Acer debuts $250 Haswell Chromebook

Acer has debuted a $250 Chromebook powered by an Intel Celeron 2955U Haswell processor. The new Chromebook – which boasts an extended battery life of 8.5 hours – is loaded with 4GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel display.

Additional specs include USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports, HDMI output and 802.11b/g/n WiFi.

The above-mentioned Acer C720 Chromebook is currently available for pre-order today, with additional models slated to hit the streets in the very near future. As Liliputing’s Brad Linder notes, one of Acer’s upcoming ‘Books could be a rumored touchscreen laptop running the web-centric operating system.

“[Still], at $250, the Acer C720 already looks like a pretty compelling option. It has twice the RAM, a few hours longer battery life, and a faster processor than the HP Chromebook 11, for instance — and that model sells for $280,” Linder explained.

“One thing HP’s laptop has going for it is size: it measures just 0.7 inches thick and weighs 2.3 pounds, while the Acer C720 is 0.75 inches thick and 2.76 pounds. It’s not exactly heavy, but it’s not as light as some competitors.”

As noted above, Hewlett Packard (HP) recently rolled a new ARM-powered Chromebook. The HP Chromebook 11 – equipped with an 11.6 inch IPS display (1366 x 768) – is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 5250 dual-core SoC (Cortex-A15) and reportedly offers up to 6 hours of battery life.

Priced at $279, the fanless HP Chromebook 11 offers 100GB of free Google Drive storage space for two years, along with a 60-day free trial of Google Play Music All Access.

Additional key specs include a full-sized keyboard and touchpad, two USB 2.0 ports, a webcam, 2GB of RAM , 16GB of storage, a microUSB port for charging and a SlimPort for video output. The HP Chromebook 11 also boasts a VGA webcam, headset jack, 02.11a/b/g/n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 (+optional Verizon 4G LTE connectivity).

HP’s latest Chromebook can purchased on Google Play for $279.