Acer launch Chromebooks for classrooms

Acer is committed to the Chromebook and has unveiled two new models designed for schools. Both are designed to stand up to the rigors of use by students. One is an 11.6-inch highly portable model and the other a big 15.6-inch Chromebook.

The Acer C740 Chromebook is designed for education programs that allow students to take their Chromebooks home. It is small and light to fit in a backpack for the trips back and forth between school and home.

Chromebooks are a big deal for schools because they're cheap and relatively easy to lock down. However, not just any Chromebook will do -- ideally, you want a laptop that can survive bumps and drops from less-than-careful students. Acer thinks it can handle that unforgiving audience. Both laptops have shells that withstand up to 132 pounds of force, corners that handle falls from up to 18 inches high, and reinforced hinges that won't easily snap. The C740 even gets specially extended hinges to make sure it won't flop or twist in high-stress situations, such as a kid's backpack.

The Acer C910 Chromebook has a large 15.6-inch display that is available with either a high-resolution option (1920 x 1080), or the more budget-friendly standard laptop resolution of 1366 x 768. All of the displays on this and the C740 have anti-glare properties. They're respectable systems beyond those tougher exteriors, for that matter. Both Chromebooks have the option of Intel Broadwell-based Celeron or Core i3 processors, and either 2GB or 4GB of RAM.

You're mostly paying based on the screen and storage. The C740 starts things off with a 1,366 x 768 display, a 16GB solid-state drive and a 9-hour battery at $260. Pay a little more for the $279 C910 and you'll get little more than the larger LCD and a slightly shorter 8-hour runtime, but there are more sophisticated variants with 1080p displays and 32GB of space. Both Chrome OS models will be available in February, or in time for schools starting their early planning for the next school year. And before you ask, the C720 isn't going away -- Acer tells us that the C740 is an education-specific model rather than a replacement.