If your company or education establishment wants to save on the cost of Windows notebooks this Chromebook may help as it has the basic power and memory to run Parallels for Windows allowing you to run Windows in a ‘sandbox’ while still running Chrome on the machine your company will however still need Windows licenses for every Chromebook running it though, currently they are Windows 10.
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There is a list of Chromebooks from all the major players but so far only Acer have gone out of their way to find me units that qualify.
The basic requirements are an i5 Processor or equivalent, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage as with any such project more is better.
Chromebooks are great for basic things like word processing, working with emails and browsing the Internet.
As such they first came out with little or no memory as everything was online, to work offline you need memory and you certainly need memory for Windows.
Now onto this Chromebook, going around the outside on the left are a USB ‘C’ and a USB3 plus a 3.5mm socket for headphones, the right side has a micro SD card port, a USB ‘C’ port and a Kensington Lock port.
It is 31.5x23.5x1cm and it weighs 1452 grams.
The 75 key keyboard has 2.5cm clear to the left and right, 2cm clear behind and 9.5clear in front for your wrists, the trackpad is 10.5x7.5cm and is mounted centrally in that space, there is a fingerprint reader mounted just below the keyboard towards the right side.
The viewable screen is 31x17cm which gives the notional diagonal imperial measurement of 14inches it is stated to be full HD but like all Chromebooks you decide what resolution you want to suit your eyesight.
The battery life is stated to be up to 12 hours and I certainly got close to that. The screen is Corning Glass like a lot of mobile phones and the chassis is metal so should withstand the odd bump or three.
The processor is an Intel i5-8250U, 8GB of DDR4 memory and the storage is eMMC 128GB. The battery is 56Wh Li-ion offering. It comes with a power brick mains lead to USB ‘C’ plug for charging but it can charge from a USB to USB ‘C’ lead which is a lot less weight to carry with you on your travels.
There is a useful A5 four side folded sheet ideal for those new to Chromebooks.
For those new to Chromebooks the default is that if you shut the lid it restarts from where you were depending on how you set it up you will need to enter your passcode but other than that you just carry on exactly where you were.
Most updates take place in the background and you do not need separate Anti-Virus software as it is included in the operating system.
For those just using their Chromebook for Word Processing, Spreadsheets and the occasional Presentation it is all you need it also allows you to browse the Internet and send and receive emails.
The Acer Chromebook 714 is available from the link below for £594.49
Acer Chromebook 714 Intel Core i5 8GB | Box.co.uk
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