Chromebooks and 2-in-1 hybrids are easily Acer's two most popular product categories this year, so it makes perfect sense that the company would try to combine the two. The result is the Chromebook R11, a convertible Chromebook revealed on stage during Acer's IFA press conference.
As you might expect given the name, the Chromebook R11 borrows the same rotating hinge design from the Aspire R11 revealed earlier this year, which itself was inspired by Lenovo's Yoga laptop range. It lets you use the device as a laptop, or fold the screen back on itsef to use as a tablet. Tent and Display modes bring the possible number of configurations up to four, making the R11 seriously flexible for a Chromebook. The hinges held the display in place firmly in all four positions, with no sign of wobble or collapsing shut under its own weight.
At 19mm thick and weighing less than 1.3kg, it's refreshingly thin and light, too, and Acer has even found room in the budget for an aluminium lid, finished with a textured patern that should help keep fingerprints to a minimum.
The 11in touchscreen display isn't going to blow you away with its 1,366x768 resolution, but for web browsing and single-task work it's perfectly acceptable given the price of the machine. The glossy finish meant light reflections were a real problem, but otherwise viewing angles were acceptable and the LED backlight meant we could still clearly read web pages and text documents.
Typing was a joy, thanks to a comfortably spaced Chiclet keyboard with very springy keys. As with previous Chromebooks, the function keys on the top row perform Chrome-specific functions, which come in handy when searching or toggling volume. You don't get a backlight, again unsurprising at this price, but the black keys contrast nicely with the white chassis. The huge touchpad is a welcome inclusion too, as Chrome OS doesn't yet feel as well-suited to touchscreen inputs as Android.
Inside, an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of flash storage are all par for the Chromebook course. It's perfectly powerful enough for single tasks and running several browser tabs at once, but you won't be able to do serious multitasking. Dual-band MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi should ensure web pages load very quickly when connected to a compatible Wi-Fi network, however. You also get a single USB3 port for quick file transfers or, more likely given its tiny inbuilt capacity, accessing content from an external hard disk. An SD card reader, HDMI video output and 3.5mm audio jack complete the set.
Chromebooks used to be strictly bargain basement laptops with very little to shout about in terms of design, but it's great to see Acer breaking that mould. The Chromebook R11 is easily the company's best looking CHrome OS device yet, and the extra flexibility that comes from the 360-degree hinge makes it even better for web browsing when you aren't sat at a desk.
It's expected to launch throughout Europe in November from €299, which works out as roughly £220 before tax and VAT. This is still very good value, suggesting the hinge hasn't impacted the price at all. Whether regular Chromebook laptops still have a place once this arrives remains to be seen - with so much flexibility here it's tough to justify buying a regular old laptop. We'll find out when we give the R11 a full review a little closer to launch.