Acer First to Deliver Chrome OS Tablet With Chromebook Tab 10

Just a day ahead of an education-focused Apple event where it is rumored a new iPad table will debut, Acer and Google sought to grab a bit of attention with the introduction of its own tablet, the Chromebook Tab 10. Unveiled on March 26, the Tab 10 is the first Chrome OS tablet to hit the market. Google claims the Tab 10 is ideal for budget shoppers and education customers who want impressive features at an affordable price. The tablet comes with a 9.7-inch screen and runs on Google’s OP1 processor. The Chromebook Tab 10 may be a tablet trailblazer but its arriving in an increasingly crowded education and corporate mobile device market. Read on to learn whether the Tab 10 has what it takes to impress tablet buyers. 

The Acer Chromebook Tab 10 is the mobile device market’s first Chrome OS-based tablet. Rumors have been swirling for months that Google has been working with hardware partners to bring its cloud-focused operating system to tablets. Chrome OS will give Tab 10 users access to all of Google’s cloud applications and enable them to store data on the Google Cloud Platform. Google has promised more Chrome OS tablets will hit the market in the coming months.

In a statement, Acer said that its Chromebook Tab 10 is focused on the education market and certain segments of the enterprise market. To deliver that experience, the Chromebook can be integrated with Chrome Education, allowing for schools to manage a fleet of Chromebook Tab 10s from one console. Since Chrome OS relies heavily on the cloud, student information can be stored there, so they can go from class to class to access their data.

Acer’s Chromebook Tab 10 comes with a 9.7-inch screen touch display. The screen has a 2,048-by-1,536-pixel resolution and delivers 264 pixels per inch. The screen should work well to display video, audio, graphics and any apps that students will need for class work. 

Acer’s tablet will ship with Google Play marketplace built-in, allowing users to download the millions of Android apps available through the store. Users can also create custom applications that can be made to run on the Chrome OS tablet.

According to Acer, the Chromebook Tab 10 is powered by the Google OP1 processor. The chip has a dual-core Cortex-A72 and quad-core Cortex-A53 in one. The OP1 is paired with 4GB of RAM for strong application performance. There’s also 32GB of onboard storage in the tablet.

The device weighs just 1.2 pounds, which is ideal for students who are usually lugging weighty backpacks. It’s also just .39 inches thick, making it thinner than a large number of competing tablets. Acer said that the tablet’s “cobalt blue color” was specifically chosen to make it easy to find in a crowded classroom.

Acer’s tablet features a sizable battery pack that will deliver 9 hours of battery life on a single charge. The tablet’s USB-C port can be used to charge it quickly, but also doubles as a data-transfer port with speeds up to 5 Gbps. A secondary HD display can also be connected to the tablet through the USB-C port.

The Chromebook Tab 10 comes standard with a Wacom EMR stylus that allows students to sketch on the screen, take notes, and annotate documents. The Tab 10 has a built-in dock to store the stylus when it’s not in use to reduce the chances that it will be lost by absent-minded users.

Out of the box, the Acer Chromebook Tab 10 will not support augmented reality applications, Acer confirmed. However, the company added that it plans to support Google’s Expeditions AR platform in the future. When Expeditions AR is turned on, students will able to view 3D objects on their screens and in applications. 

Acer’s Chromebook Tab 10 will be available to educational and commercial customers in the U.S. starting in April priced at $329. The Tab 10 offers only 802.11ac WiFi connectivity.