In October when Google announced the ARM based Samsung Series 3 Chromebook we were left wondering how cheap the cloud-based netbooks could get. Well, Acer has tried to somewhat answer that question today by announcing the C7 Chromebook that will set you back a mere $199.

In order to achieve such a price, sacrifices were made. The Intel core-based Celeron 847 processor seemingly comes from surplus stock, given its tray price of $134. RAM specifications match the Samsung Chromebook at 2 GB while Google drops the ball with its push everyone to the cloud philosophy by including a 320 GB mechanical hard drive. 100 GB of cloud storage is also provided. Because of these drawbacks, battery life is rated at 3.5 hours, compared to 6.5 hours for the $249 Samsung Chromebook. The C7's display is a 11.6 inch, 1366×768 resolution unit of what is likely to be mediocre quality.

The Acer device is also more bulky than the Samsung, at 1 inch thick and weighing 1.36 KG compared to 0.7 inches thick and a weight of 1.1 KG. Available ports include HDMI, VGA, three USB 2.0, audio/input 3.5mm jack and an Ethernet port. Dual-band Wi-Fi and an HD camera are also included.

The Acer C7 Chromebook will go on sale today in the United States from Google Play and Best Buy. It will also be available in the United Kingdom from Google Play, Amazon, PC World and Currys.

KitGuru says: Google are obviously looking to compete on price, and so far it is living up to that.

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