Acer Debuts Commercial Chromebook with Intel Broadwell For $499

By Nathan Kirsch

Acer Debuts Industrys Fastest-Performing Commercial Chromebook

First Chromebook with 15.6-inch display now available for commercial customers with 5th Generation Intel Core i5 Processor

San Jose, Calif. (March 19, 2015) Acer America today sets a new milestone in the Chromebook market with the fastest commercial model in the industry the Acer C910 Chromebook with a 5th Generation Intel Core i5 processor.(1) The Acer C910 Chromebook is part of Acers commercial Chromebook line and is designed for education and business customers who need extra screen real estate along with outstanding Chrome performance and a durable design.

This new model will use the 5th Generation Intel Core i5-5200U Processor to deliver the fastest performance in a commercial Chromebook to date. The new model expands the Acer C910 line that uses 5th Generation Intel Core i3 and next generation Intel Celeron processors(1) based on Intel 5th Generation Core micro-architecture.

The new faster performing Acer C910 Chromebook with an Intel Core i5 processor is raising the bar for Chromebook performance, said Carlos Siqueiros, mobility business manager, Acer America. The advanced technology will boost productivity and help our education and commercial customers get the most out of their Chromebook experience for collaboration on important projects and research.

According to Gartner, Acer leads the Chromebook market with approximately 40 percent market share worldwide.(2)

The new heightened performance of the Acer C910 Chromebook is the ideal complement to the other advanced capabilities of the device. Most unique is the Acer C910s 15.6-inch display the industrys first of that size which helps increase productivity by giving customers more real estate to view multiple tabs and apps. Its also ideal for shared environments such as classrooms, labs or conference rooms. The crisp and vibrant display comes with either a full HD IPS (1920×1080 resolution) display with wide viewing angles or an HD (1366×768 resolution) display that helps meet the limited budgets of schools. Both displays feature Acer ComfyView with anti-glare properties to minimize reflection and eye strain.

Durable Design Ideal for Students

The Acer C910 Chromebook was designed with extra durability features to handle extra-punishing environments such as schools. The Acer C910 has a reinforced cover that withstands up to 60kg of force, while the corners can tolerate up to 45cm drops without damage. Plus, the Chromebook was designed to endure more twisting and stress, further bolstered by a sleek and comfortable design that ensures a secure grip. The Acer C910 features the largest touchpad of any Chromebook today, so customers have greater freedom when navigating, zooming and scrolling.(3)

Acer C910 is the Complete All-Day Device

The Acer C910 delivers long all-day battery life of up to 8 hours, so people will be able to use it to stay productive and have fun.(4) Online connections are fast and secure with 2x2Wifi 802.11AC with MIMO technology.(5) It also has two full-sized upward facing speakers for greater volume and clarity. Customers can connect other peripherals to it via Bluetooth 4.0, the USB 3.0 port, USB 2.0 port and HDMI port, as well as read SD cards to access and transfer files.

The Acer C910 weighs only 2.2kg (4.85 pounds) and measures only 393w x 256d x 24.2h mm (15.4w x 10.08d x 0.95h inches).

Support for Multiple Customers; Advanced Security
The Acer C910 is ideal for people who view, edit, create and collaborate both online and offline in programs, such as Office documents and Gmail. Chromebooks are simple to use and can be easily shared by multiple users. Storage on Google Drive(6) protects files, documents, and photos safely in the cloud, and ensures that the most current version of the file or document is always available and safe, even if the Chromebook is lost or stolen.

Security is a key benefit of Chromebooks, as they are automatically updated to guard against ever-changing online threats. In addition, the Supervised Users feature helps get children online in a safe, controlled way.

Model, Availability and Pricing
The Acer C910 Chromebook C910-54M1 has a 5th Generation Intel Core i5-5200U processor, 4GB of DDR low voltage memory, 32GB SSD storage(7) and a 15.6-inch Full HD display. It will be offered in the U.S. beginning in April at a manufacturers suggested retail price of $499.99. Exact specifications, prices and availability of other models will vary by region.

About Acer

Established in 1976, Acer is a hardware + software + services company dedicated to the research, design, marketing, sale, and support of innovative products that enhance people’s lives. Acer’s product offerings include PCs, displays, projectors, servers, tablets, smartphones, and wearables. The company is also developing cloud solutions to bring together the Internet of Things. Acer employs 7,000 people and ranks No. 4 for total PCs globally.(8) Estimated revenue for 2014 is more than US$10 billion. Please visit www.acer.com for more information.

  1. Valid as of March 7th, 2015 for the CoreTM i5 SKUs of Acer Chromebook 15 (consumer model name: CB5-571, commercial/EDU model name: C910). In direct comparison to competing Chromebooks, the CoreTM i5 SKUs of Acer Chromebook 15 (CB5-571 and C910) scored the best result on the following five benchmark tests which are commonly used in the Chromebook segment of the industry for measuring JavaScript engine performance: PeaceKeeper, Octane, Kraken-1.1, RobohornetPro, and SunSpider-1.0. Specification and availability vary depending on model, SKU, and region.

  2. Q3 2014, Gartner data, worldwide markets.

  3. The touchpad dimension of Acer Chromebook 13 is used in the size comparison of 13.3 vs.15.6 Chromebooks. Specifications vary depending on model.

  4. Battery life may vary depending on usage. Actual battery life varies depending on product specifications, computer settings and applications or features launched. Battery life may vary depending on model and configuration. Based on Google power_LoadTest. All batteries maximum capacity diminishes with time and use.

  5. Based on IEEE 802.11ac draft specifications. Actual speed will vary depending on network conditions and environmental factors, including volume of network traffic and density of surrounding structures like walls. An 802.11ac wireless equipped PC requires an 802.11ac router to work properly.

  6. More information on Google Drive on Chrome devices: https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/2703646?p=driveoffer&rd=1

  7. Accessible capacity varies: (MB = 1 million bytes; GB = 1 billion bytes)

  8. IDC 2014