Are Cheap Windows 10 Laptops “Chromebook Killers?”

I bought one of these Acer netbooks, I paid $179 and it has 32G flash storage, but is similar.
I agree with Bob, this Acer is no match for a Chromebook online, and the problem is Windows 8.1, which seems to overwhelm the memory very quickly if more than 2 windows are open.
The screen res on these Acers is 1280 x 768, adequate for an 11.6" screen. Sounds is cellphone quality, but improves to decent with a cheap pair of phones.
It uses a micro hdmi port, so you'll need an adaptor for an external monitor.
Battery life is good, about 8 hours with the screen set almost full bright.
I am downloading at 25 mbps and have no problems with video performance. These little Acers make decent internet TV's. They run cool and seem rugged.
I'm hoping the W10 32 bit upgrade will perform better than 8.1 on this low powered intel processor.
In the box I found several discount coupons for various products not related to the netbook. Yours may have different coupons, so I will not comment on their value.
Overall, I found Bob's comments about Acer netbooks accurately matched my own experience.

I bought one of these Acer netbooks, I paid $179 and it has 32G flash storage, but is similar.
I agree with Bob, this Acer is no match for a Chromebook online, and the problem is Windows 8.1, which seems to overwhelm the memory very quickly if more than 2 windows are open.
The screen res on these Acers is 1280 x 768, adequate for an 11.6" screen. Sounds is cellphone quality, but improves to decent with a cheap pair of phones.
It uses a micro hdmi port, so you'll need an adaptor for an external monitor.
Battery life is good, about 8 hours with the screen set almost full bright.
I am downloading at 25 mbps and have no problems with video performance. These little Acers make decent internet TV's. They run cool and seem rugged.
I'm hoping the W10 32 bit upgrade will perform better than 8.1 on this low powered intel processor.
In the box I found several discount coupons for various products not related to the netbook. Yours may have different coupons, so I will not comment on their value.
Overall, I found Bob's comments about Acer netbooks accurately matched my own experience.

Ah, with SSD drives, you can get boot times in three, four seconds, and when running an M2, life is like an eye blink.

The Lincoln Nebraska school district is on a multi-year quest to provide every student a computer and an associated curriculum. Their first small test was with Lenovo Yoga's but after further study they now have settled on Google Chrome books. Their thinking is the lower cost, the orientation to the internet which is where the curriculum will be and strong indicators that education and curriculum providers will head in this direction.

It is interesting that Apple dominated the education market and Microsoft never could really break in to it and now Google maybe headed in that direction.

Bob, Thank you. As always, a thorough and balanced description.
Two concerns about "the Cloud": 1. What is the impact on data usage if I'm on a metered Internet connection? (Something you might want to mention in future articles that rely on Internet connections; eg. automatic updates, etc.)
2. What happens if the cloud supplier discontinues the service? This has happened, often, with "cloud" storage of photographs -- most recently Sony's changes to their "Play Memories" service.
Again, Bob, thank you.

From my own experiences and for my needs, for an inexpensive (lower end hardware) machine, Chrome OS is the way to go. It is truly cloud-based computing. With the small local storage, you might pay for more cloud storage, but you might not, depending on your habits. In our home, we've moved to more cloud-based computing, but also rely on a local file server (running FreeNAS.) The file server was built from parts left over from an old build I was no longer using. It has plenty of space for all the files and works great. The "client" machines (our daily-use computers) can then be lightweight, inexpensive machines such as Chromebooks. Even with Windows 10, Microsoft is still relying on heavier local computing that requires better hardware to compete with the lightweight Chrome OS. Now that Android apps are going to start being able to easily port into Chrome OS, Chromebooks/boxes/bases will be opened up to even more functionality. I do use Windows on some of my machines, but I think that for lightweight machines, Chrome-based is a better option.

Thank you for this review, Bob. Just saw tempting sales for the MS small laptops, and though about purchasing one. Now, I'll either splurge on the Chromebook, or wait a bit longer to see what shows up on the horizon.

For a Christmas present last year (2014)My i4 year old granddaughters choice of laptop was a $179 Chromebook. She still loves it. she does all her homework on it, including 1st. year Trig. I have wondered if it was peer pressure that made her choice of machine or if she had researched it?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Peer pressure would have made her ask for an iPad. Smart girl.

I'm wondering about the term "killer". Why does something have to kill something else to survive? I remember when the "killer app" was the thing that made something viable, but why does this now apply to hardware? I am a tech fan, Chromebooks, Cloudbooks, Android devices, iOS devices, they're all great.

For decades, Microsoft and its camp-following developers and retailers conspired for market control-- and as more than one jurist said, in illegal constraint of trade. But scoring both market control and innovation forever eluded Microsoft, whose signature line was only "Me, too!" The 1994 Microsoft computer dictionary did not even include the term "internet".

So, why expect market-leading innovation from a "Me, too!" company? Yet, if the real question is whether Microsoft can find monopolist tendencies in its genes, the answer is it certainly can-- Ray Nadella to the contrary. If the stark reality is either survival or rapid decline, count on Microsoft to display all the tricks it has used over the years, some of them equivalent to the trade-hostile practice of "dumping" to level the market in its favor and beat up smaller rivals.

While we can salute Microsoft for making the trains run on time, the same compliment once was intended for Italian dictator Mussolini, in an effort to salvage something positive from his dictatorship. The Microsoft dictionary may not recognize it, but the quaint term "Microsoft" is already archaic, and falling out of common usage.

I am from India. I need a 2nd laptop. I don't understand why booting speed is so important when the difference is 25 seconds. This is not like the NFL endgame 2 mins. I will buy the Acer Win 10. The laptop I have now is connected to the the internet 24/7/365.