Review on 💻 Acer Chromebook 15 CB315-1HT-C4RY, Intel Celeron N3350, 15.6-inch Full HD Touch Display, 4GB LPDDR4, 32GB eMMC, WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, Google Chrome by Kevin Folsom

There aren't many options for 15-inch Chromebooks. Even less if you need a backlit keyboard. And if the touchpad is to be placed centrally, i.e. without a number pad, then there are even fewer options. I'm a writer, which means I don't need a number pad, but having enough deck to support each wrist is important. To type in low light, a backlit keyboard is a must. The 15-inch screen with an aspect ratio of 16:9 is ideal for split screens: Google Docs on one side, News Feed or Android app on the other. No fan means no annoying fan noise or blocking vents. Because it opens fully, it works well when I'm lying with my legs bent in couch mode, with the open Chromebook resting on my hips. The screen is quite decent; Viewing angles are quite wide. The upward-firing speakers sound loud and clear; completely sufficient for YouTube videos, or if you want better sound, you can pull out a Bluetooth headset or even a plug-in. And it weighs less than 4 pounds; not bad for 15 inches. I rarely use the touchscreen, except for the occasional pinch zoom to enlarge text, but you can do the same with the touchpad and not smear the screen with finger grease. Now for the not so good ones. : There is no fan because it is not a powerful processor, which means that it seems a bit slow at times. So if you're itchy after waiting 5 seconds for a page to load, or if you're browsing with 20 tabs open, this isn't for you. A laptop keyboard just can't compete with a mechanical keyboard; I could wish for a few millimeters more key travel. Some people will complain that the touchpad isn't glass; it seems sufficient to me, and as with all touchpads, you get used to its quirks over time. Some will complain that 32GB means there isn't much free space, but that's what the cloud or your SD card is for. This computer is cheaply built, ie. all plastic, but to me it's basically a home computer; I'm not looking for military specs. And what the hell did you expect for $300? At this price, there's little else in such a large offering in a 15-inch format.