【1998 Archives】

Keep dropping your laptop998 Archives Acer has just the fix: A rugged Chromebook designed to resist drops, spills, and other punishment — possibly making it the ideal laptop for the life of a student.

The new model, the 11.6-inch Chromebook 11 C771, is a relative beast physically, measuring 0.82 of an inch thick and weighing about 3 pounds. By contrast, Apple's MacBook — which has a bigger, 12-inch display — is 0.52 inch thick and weighs just 2 pounds.

SEE ALSO: The world's first wireless charging laptop is a Dell, and it's as cool as your dad

But that extra heft bestows durability: The laptop is rated to resist drops up to 4 feet and 132 pounds of downward force. In other words, a teenager (a key demographic for Chromebooks) could stand on top of this thing and not break it. The keyboard is spill-resistant, too. The ruggedness probably addresses a key pain point in Chromebooks: When the device is cheap and issued by a school (as opposed to something you buy yourself), users may not to care for it as much.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Powering the Chromebook is an Intel Celeron processor (3855U), though that likely won't get you very far if you like to have multiple browser tabs open. Luckily Acer will also offer the C771 with a 6th-generation (Skylake) Core i3 and even an i5, although those models won't ship until September. All models have 32GB of local storage and 4GB RAM.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The Chromebook's 1,366 x 768 display can be either a touchscreen or a regular (non-touch) one. If you go with the touch model, battery life is rated at 12 hours, but for non-touch you'll be able to squeeze out an extra hour at 13. In either case, it's a pretty impressive spec, though real-world use is often short of manufacturer ratings.

As a bonus, the monitor can fold out completely flat at 180 degrees.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

One downside: There's a proprietary AC charging port, despite there being a USB-C port as well. That's not to surprising given the chips powering this thing, and Acer says you can also charge via USB-C as a bonus, which is nice. There are two USB 3.0 ports and an HDMI port, too.

The Celeron version is available now for $329.99 (touch) or $279.99 (non-touch), with the Core versions coming in the fall.

Correction 8/9/17 11:10 a.m. ET:Acer clarified that users will be able to charge via both USB-C and the proprietary charging port, not solely via the latter.

---

Featured Video For You

---

This pocket-sized pour-over kit lets you brew coffee anywhere

---

• Life
• Shopping
• Games
• Deals
• Social Good
• Tech
• Science
• Digital Culture

• Missing Perspectives
• Greenland calls on Denmark to clean up toxic waste buried in melting ice sheet
• 10 'sexy' Halloween costumes that offend the animal kingdom
• 'Stranger Things' actor answers questions about his character's sexuality
• Downgrading Harvard
• Billy Bush officially out at 'Today' after Trump tape scandal
• Guide to HEVC/H.265 Encoding and Playback
• Check out Logan Paul tackle challenges in an exclusive trailer for his new series
• The Zuckerberg Follies
• AMC renews 'The Walking Dead' for Season 8

• This interactive map helps shoppers find black
• What did 'Catch
• Make your holidays delightfully weird with a choir singing Christmas carols like goats
• Waymo's autonomous cars will drive outside the US for the first time
• British channel ITV now requires women writers for all comedy programs
• These Hogwarts House prints could be the perfect 'Harry Potter' Xmas present
• A glossary of 2016, the words that defined the year
• The best returning TV shows of 2019
• Man's live tweets from a café prove love isn't dead just yet
• Spotify Premium vs. Apple Music: What's the best value?

• Amnesiac Nation
• Fox Sports Photoshopped one football player's head onto another's body for no reason
• Check out Logan Paul tackle challenges in an exclusive trailer for his new series
• Chrissy Teigen has a budget friendly birthday gift idea: Nudes
• How to Lie: Donald Trump, Jr. fails in the family trade
• Is Michael dead? Get your first clue in exclusive 'Jane the Virgin' clip.
• YouTube Red greenlights series from Doug Liman, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
• Cleveland pitcher's mangled finger proves you shouldn't mess with drones
• Brand on the Run
• Watch Chloe Grace Moretz game alongside Rooster Teeth employees in new video series

• Friends in Stupid Places
• Your iPhone's fingerprint sensor might soon unlock your car
• Facebook may be testing its Snapchat
• YouTube Red greenlights series from Doug Liman, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
• HELLO, NEW YORK! STROUD CALLING!
• Why it's completely legal to trade votes across state lines
• Your next smartphone could get 1Gbps download speeds: Qualcomm
• The internet takes a page from Melania Trump and blames Billy Bush for everything
• Joe Ricketts, Media Destroyer
• Beats By Dre gets Nicki Minaj and other A