News
News Categories

Acer announces availability of Chromebase DC221HQ AIO desktops

By Koh Wanzi - on 23 Jun 2015, 11:27am

Acer announces availability of Chromebase DC221HQ AIO desktops

The Acer Chromebase AIO desktops will come bundled with a white USB keyboard and mouse. (Image Source: Acer)

Back in April, Acer announced its Chromebase DC221HQ all-in-one (AIO) desktops that would be the first AIO system with Chrome OS to feature a touchscreen panel (the honor of the first Chrome OS-based AIO actually goes to the LG Chromebase). Slated for a Q2 2015 launch, Acer has certainly made good on expectations – the Acer Chromebase is now available for customers in the US.

In fact, Acer is releasing two versions of the Chromebase DC221HQ AIO desktops, one with a 10-point touch panel and the other with a regular display.
The Chromebase DC221HQ is powered by an NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor, a quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 processor with a maximum clock speed of 2.3GHz. Graphics processing is handled by the 192 CUDA cores on the Tegra K1’s GPU. Chrome OS is a lot less demanding than Windows, so the Tegra K1 should be sufficient for smooth operation and multi-tasking.

In addition, the Acer Chromebase AIOs come equipped with 4GB of DDR3 1600MHz and a 16GB SSD. As a Chrome OS device, a lot of work is done on Google’s cloud services so there’s not much need for large onboard storage. To drive home this point, both touchscreen and non-touchscreen models will also come with a free 100GB of Google Drive storage for two years.

When it comes to connectivity, the Acer Chromebase supports 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. Audio is handled by two 3 watt speakers, and there are also USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports for connecting the desktop with external devices.

The display is a 21.5-inch 1080p panel that Acer claims delivers viewing angles of up to an impressive 178°. It also features a stand that can be adjusted through a 15° to 75° range and comes with an optional VESA-compatible stand, bracket, arm- or wall-mount, which offers considerable flexibility when it comes to deciding where to mount the system.

The stand features an adjustable range of 15° to 75°. (Image Source: Acer)

According to Acer, it has actually designed the Chromebase for use in space-constrained public areas like call centers, libraries and reception areas and also private homes. This seems to be a fairly niche area, and may in fact be quite a good decision given that many users are moving away from desktop systems and laptops in favor of tablets and hybrid devices. A Chrome OS-based AIO system might appeal to only a limited audience, but it could very well see use in businesses and public areas.

The non-touchscreen variant of the Acer Chromebase is available now at US$329.99 while the touchscreen version will ship in July at US$429.99. Both models are powered by a 65 watt AC adapter and come bundled with a white USB keyboard and mouse.

Source: Acer

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.