say it's quite good for the price but isn't going to blow you away. The keys themselves are cheap and possess a little as well much consistency for my private preference, but they possess good journey, proper spring and almost no side-to-side movement. I had no issue at all typing on the Chromebook L11 for everything from quick tweets up to long email messages, and like this whole review. There's no backlighting right here, which shouldn't come as a shock at this cost variety.
A really solid key pad, matched with a poor trackpad.
The trackpad scenario isn't quite as positive, unfortunately. In some way, I sense like Acer offers regressed from the trackpad it offered some two decades back on the G720 Chromebook. The trackpad surface is usually the same glossy plastic as the rest of the inside of the notebook, which just doesn'testosterone levels provide me the right amount of pull - my little finger sticks much too very much - to end up being capable to effortlessly monitor around the user interface and select precise elements with one little finger. This can make precise actions like selecting text and clicking small user interface elements very frustrating. Big movements like getting the cursor across the display or scrolling with two fingertips are usually no problem at all, which shows that the concern isn't necessarily the trackpad firmware or the overall performance of the processor chip. it actually comes down to the surface of the trackpad itself.
Perhaps I'd ruined by the cup trackpads on the wants of the Dell Chromebook 13, but also inexpensive versions like the ASUS Chromebook Flip do significantly better than this.
In fact using it
Acer Chromebook Ur11Daily make use of and battery living
Beyond the appearance and experience, how will it actuallyworkin day-to-day make use of? That'beds what is really important.
Functionality
Fanless, lower-powered Chromebooks destination't really done much to win over me as of yet, with only the Rockchip-powered ASUS Chromebook Reverse offering sufficient to actually obtain me to recommend it without hesitation. The Intel Celeron N3150 in the Chromebook L11 slot machine games its performance a step below the Chromebook Change, for certain, but simply outperforms the final era of fanless Celeron models running an D2850 processor chip.
It can deal with what an average user demands to perform.
So what does that mean in terms of normal use? Making use of a design with 4GC of Ram memory - which is certainly the only construction I'd ever recommend - the Chromebook L11 is usually able for a fundamental set of jobs, but can swamp, fen, marsh, quagmire down if you give it a bit too much to perform. I frequently load up my Chromebooks with about 10 dividers in the browser and a couple even more apps - frequently Tweetdeck and Slack, at minimum - and in this circumstance the Chromebook L11 do show symptoms of slowing down. It required quite a little bit to obtain actual windowpane switching or text message insight to turn out to be noticeably sluggish; the just location where slowdowns had beenactuallynoticeable is usually in initial page fill occasions, and when reloading webpages in the history.
But in working with individual duties, or hopping between just a small number of open tabs, the Chromebook L11 required treatment of what I required it to do just good. Importantly it furthermore streamed movie well, and could manage Google Team display mirroring, as well.
Battery pack life and charging
Acer estimates nine and a half hrs of battery power daily life out of the Chromebook L11, but as is frequently the situation my weightier use used up the battery quicker than that. The 3220 mAh battery averaged out to providing me about eight hours of make use of, which as I take note above generally involves various tabs open in the web browser, plus one or two additional apps working at any given period.
I often kept the screen quite bright, at about 75% lighting - a little higher possibly, but not irrational. For an 11-inches Chromebook, getting around eight hours of battery life is pretty good but not stellar, and considering the performance shortcomings of using a fanless design I do expect a little more of a positive trade-off in battery life. The lighter, even more effective ASUS Chromebook Reverse lasted much longer for me.
You obtain a very standard Acer charger, color-matched whitened to the notebook, that's a little bit more compact than what you got with Acer Chromebooks of yesteryear and is definitely almost similar to the one that arrives with the bigger Acer Chromebook 14. It'h unappealing, and still offers the standard two-cable-and-brick style (I'm prefer something even more compact for a small laptop computer like this), but it gets the job carried out.
Convertible capsule make use of
I got a great flavor for using Chrome Operating-system in a tablet environment when I analyzed the ASUS Chromebook Change, and my findings of using it on the Chromebook R11 are very much the exact same - with a several adjustments. The Chromebook R11, just like the Reverse, can fold back again its display screen into a few different settings, whether that's i9000 a 'tent' or 'screen' mode for all-touch use while propped up, or flattened all the way back into a tablet-like form factor (which, remember, weighs 2.76-lbs). When you enter any of these modes (automatically when the display pivots to a specific point), Stainless OS changes into a full-screen expertise with every screen maximized, where you can rapidly exchange between them with the use of a task-switching key in the standing region.
