Dive Brief:
- Acer introduced the education-optimized Chromebook C910 and the Chromebook C740 at London's BETT 2015.
- The C910 has a 15.6-inch display most appropriate for school labs, while the C740's more compact 11.6-inch display is meant to fit nicely in a backpack and ideal for classrooms with 1:1 deployments. Both are said to be durable, given how "harsh" students can be with devices.
- The products will be available in February, with the C910 starting at $299.99 and the C740 starting at $259.99.
Dive Insight:
The Google-powered Chromebooks have been on a roll this year. In November, New York City's Department of Education struck a deal that would place Acer and Samsung models in its 1,800 schools. While the plan places the computer in front of roughly one million students, the reality is that even without the deal, the Chromebook was doing just fine. In fact, earlier that month, the International Data Corporation (IDC) released a report that found Chromebooks had usurped Apple's iPad as the No. 1 seller among tablet and laptop products for the K-12 sector in 2014.
What makes them so popular? Could it be the easy accessibility of Google Docs? Or maybe the ability to bring in guest speakers through Google Hangout? It could also be Google Play for Education or just all of the apps available in Google Classroom. For a closer look at how Chromebooks can be used in schools, check out our feature.
