Acer’s Chromebook Spin 311 looks like a typical 11.6-inch Chromebook. It features a silver plastic body. Thick bezels frame the undersized screen, which is itself a low-resolution, somewhat dim. Inside, it follows the standard budget Chromebook recipe of an Intel Celeron CPU and 4GB of RAM while offering only 32GB of local storage (as eMMC flash memory).
What the Spin 311 can do, which other Chromebooks of this price usually cannot, is that it doubles as an Android tablet, with the touch screen able to rotate 360 degrees in tablet mode. The small screen and meager components will make most users look elsewhere, but younger students will appreciate the extra versatility this Chromebook offers, allowing you to play Android games when the school day is over.
Specifications
- Laptop Class: Chromebook, Convertible 2-in-1
- Processor: Intel Celeron N4000
- Processor Speed: 1.1 GHz
- RAM: 4 GB
- Boot Drive Typ:e eMMC Flash Memory
- Boot Drive Capacity: 32 GB
- Screen Size: 11.6 inches
- Native Display Resolution: 1366 by 768
Where to get Acer Chromebook Spin 311?
The Spin 311 looks like the platonic ideal of a Chromebook: Thick bezels around the screen, an all-aluminum silver body and a construction that should be both durable and portable. And the Spin 311 has succeeded at the latter two. There is no flexibility at any point of the casing, including the keyboard and hinges. The screen is also protected with Gorilla Glass, so it should be able to withstand a drop or two.
As for portability, the Spin 311 has an advertised weight of 2.65 pounds, but we measured only 2.3 pounds on our test unit. The difference between the two is not great; with this size and weight, the Spin 311 will not strain your back.
Speaking of dimensions, the Spin 311 is tiny, with a footprint smaller than a standard A4 sheet of paper. It is just slightly thicker than the Samsung Chromebook 4 – 0.74 inches versus 0.66 inches. The Spin 311 is small, and that is both an advantage and a disadvantage. No matter what you do on the device, it feels cramped. For carrying around or using at home, the Spin 311’s size is not a problem. For heavy users, however, the limited space is annoying at best, and a deal-breaker at worst.
That is a criticism of a Chromebook of this size, not of the Spin 311 itself. Build quality is excellent, and while the aesthetics are uninspired, it still manages to look sleek and attractive.