Acer debuted three new machines for education at Bett Show 2019 in London: the Chromebook 512, Chromebook 512 Spin, and TravelMate B114.
Two out of the three are Chromebooks, and the odd one out is powered by Windows 10 in S mode.
Educational Chromebooks
The Chromebook 512 and Chromebook 512 Spin both sport a 12-inch display with a 1,366 x 912 resolution and a 3:2 aspect ratio, which Acer describes as "a ratio that falls between the ratio used in books and mobile media."
Both are available in models with 4 GB or 8 GB of RAM and 32 GB or 64 GB of eMMC storage. There are two USB Type-C ports, two USB 3.0 ports, a microSD card slot, and a headphone jack. As for the processors, they come with either a quad-core Intel Celeron N4100 or Pentium Silver N5000, but the base model of the Chromebook 512 is available with a dual-core Celeron N4000.
The Chromebook 512 Spin is equipped with an 8-megapixel camera on the back and an HD webcam on the front. It has a 360-degree hinge that lets users set it up in four modes: clamshell, display, tent, and tablet. It's bundled with a Wacom electro-magnetic resonance stylus, which can be tucked away into a built-in slot on the machine. Its screen is also covered with Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass, meaning it's not only resistant to scratches but also microorganisms that cause odors and stains.
Meanwhile, the Chromebook 512 goes all the way up to 180 degrees, allowing users to lay it flat. It's also fitted with "mechanically anchored keys," making them difficult to remove but easy to replace.
Both are MIL-STD 810G compliant, allowing it to survive drops of up to 48 inches and weights of up to 132 pounds. As for battery life, they are rated to last up to 12 hours.
Educational TravelMate
As mentioned earlier, the TravelMate B114 runs on Windows 10, but it's the S mode version. That way it can be used mainly for educational purposes.
Its screen measures at 14 inches and has a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. Under the hood, it has an AMD A4-9120C or A6-9220C working with up to 16 GB of RAM. Storage configurations include up to 256 GB of SSD or up to 64 GB of eMMC.
It comes with one USB 3.1 port, two USB 2.0 ports, an SD card slot, an HDMI 2.0 port, an RJ-45 Ethernet port, and a headphone jack. Acer says it can last up to 10 hours on a single charge, and just like its Chromebook siblings, it's also MIL-STD 810G compliant.
The Chromebook 512 and Chromebook 512 Spin will start at $329 and $449, respectively, while the TravelMate B114 will be at $319. The Chromebooks are expected to hit the shelves sometime in April, and the TravelMate is scheduled to launch sometime in the first quarter of 2019.
