Chromebook Spin 13 (Wacom EMR, 13.5'' 3:2)

https://liliputing.com/2018/05/acer-introduces-chromebook-spin-13-and-chromebook-13.html

 

Pricing and availability announced
https://liliputing.com/2018/08/acer...in-13-coming-in-september-for-650-and-up.html

 

Here is the point I don't understand. Why offer them with different CPUs? Doesn't Chrome need to be connected to the internet to be useful? So the bottleneck will be communication speed not processor speed, no?

 

No, ChromeOS has offline capabilities. It also now runs Android and Linux apps.

 

Sorry, I wasn't specific enough. I am aware of the offline capabilities. But they require planning, no? If you've been working on an online document, find yourself in a place with no internet then you're locked out? With Windows and Dropbox/OneDrive you still have files available locally. Or have Google changed the default so that a copy is saved on the device as well?

 

With Google's "Campfire" initiative, this may very well become a Windows 10 machine as well.

https://windowscentral.com/google-may-soon-let-you-run-windows-10-chromebooks-using-campfire

 

I can do so on my Pixelbook, so I guess the answer is yes. Used to be there wasn't enough on-board storage but this is not your "father's Chromebook" anymore - 128GB SSD. We are, however, still 6 mos away from making regular use of Linux distros and probably longer for Windows, though I understand you can run older MS Office apps through the Wine software on current day CBs. When I tried it 6 months ago the results were far, far less than impressive.

CBs are so great for everyday productivity tasks and everything online and the Android apps are getting better. Still haven't seen a true review of this Acer device though, even though it was announced and demoed everywhere last May. I'm not saying this is another Swift 7, but I find it mighty strange that there isn't a single professional review for a device that's supposed to have general availability in less than 1 month. Clearly the "finishing touches" are still being applied. Acer's track record on devices of this ilk - sounds a little too good to be true - is less than encouraging.

 

For what it's worth the top of the line model is listed by several German e-sellers with scheduled shipping by the end of the month. (Not unlike the Switch 7, sold by a dozen resellers in Germany for ca. €2000.)
https://www.idealo.de/preisvergleich/OffersOfProduct/6238360_-chromebook-spin-13-cp713-acer.html

 

I'm sure I read an identical post about the Swift 7 when it was about to be released, 9 months late, but then, alas, it overheated and ran for 2 hours on a full battery. Not quite ready for commercial market. Somehow Acer thought it saved face for them to release an actual product after all that time, even though it was a total fail. I don't think the Spin 13 is as much of a stretch, but nothing quite like it has been released heretofore, and it's absence from the reviewing public suggests the possibility that there are some last-minute glitches to remedy. I wouldn't hold my breath on a German delivery in September. I really hope I'm wrong.

 

Spotted in the wild!

In...uh...Denmark.