For a convertible laptop under $400, there’s pros and cons. But do they balance? I wouldn’t say this is perpetually the case when considering a lower-end device, considering there’s some pretty impressive items out there that wow with most specs, while also enduring a low dollar price tag (take the Dell Inspiron 11 3179 2-in-1, or the HP Pavilion x360 for example). The Acer Spin 1 has come out as the entry-level option from the tech company’s slew of Spin laptops, such as the Spin 3, Spin 5, and Spin 7.

When considering design and build, Acer had to go all plastic with its lowest-end of the Spin line. However, it’s offering involves a nice array of color options and a high quality appearance, plus its durable feel only aids its case as being low-budget. As an example, take the pastel-blue 0.8-inch thick, 3.30 pound Spin 1. It features an 11.6-inch screen, and a Full IPS HD display with touch. Yes, this is a very thin device, yet its thicker bezel, at 22mm surround the top and sides of the screen, and 47mm at the bottom are not as “modern laptop” than you see among other brands. If you’re pixel-picky, could that issue balance the scales, as it features a nicer display than expected? And hey, in the manner that Acer built the Spin 1’s bezels, there happens to be more room for the keyboard and trackpad, not to mention its stylus (featuring 1,024 levels of pressure) comes with the price, rather than sold as a separate accessory.

As we already know, laptop internals may break or break the decision-making process. You may only choose between Intel Celeron CPU processors, including the modest quad-core Intel N4200, N3350, or N3500 chips. Alongside, there is 4GB of RAM, and a 32GB eMMC storage drive. Somehow, this relatively petite machine has room for the ports you want, including not only 3 full-sized USB ports, but 1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, a full HDMI port for streaming content, a microSD card reader, and a 3.5mm audio and headphone jack.

Perhaps as long as you know exactly what to expect here, the compromises made will not shock you out of buying this laptop. The Spin 1, arguably, has a lot to like about it, and pricing is very important to folks. Unless you’re the type of person with high computing power demands, this Spin model will not disappoint you enough to not give it a shot. We should consider ourselves lucky to be living in a time where such technology is available without spending thousands of dollars like it used to be. Hence, if you simply need to complete tasks, this will do. It wouldn’t hurt to have something significantly attractive as the Spin 1 is, either. One of the thing best rewards regarding the new Acer Spin 1 laptop could be the fact that such a lovely touch display is able to be featured on such a cheap laptop. Knowing that, why aren’t manufacturers of the $800 to $1000 laptops automatically providing this luxury? This guy pulls it off, and starts at just $349!