Acer's new Nvidia Tegra-K1-powered Chromebook 13 could be the first console-level, gaming-ready Chrome laptop.
The new 13-inch Chromebook, which was unveiled by Nvidia and Acer on Monday, features Nvidia’s new quadcore, Tegra K1 CPU, which, as we learned at CES this year, is a mobile chip more than ready to handle high quality, console gaming-level graphics. It's also a power miser and helps the Acer Chromebook 13 achieve a 13-hour performance on a single charge, at least according to Nvidia.
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Even though that claim has yet to be road tested, the Chrome OS-based Chomebooks now have a five year history of above-average battery life. This is mostly because the operating system is more or less a more powerful Chrome OS browser.
At 18mm thick, the Acer Chromebook is just a millimeter thicker than Apple's svelte MacBook Air -- and, at $279, considerably cheaper. This is Acer's second laptop power class Chromebook; in July, the company unveiled the C720, a Chromebook powered by Intel's new "Haswell" Core i3 CPU.
A more powerful, graphics-ready, lightweight (at 3.3 pounds) laptop could help Chromebooks build upon their already considerable lead in commercial sales. NPD recently reported that Apple's MacBooks were soundly thumped by Chromebooks in the educational sales market.
With the back to school season rapidly approaching, Acer and Nvidia clearly have their sights set on the classroom.
The new Chromebook is available for preorder in three models: 2GB of memory and a 16GB solid state drive for $299.99; 4GB of memory and a 32GB solid state drive for $379.99; and 2GB of memory and a 16GB solid state drive for $279.99.
The Acer Chromebook 13 is on sale now on and Best Buy.