[chromed]

Both are clamshells with 11.6" displays and full sized keyboards.
MacBook Air 11 2.3 lbs vs Chromebook at 2.95 lbs
MacBook Air 11 5 hours battery life vs Chromebook 6 hours
MacBook Air 11 Core 2 Duo processor vs Chromebook dual-core Atom

But... MacBook Air costs $999, while the Acer only costs $349

I think that any student or person on a budget will certainly choose the Acer option as long as they have Wifi nearby.

I am a little surprised though that Acer couldn't have made this lighter than the Macbook Air... perhaps they needed it for the extra battery life.

One other thing... I wonder which will be faster in "real life" ... the Chromebook with Instant-On or Macbook with OSX.

 

[modder]

I think without question the Chromebook will be faster, it is designed for that purpose. What remains to be seen is if the traditional Mac user has any reason to use a Chrome OS device instead?

 

[geekyass]

Apples and oranges (pun intended) I think, honestly Mac design users will be dependent on it for a long time to come I think, the Chromebook isn't really gunning after their market share.

 

[C.os]

Its really is apples and oranges but the flexibility and the extra things you get with a mac as opposed to a google limited application list. with the mac you have a much boarded selection of applications if need be.

 

[Chrome-Guy]

I think the Acer chromebook is your best bang for the buck. not everyone will have the coin for a $1000 MacBook air.

if speed is what you need, the Acer chromebook is where it's at.

The real question here is what can you do on the MacBook Air that you can't go on the Acer.

 

[geekyass]

I suppose the standout difference outside of programs would be hard drive space.