Acer unveils new Chromebook that turns on in seven seconds

The Acer C720 Chromebook

Taiwanese Electronics company Acer has unveiled a new Chromebook that turns on in seven seconds.

The laptop also resumes from sleep almost instantly because of its 16 GB Solid State Drive. Acer’s launch is welcome news after it was revealed that Britons lose an average of five and a half days a year by waiting for slow computers to boot.

As well as boasting of an impressive 8.5 hours battery life thanks to the new Intel processor on Haswell micro-architecture, the computer is 30 per cent thinner and lighter than previous models.

The announcement comes days after rival budget laptop manufacturer HP also unveiled a new Chromebook which is currently in stores. At a cost of $300 (£188) Acer is aiming the laptop, to be launched in November, at "families and students".

Despite the advances, shoppers may be put off by Chromebook's heavy reliance on a continuous internet connect, and the fact they do not offer a large amount of hardware based storage because the devices mainly run online services including Gmail and Google Drive.

John Miedema, director product marketing, Acer Europe, said: “The Acer C720 is a significant step forward as it delivers speedy performance, quick boot times, and a slimmer design that is portable enough for anywhere use. These key advances allow families and students to continue collaborating, learning and playing in exciting ways, all while staying secure since Chrome OS includes multiple layers of protection from online threats.”