The tablet-focused user interface works great good enough, and the touchscreen is extremely responsive, but the concern is certainly that Stainless apps and internet pages just aren't made to become touched. When you navigate to a webpage on a Chromebook, the internet page looks like it goes on a laptop computer, and it expects a mouse pointer - and often a keyboard - to get around properly. Sure you can swipe and scroll through webpages, touch large user interface components and go through or watch videos simply good, but as quickly as you need to touch small buttons, highlight text message or kind, you have got to flip the keyboard back close to and do it the 'normal' way. Having the selection is excellent, and I discovered myself using it for some informal content consumption, but for the many part I remaining the Chromebook R11 in its standard laptop construction.
What it actually arrives down to is this: if you need a pill, right right now, you should just buy an Google android tablet - yes, probably also one that provides a keyboard accessory. Maybe in the future we'll discover brand-new Chromebook form elements that make a bit more sense - such as those with removable key boards - as convertible products, but best now using a 2.76-lb tablet is usually a poor experience, also if the software program was completely produced for touch.
The potential: Android apps
One of the primary reasons an hobbyist may be contemplating a Chromebook Ur11 is certainly that it'h one of the first Chromebooks obtainable to end up being compatible with the Search engines Play Shop and Google android apps. At the time of composing that listing is restricted to simply the ASUS Chromebook Reverse, Google Chromebook Pixel (2015) and the Chromebook L11, and only in the Developer Station, which no one should really be making use of on a every day schedule.
I've written specifically about the expertise of making use of Android apps on the Chromebook R11, and the general feeling best now can be that this isn'capital t something to obtain too thrilled about however. Getting in the Dev Funnel alone introduces a performance lower and lots of lack of stability, and problems with Android apps getting either incompatible or not really prepared for make use of on a notebook are really clear. Even once Android apps appear in the Chromium OS Stable Channel - which should occur at some stage near the finish of 2016 - the problems with the apps themselves will generally still remain.
There are usually some circumstances in which having Google android apps on your Chromebook is certainly useful, but it isn't a game-changing experience just however, and for that cause there's no need to purchase the Chromebook L11 specifically to operate Google android apps. My evaluation is definitely that by the time the compatibility and style problems with Google android apps on Chrome OS are usually tackled, there will become far better models of Chromebooks to select from that are also much better arranged up to use them. The Chromebook R11 simply isn't that excellent when being utilized as a pseudo-tablet, and having Android apps set up doesn't shift that.
Great for the fundamentals
Acer Chromebook Ur11Bottom collection
Becoming a convertible notebook that provides a touch screen and the guarantee of Google android apps in the potential seems appealing. As like, targets may end up being unreasonably higher thinking of what the Chromebook Ur11 can in fact do. It isn't going to whack you aside in terms of design, the trackpad certainly isn't major the business, and the convertible functions are even more of a uniqueness than a truly useful function. Yup, this can be a pretty mediocre convertible and doesn't really function any much better as a 'pill' than the small number of other convertible Chromebooks out there. And actually when Google android apps occur for everyone, this may not really be the design to obtain if you want to try out them out.
Keeping that all in thoughts, if we lower the club back down to what we'dusuallyanticipate from a $275 Chromebook, this can be actually a good giving for the correct individual. The Acer Chromebook L11 can be a compact notebook with areallygreat screen, strong build, almost full-day battery lifetime and performance that's good a sufficient amount of for the average user. Sure it isn't performing anything particularly exclusive and isn't one to clamor over, but it's aactuallygreat basic Chromebook - put on't allow the extra stuff obtain in the method of your choice, positively or adversely.
Where to buy the Acer Chromebook L11
You can discover the Acer Chromebook R11 at fairly much any major electronics retailer, though stuff slim down a bit if you desire to buy a design with 4GM of Memory (believe me, you do). Best Buy at the period of creating offers it, but as models arrive and go often from other retailers, end up being sure to store around a bit for the best price on the design you require.
Chromebooks for all
Chromebooks
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Chromebooks locally sync some data, so you'll wish to clean that personal information when marketing or passing on your Chromébook. You can also reinstall Chromium OS - especially useful if you'vé messed aróund in designer mode.
