Acer Chromebook 13: First with Nvidia Tegra K1

Acer jumped on the Chromebook wagon early, and it now has the lead in sales for the laptops powered by Google. It has combined decent hardware with Chrome OS, and offered Chromebooks at a reasonable price point.

The newest model from Acer claims two firsts, one for Chromebooks in general and another for Acer. The Acer Chromebook 13 is the first Chromebook to hit the market powered by the Nvidia Tegra K1 processor. It's also the first 13-inch Chromebook produced by Acer.

Until the release of the Chromebook 13, these laptops have either had an Intel or a non-Nvidia ARM processor running the show. While ARM-based, the Acer Chromebook 13 has the Nvidia Tegra K1 inside.

The Nvidia Tegra K1 is a powerful mobile quad-core processor with strong performance. It is particularly good for graphics with the 192-core GPU. This makes it a good fit for the Chromebook 13, along with the long battery life it makes possible.

Acer claims the Chromebook 13 will get up to 13 hours on a charge, a big advantage over other Chromebooks.

Acer will be offering the Chromebook 13 in four configurations:

• The Acer Chromebook 13 CB5-311-T9B0 has a 1,920 x 1,080 full HD display, 2GB of memory, and a fast 16GB Solid State Drive. It is priced at $299.99 and is available now for pre-sale at BestBuy.com.
  
• The Acer Chromebook 13 CB5-311-T1UU has a 1,920 x 1,080 full HD display, 4GB of memory, and a fast 32GB Solid State Drive. It is priced at $379.99 and is available now for pre-sale at Amazon.com.
  
• The Acer Chromebook 13 CB5-311-T7NN has a 1,366 x 768 display, 2GB of memory, and a fast 16GB Solid State Drive. It is priced at $279.99 and is available now for pre-sale at Amazon.com.
  
• The fourth configuration is for OEMs and the education sector. That model comes with a 1,366 x 768 display, 4GB of memory, a fast 16GB SolidState Drive, and will be priced at $329.99.

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The Tegra K1 is based on the ARM A15 core, and Nvidia has tightly integrated it with the graphics processor. It is a low power processor, as evidenced by the long battery life quoted for the Acer Chromebook 13.

The Acer Chromebook 13 weighs only 3.31 lbs and is a svelte 0.7 inch thick. This puts it in line with some of the top 13-inch laptops available today.

Offering the Chromebook 13 with two display resolutions should appeal to the biggest audience. Those wanting a budget-friendly model can opt for the lower resolution display (1,366x768) or spend a little more and get the HD version (1,920x1,080).

Having two major choices in configuration also offers two tiers of battery life. The low-res unit has a claimed 13 hours, while the HD version of the Chromebook 13 gets a respectable 11 hours.

All of the configurations above come with the Nvidia Tegra K1 processor and graphics. It's too new to tell but the Tegra should give other Chromebooks a run for the money. We'll have a review unit shortly to see for ourselves.

Additional Chromebook coverage: 

• Review: Acer C720 Chromebook with Core i3, best value yet
• Six months with the Acer C720 Chromebook: Still good for $199
• Chromebooks: Going offline to compete
• Chromebooks: Stuck between a rock and a cheap place
• 11 tips and tricks for the Chromebook
• Acer C720P Chromebook (hands on): Touch at a reasonable price
• Day one with the Acer C720 Chromebook
• Acer C720 Chromebook first impressions: Fast and cheap
• Chromebooks: Unlikely battlefield for Intel vs. ARM
• HP Chromebook 11 hands on: Distraction-free writing with vivid display
• Google announces new Chrome devices from Acer, Asus, HP, and Toshiba
• Chromebook Pixel: One of the best laptops I've used
• Acer unveils first Chromebook with Haswell for $249
• Chromebook Pixel: 5 tips and trick
• Chromebook Pixel hands on (photos)