Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

UPDATE: As of May 2016 Google has announced they are bringing the Android Google Play Store to Chrome OS, allowing Chromebooks access to the full library of Android applications. This will be a phased rollout beginning with three devices in June 2016: The Asus C100P "Flip", The Google Chromebook Pixel 2015, and the Acer R11 Chromebook. Because the R11 is an Intel-powered device, it will be interesting to see if there are any compatibility issues as compared to the ARM-architecture Rockchip 3288 in the Flip. Regardless, as a device with 32GB of local storage and 4GB of RAM, plus an IPS touchscreen, the ability to use Android apps potentially adds a TON of value to the R11. Definitely something to consider when making a purchase decision. The Acer R11 Chromebook is a product with something of an identity crisis, but one that I still quite like, for reasons I'll explain in detail below. In brief, the R11 is much better for people who want a Chromebook that is often used with its keyboard for content creation of any kind, but also want an IPS touchscreen display, whereas the Flip is much better for people who often use it as a touchscreen device and use it less frequently as a content creation device. The Chromebook a lot of people expected to compare this to is the Asus C100P "Chromebook Flip", which is another touchscreen Chromebook with four different use modes. However, outside of their use of IPS touchscreen displays, these Chromebooks could not be more different. The Flip is a sleek, light device with a metal case, which feels just about small enough to be used as a pseudo-tablet, but just large enough to be a laptop when you need one. Inside, it is powered by an ARM-based Rockchip SoC. The R11, on the other hand, is an 11.6" laptop, which may not sound all that much larger than the Flip's 10.1", but in actuality it is substantially larger, with a thick bezel and a relatively chunky design. Where the Flip feels slim and sleek with its modern design and metal case, the R11 is a more typical Acer plastic slab. It isn't so much that it is an unattractive design, as it just feels familiar at this point, similar to both the Acer Chromebook 11 and 13, neither of which felt particularly fresh when they released over a year ago. The lid is aluminum but has a non-metallic textured finish, which does help give a degree of faith that it will not stain. Where the Flip punches above its cost in the looks department, the R11 looks like a budget Chromebook. The R11's reinforced hinges allow for full rotation of the display, granting access to a variety of modes, and as with the Flip, Chrome OS will disable the keyboard past 180 degrees and switch to an on-screen keyboard instead. Speaking of the display, it is terrific to see an IPS display here on an Acer device, and while the resolution of 1366x768 may not below you away, this is a quality screen with great viewing angles and bright colors. Note that it does suffer from quite a bit of glare, which is the downside to a display like this. There's no doubt that the Flip is a significantly more attractive device than the R11, but that shouldn't surprise anyone, given Acer's tendency to favor function over form in some of their best Chromebooks, like the C720. Fortunately, the R11 delivers in a number of critical areas, and continues that "ugly duckling" trend. The keyboard is full-size, and while it isn't back-lit, it still is pleasing to type on. I find it to be fairly similar to the Acer Chromebook 13 keyboard. While this isn't a best-in-class keyboard, it is significantly better to use than the smaller keyboard of the Chromebook Flip. The R11 also has surprisingly loud speakers, a rarity among Chromebooks this year, and one that I think is actually important in a device that lends itself to use as a media device. The R11 is also the first Chromebook to use Intel's N3150 "Braswell" Celeron, a quad-core processor at 1.6 GHz. I was highly concerned about how this processor would perform, coming from quite negative experiences with the N3050 dual-core processor in the Acer Cloudbook 11 and HP Stream 11 2015. Fortunately, the quad-core version used here, likely combined with the lower demands of Chrome OS, alleviated all my concerns. While I'd always prefer the 4 GB version, the 2 GB version - which is what I used for the purposes of this review - has performance that is perfectly acceptable and is sufficient for how most people will use a Chromebook. As an example, this version has no problem running YouTube in one window, and loading complex pages like CNN.com in another window, without stuttering on the video or problems rendering the webpage. The dual-core N3050 processor fails this test, which is part of the reason why I don't recommend the Acer Cloudbook 11, but do recommend this Chromebook. I also found that the R11's N3150 processor has performance that exceeds the Rockchip used in the Flip. It has similar Octane 2.0 benchmark scores, coming in around 7,500 to 8,000, but in actual use I found performance was smooth up around 6 to 8 tabs, and it felt snappy and responsive. For the full MSRP of $279.99, I'm on the fence as far as recommending this Chromebook from a value perspective. The Asus C201 is over $100 cheaper, and has better battery life, while the Acer Chromebook 11 is routinely on sale for just over $100, and doesn't have significantly worse performance. Perhaps the main competition, the Asus Flip, is often on sale for just over $200. Is it really worth spending extra for this device? While it depends on how you intend to use it, for a lot of folks, I think the answer is yes, it is worth it. Unlike the Flip, the R11 has a great keyboard, and an Intel processor, paired with 32 GB of internal storage and nice, loud speakers. That makes it ideal for watching movies and listening to music, and storing that media on the device itself. Furthermore, it also makes it a great candidate for using Linux via Crouton. I personally picked this Chromebook up on sale for $249, and I think that's around the ideal price for this laptop; it is around the same size as the C720, and for the first time, I feel like I've found an 11.6" laptop that I want to use as a replacement for that aging device. While there's some valid reasons to wait for a 4 GB version, for a lot of consumers, the 2 GB version will be just fine; unless you're planning to do a lot of content creation, or routinely run more than a half dozen open tabs, you may not even notice the difference between the two. The R11 isn't perfect by any definition. It is much less attractive in terms of design than competitors like the Asus C100P or C201, and at a price point approaching $300, I'd prefer 4 GB RAM as the standard. While the N3150 processor offers solid, competent performance, it doesn't feel nearly as fast as the blazing speed of the 3215U Celeron of the Toshiba Chromebook 2 2015. Ultimately, what we have here is a good offering from Acer that checks off a lot of the boxes that are important to me: pleasing keyboard, loud speakers, acceptable display, reasonable performance, 8 hour battery life. Whether the additional cost of this device compared to some of the others I've mentioned is worth it for you, well, that's not a question I can answer for you - but, hopefully this helped.