Acer Chromebook R 13 Convertible CB5-312T-K40U, 13.3-inch Full HD IPS Touch, MediaTek MT8173C, 4GB LPDDR3, 64GB eMMC

Very nice Chromebook for the money. I had reservations about the MediaTek processor before buying it, but it is much speedier than the Celeron N2830 in my Acer CB3-111. Based on Octane scores, and playing with my daughter's new Acer Chromebook 14, it's also a little faster than the N3160 by about 20%. One thing I was looking for when I read the few reviews that had been posted when I hit the "buy" button was how it performed with lots of tabs open. I'm happy to report that with 12-14 tabs open, including YouTube, Netflix, a couple Google Sheets, Amazon, and several others, it performs just fine. No stuttering video at all and each page scrolls quickly and smoothly. One thing I was particularly dissatisfied with on the CB3-111 was the time it took to reload the 5-6 tabs I'd leave open when it was coming up from a cold start. I ran it again today and it took over 3 minutes to load the 6 tabs (first world problem, I know...). With the Acer R13, it took 1:10 to fully load 12 tabs from a cold start, including the sites I mentioned above. I'm sure the 4GB RAM vs 2GB also has something to do with it, but the config of the R13 is definitely suited to keeping lots of tabs open and starting quickly when you turn it back on. From pushing the power button to the login prompt took less than 10 seconds also.Now about using it as a tablet. It is a bit heavy, but in display mode sitting on your lap, this concern goes away. Every tablet I've owned has been in a case with a flap that let me set it on my lap like this anyway, just not a stable as the R13 in display mode. If you're carrying it around, the weight might be a concern. If you're looking at it to be a table you hold in your hand all the time, you might want to look to a Pixel C or a Samsung tablet, just be aware those won't do all a Chromebook can. I look at it this way. For $399, I get a strong Chromebook that runs all my Chrome-based apps in full native mode and a great tablet that can use all of my Android Apps (I switched to Beta 54 which enabled the Play Store). And it's all in one package. That definitely works for me.Build quality seems good overall. It does flex a bit more than other computers I've owned, but it you treat it like a computer and not a block of wood, it seems like it will be fine. The screen is great! Very clear and bright with a warm overall tone. With Chrome you can adjust the resolution as needed for various sites/apps with CTRL+Shift +/- . Native resolution is 1920x1080, but it will let you adjust it from 2400x1350 (a bit over-driven) down to 960x540. I find 1536x864 good for a lot of sites. Battery is currently at 66% and says 6:44 left, which is a bit lower than the 12 hours advertised, but it arrived today, so of course I've been playing with it a lot since I pulled it out of the box (octane, speedtest.net, update to Chrome OS, switch to Beta, lots of YouTube, etc). I did fully charge it before using it. So far I'm quite impressed with this Chromebook. I also bought the Amazon Basics 14" sleeve for this and it fits great. The 13" would have been too small.My last Windows machine that I was keeping around to run RosettaStone Spanish (it required the DVD Drive) for my son died about 2 months ago. We switched to an online subscription to Babbel Spanish instead - no more need for Windows... Everyone in the house is now on a Chromebook and I don't really see us ever buying a Windows machine again. Hope this has been helpful.

I am a certifiable Chrome device fan. My fascination with Chrome OS began with an all plastic, low-end Samsung Chromebook in 2012. A long time Windows user and developer, I quickly became enamored with instant on, no fuss no muss computing. Gone were the seemingly endless time wasting updates and nerve wracking scans for malware. Since then, I have added an Acer 270P, Asus Flip C100, and Asus Chromebox to my list of go-to devices. I almost never use our 27 inch iMac with 5K Retina screen and cringe when powering up our Windows PCs.I am developing all new websites using online themes like Divi, so I no longer need my PC only Artisteer or Mac-Centric RapidWeaver programs to create and maintain responsive sites. My workhorse Acer 720P was starting to lose a little battery life, and I longed for a better display. After much research, I opted for the Acer R13.As many have noted, the screen is lovely, the fit and finish of the case, feel and function of keyboard and trackpad are impressive. Pages and files load quickly and WiFi connections are solid with no apparent attenuation from the metal case. So far, battery life seems to meet published quotes of 10 to 11 hours. As with most Chrome laptops, estimated remaining power is frequently recalculated. The R13 takes updates of remaining battery life to a maddening extreme. One minute it may inspire with an estimated 7 hours and the next a depressing 5 hours. It shifts enough to limit it as a useful estimate of remaining run time. My astigmatism forces me to spend an inordinate amount of time adjusting and testing different resolutions and find the 1536x864 setting with a page zoom of 125% yields the best text clarity for me.The R13 is frequently described as heavy. It does have a bit of solid heft to it, but I would not characterize it as heavy. After draining the battery to 3%, charge time to full was approximately 2 hours. Some complain that screen brightness is limited, but from one who often lights a room with the glow from his computer, I find the screen at max to be too bright to use for extended periods. Audio volume is a tad lower than that of my Acer 270P but loud enough to share music and videos with others sitting close. Bluetooth syncs quickly with my LG headset.The R13 is one of the Chromebooks listed by Google in line for Play Store Apps support, but as of this review, the only way to install apps is to switch to the Beta channel. The only app of interest to me is Skype, and I can wait for stable channel support.The Acer R13 is an excellent laptop computer and has become my La-Z-Boy computer of choice. Recommended without hesitation! Update: With almost a week of daily use, the R13 has never disappointed, Battery life is close to 10 ½ hours. Charge time from lows around 3% remaining life to 100% is a bit less than 2 hours. YouTube videos and MP4 files stream without hiccups. As of this update, the Play Store is not available on the stable channel. I switched to beta and downloaded the free release of the Power Director, video editor. I am familiar with the PC desktop program and impressed with features, responsiveness, and ease of use of the Android app. I decided I could wait for the promised stable channel release and reset the R13 to the stable channel. The R13 has become my preferred laptop for entertainment and work. I spend much of my time developing, and maintaining websites using the Divi theme and Divi Developer plugin. I am literally using the R13 while comfortably seated in a Lay-Z-Boy recliner where the fan-less cool case is appreciated.UPDATE 8-30-2017My Acer R13 Chromebook just updated to Version 60.0.3112.112 (Official Build) (32-bit) and enabled Play Store access using the stable channel. Long wait but as I look through the store none of the apps seem particularly appealing. 8-30-2017