Executing a manufacturing plant reset will clean all nearby data stored on your Chromebook - for example, files kept in the Downloads folder. Many information on your Chromébook syncs online, só you can get it back again by signing in with your Google accounts.
NOTE: If you've tampered greatly with your Chromébook-like if yóu've installed Home windows on it-you'll need to do a bit of additional function to reset to zero it, therefore verify out this guideline instead.
Run Powerwash to Clean Your Chromebook'beds Information
Associated:Seven Helpful Chromebook Tricks You Should Understand About
Thé Powerwash feature wipes all your private data off your Chromébook. When you strength on the Chromebook, you'll discover the first-time setup screen where you have to set everything up by linking to Wi fi and signing into a Search engines account. Make use of Powerwash when you're also accomplished with your Chromébook and you desire to sell it or provide it to somebody else.
User data kept on your Chromebook is definitely encrypted, so people received't be capable to recover deleted files from your Chromebook after that.
To run Powerwash, sign into your Chromebook and open up Stainless-'s settings display screen. Perform a search here for Powerwash or click on Show sophisticated configurations and scroll dówn to the underside of the configurations page. Click on the Powerwash key and click Réstart. Your Chromebook wiIl reboot, erase all its user information, and present you with thé first-time set up display screen.
Disable Developer Mode to Reinstall Chrome OS
Associated:<ém>How to lnstall Ubuntu Linux ón Your Chromébook with Croutoném>lf you've allowed developer setting and customized your Chromebook'h software - probably you've installed Linux alongside Chrome Operating-system - you can turn off developer mode to get rid of all your custómizations. When you disabIe builder mode, your Chromebook will wipe all consumer data and reset to zero all system data files to their default state.
Restart your Chromebook ánd you'll observe the regular “OS verification is out” message. Instead of pushing Ctrl+G to skip this caution, press the Area key to re-enable OS confirmation and disable creator mode. You'll end up with á like-new Chromébook and whatever modifications you produced to the operating system will end up being long gone. If you want to clutter around with thé low-level opérating program files again, you'll possess to re-enable developer mode.
Create Recuperation Press to Reinstall Chrome Operating-system
You may observe a “Steel OS is lacking or damaged” information if your Chromebook can'capital t shoe. You'll require to create recovery media from another Home windows, Mac OS X, Linux, or Chromium OS pc so you can reinstall Stainless- 0S.
lnstall the Chromebook Recovery Energy app from the Chrome Web Shop. Release it and make use of it to develop recovery press with a USB push or SD card. The USB commute or SD credit card must end up being 4 GB or larger.
Boot your Chromebook. When you discover the “Chrome Operating-system is lacking or damaged” information, insert the recovery press and your Chromebook will begin reinstalling Chromium 0S.
Forcé-Boot Into Recovery Setting
lf you'd Iike to reinstall Stainless- OS and you wear't find the “Silver OS can be missing or damaged” information on your display screen, you can drive your Chromebook to boot into recuperation setting.
Very first, switch off your Chromebook. Following, push Esc + Refresh on the keyboard and hold down the Energy button. (The Refresh key is situated where N3 would be on a common PC keyboard.) Your Chromebook will shoe straight to recovery setting.
Thé Esc + Refresh method is for newer Chromebooks. Older Chromebooks and Chromeboxes really have actual physical recovery buttons. You'll want to push and hold the switch and after that turn on the Chromebook while keeping the button pressed. Search engines offers a gallery of images showing the area of the key on various Chromebook models.
Pérform a Hard Reset
Associated:How to Power Cycle Your Devices To Repair Freezes and Various other Issueslf your Chromébook isn'testosterone levels booting at all, you may require to perform a difficult reset to zero. You can do this by pushing Refresh + Strength on modern Chromebooks. On á Chromebox, you'Il want to detach and reconnect the energy cable connection.
On old Chromebooks, you may need to pull the battery pack and reinsert it or use a specific reset switch. Google has a gallery of images displaying where the button can be on different Chromébooks.
Yóu can quickly get back up to speed after reinstalling Stainless OS. Your data and apps will be synced when you signal back in with the same Google account. It works simply like visiting into your Google accounts on a new Chromébook.
(At thé time of writing, the Chromebook Recovery Power we mention here wasn't formally released. We integrated it because Stainless Operating-system's programmers have pointed out it will shortly be formally launched and will change the outdated recovery equipment.)
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