Over the last decade, Chrome OS has increased tremendously, offering stiff competition to the
rival Windows and other operating systems. Computer manufacturing companies opt to adopt
various operating systems, with the majority of them recently launching the Chrome OS to help
maintain their market share.
Lately, consumers get spoilt for choice with the only determinants
on which laptops and computers to buy being price, features, and use intended.
Chrome OS offers a unique experience and consistent features across all devices; the only
difference in the Chromebooks result from the internal and external hardware. Acer Chromebook
514 features a distinct though not satisfactory hardware.
With its lightweight and perfectly elegant all-aluminous chassis, it is notable to say that the Acer Chromebook 514 is a beauty to
behold.
The Acer Chromebook 514 released in August 2018 provided mixed reactions with user's
expectations not being met. Perhaps we expected too much, and Acer delivered too little. Price-
wise, the Chromebook is relatively affordable even though its performance is something to turn
customers away.
There are many laptops on retail shelves to choose from. As such, settling on which particular
brand to buy, the price worth paying for any of the models, and whether you should buy the
laptop locally or ship it from the US. Lucky for you, if you are perplexed and spoilt for choice on
what to go for, we have you sorted. Here we will analyze the features of Acer Chromebook 514
and provides its pros and cons and why shipping the laptop from the US to Kenya using
KENTEX CARGO is the perfect decision for you
Design
We all love carrying around a perfectly well designed and beautiful laptop. The Acer
Chromebook 514 has a soft backlit keyboard. The cushioned feel of each keystroke makes typing
enjoyable, and you would love working with this machine on those endless documents.
However, if you are looking for that haptic feedback or clicky mechanical switches, it would be
better to try a different laptop for this keyboard isn’t yours.
The Acer Chromebook weighs 1.5kg, and this makes it easy to carry it around. On the left side of
the Chromebook, there is a USB 3.0 port, a microSD card reader, a USB Type-C port, and a headphone jack. On the right side, you find another USB 3.0 port and USB-C port. The USB
Type-C port comes handy in charging, and the MicroSD card slot provides room for additional
storage.
In terms of a touchpad, Acer Chromebook 514 has a reasonably sizeable touchpad. The touchpad
is made from Gorilla Glass, making it smooth to the touch, although not allowing your fingers to
slither as it ought to be. The touchpad also doesn’t recognize three-finger clicks making daily
habits to some extent, vexing.
On the underside of the Chromebook, there is a stereo speaker. It is worth stating that Acer has
failed at this, for a laptop of this calibre, sound ought to be booming and not terrible as it is in
Acer Chromebook514.
Display
Chromebooks come with sleek displays ensuring minimal meddling with eyes. Developed for
all-round light conditions, Acer Chromebook 514 has a 14-inch display screen that springs
impeccable view-area. The 1080p optional panel provides just the perfect video and image
quality for such a price.
The 1920x1080 resolution IPS display makes the laptop decent and appealing. However, videos
and images conversely appear warmer and overall slightly jaded. The screen has an optional
touchscreen and without glass. The lack of glass ensures there is no reflection, and the screen is
safe to use, chances of cracks thus minimal. Acer Chromebook 514 has a viewing angle of up to
170-degrees, making it convenient to watch videos from the comfort of your sitting.
Above the display and worth mentioning is the HD webcam with a resolution of 1280x720 on
the photo side and 720p HD on the video side. This webcam captures super high-dynamic
pictures that you would be proud to post everywhere.
Storage and memory
The memory of any computer influences its execution speed. Chromebooks do not excel in
substantial storage spaces. They are built for light work and often meant for desktop operations
and not to store huge videos or files. Acer Chromebook 514 comes in two varieties; one variety
comes installed with 4GB of RAM and an N3450 Apollo Lake Celeron processor while the other
array operates on 8GB of RAM and a Pentium N4200 processor.
Storage-wise, the Acer Chromebook 514 operates on 64GB eMMC storage, which is not enough
for a laptop intended for day to day use. However, Chromebook being widely recognized for its
cloud storage, which works perfectly well. Users who need extra storage space can also utilize
the microSD card slot that supports up to 1TB SD card capacity.
Specs and Performance
Performance dictates the value of any laptop, and manufacturers endeavour to excel in producing
all-around performing laptops that support virtually all programs. With a low-end Intel Pentium
N4200 processor quad-core processor clocked at 1.1GHz base frequency, the Acer Chromebook
514, unfortunately, doesn't perform well. With the latest development in web apps making them
more demanding, Chromebooks need an excellent performance to keep up with other models.
Among the available Chromebooks ever released, you wouldn't find any of them that supports
PC games. At least the Acer Chromebook 514 has made some remarkable improvements.
Though not that perfect, this Chromebook can run major full-fledged PC games. Acer works
around the clock to ensure a perfectly optimized OS to ensure a smooth experience.
Battery life
The Acer Chromebook 514 has an entirely short charge time of up to an hour, and this has been
made so by the USB Type-C port. If you are going out, you would need less than an hour to
charge your laptop to a reasonable percentage. In terms of power consumption, this is the perfect
Chromebook for any user who values battery life to any other thing. On a full charge, the
Chromebook would last a whopping 12 hours of operation, thanks to the 45 watts’ battery
capacity.
Battery life often varies depending on the workload. Exposing the Chromebook to a heavy
workload would mean a lesser battery life compared to when you subject it to desktop jobs such
as typing. Moreover, Acer Chromebook 514 is also an ENERGY Star and EPEAT registered.
Software
Acer Chromebook 514 is not different from other Chromebooks in the market when it comes to
software variability. The Chromebook has easy access to web apps, extensions, and private
security. Moreover, the update is, for the most part, automatic, free, and fast as well as
reasonably frequent.
The cloud-based nature of all Chromebooks means that sharing of data and remote operation is
quickly on Acer Chromebook 514. Signing in via Google accounts enables secure data sync, and
access to data is made perfectly simple.
The Chromebook supports both Linux and Android apps. The Linux feature is manually
activated in the Chromes settings. Operating the Chromebook on fewer tabs gives a swift
operation. However, if multiple tabs and apps are open, the laptop feels a little slowed down.
Pros
Charging is relatively fast
Battery life is relatively reasonable compared to rival devices
All-metal construction
Lightweight modern design
Lightweight and portable
Cons
Display shadowing occurs at higher viewing angles
Ho-hum speakers
Build quality suffers from an overly flexible lid
Bottom line
Besides the battery life, there is a lot more fascinating in this Chromebook. The design is perfect,
and the display just okay. The Chromebook isn't an ideal laptop and does not provide class-
leading performance. But it is fast enough compared to the usual laptops operating on
Chromebook OS. Also, Acer Chromebook 514 lightweight allows you to carry it around on any
occasion.
If the battery life is something you consider in a Chromebook, then investing your money on
Acer Chromebook 514 proves worthwhile. Otherwise, there are better Chromebook alternatives
that offer better in terms of performance for this price range. In terms of the warranty, Acer
Chromebook should last longer as long as you treat it right.
With the Aluminum-clad and set for all-day off the socket, the Acer Chromebook 514 is a
perfect priced Chromebook for low budget buyers. From the review, it is evident that the
positives outweigh the negatives. Buying the Chromebook from the US is way cheaper than
buying it in Kenya. Make an order and have KENTEX CARGO deliver it to your doorstep
