I know there are some pretty good Chromebooks, some have even been game changing in the laptop industry, providing consumers with an entirely new option for getting work done with some of the lowest prices out there. However, as a consumer, I haven’t exactly known many durable Chromebooks. Is it the sacrifice for price? As a Chromebook user myself, I have held the “short end of the stick” (especially knowing machines like the Dell Chromebook 13 3380 or the Google Pixel exist), in the sense that thrice, not just once or twice, my Asus Chromebook (C300) screen has completely gone black. Because many Chromebooks are sought out/known for their super inexpensive price tag, their build may lack to the point of an improper level of construction.

So hey, as sensitive as I am to the Chromebook laptop, and I do love mine, I am completely open-minded to new models. In fact, new specs, and new definitions of a ”good” Chromebook only intrigue me. Because Acer defines its Chromebook Spin 11 as rugged, I pretty much want to know everything else about it. First of all, the Spin 11 sports an 11.6-inch display, a little on the small side, yet it offers what’s considered a built-in protective case. Like many Chromebooks, the Spin 11, is considerable for the classroom. Acer was very particular in devising this 360-degree model, whom in building a ruggedized and easy-to-use device, hopes it’s nice durability and a decent internals will be factors that allow the device to trustingly to go beyond a student’s fingertips.

The Acer 11 Spin considered here is the $399 model, available only on Amazon in the U.S. For a Chromebook, I’d say this is a middle-of-the-road priced laptop, one that also may offer something more we’re looking for. The Spin 11 is continually getting a lot of slack for being on the ugly side, but one to beat when it comes to durability. So, let’s take a look at all of this. The 11.6-inch Full HD LCD screen comes with an interesting touch. It is protected by a sheet of Antimicrobial Corning Gorilla Glass. It also features a Wacom EMR (Electro-Magnetic Resonance) stylus for free drawing and control. The laptop’s measurements include a body of 11.65 x 8.11 x 0.82 inches, and a weight of 3.09 pounds. Housing includes all durable plastic, rubber bumpers around the edges and yes, a durability standard of the US MIL-STD 81-G military guidelines.

That level of design build shows care, and takes care of many concerns consumers have when handling a low-cost laptop. Internal hardware is offered with either an Intel Celeron quad-core N3450 CPU processor, or an Intel Celeron dual-core N3350 CPU processor. Otherwise, there are choices of 4GB to 8GB of LPDDR4 memory, and 32GB of 64GB of built-in flash storage. Ports include 2 USB Type-Cs, 2 USB 3.0 Type-As, and a MicroSD card reader; while the machine’s connectivity features dual webcams, 2x2 MIMO 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.2.

Signs point to a drag battery life on the Acer 11 Spin, however a good 10 hours of activity is expected as the highest level it may achieve, and that isn’t bad. My Chromebook pretty much stays on all day long, however I sure do wish it had the durability a mom with a toddler running around the house required. Maybe I should take a look at something new like this new Acer machine?