Acer is first off the blocks at IFA, which officially starts tomorrow, announcing a slew of new products. There’s a 21″ curved display Windows laptop, a number of ultrabooks, and Iconia and Juice series phones (which won’t be launched here), but our interest has been caught by the Acer Chromebook R11.
The Chromebook R13 is a followup to the R11 model which launched at IFA last year. The 13.3″ Full HD resolution 10-point touchscreen IPS display on the R13 can operate in traditional clamshell mode, display mode, a ‘tent’ mode or even use the 360-degree hinge to flip the screen right around to turn the Chromebook into a tablet.
The R13 with touch screen is a big deal, with Acer announcing that it joins the list of Chrome OS devices in line to be getting Android Apps via Google Play Store – down the track, unfortunately they haven’t advised when.
The Chromebook has a M8173C Core Pilot™ quad-core processor with 4GB of LPDDR3 RAM powering it with options for 16/32/64 GB Storage. The Chromebook will offer up 12 hours of battery life, more than enough for a full school or work day. The Chromebook comes with a HD Webcam, and dual built-in speakers placed on the lower portion and sides.
Full specs will be coming in time, but here’s what we have:
- MediaTek M8173C Core Pilot™ quad-core processor
- Chrome OS
- 4 GB of LPDDR3
- 16/32/64 GB Storage
- HD webcam
- 2×2 MIMO 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0
- USB 3.0 Port, HDMI Port,Microphone and Headphone Jacks
- 326Wx228Dx15.5Hmm @ 1.49KG
Acer hasn’t announced Australian availability or pricing at this time, but have announced pricing for the base model in the US/EMEA. The R13 will be starting at $399USD when it launches in the US and €399 in EMEA markets in October.
Is that meant to say 10-point touch?
I’d be disappointed if it didn’t come with a touch screen. I think all Chromebooks should come with touch screens now that they run Android apps.
Yes. Yes it is. I also said touchscreen in the article further down.