Eyes-on with the Acer CXI Chromebox

Acer CXI Chromebox

Prior to IFA 2014 actually kicking off, Acer announced the CXI, its latest Chrome OS device. In a break from the norm it's a Chromebox this time out instead of a laptop, and it's well priced and has a nifty little form factor that allows it to stand up vertically on a desk or be mounted to the rear of a monitor. While roaming the show floor we managed to grab a few minutes with the CXI.

It reminds you a lot of the nettop PCs, such as Acer's own Revo line in its overall appearance. Where the likes of the HP and Asus Chromeboxes are compact little, well, boxes, that lie on down on a flat surface, the CXI stands tall. On the front you've got a couple of USB ports, an SD card reader and the power button, while round the back you've got audio output, video output – displayport and HDMI – a couple more USB ports, ethernet and the power connector.

There's not really much else to say about it on the outside. It's a relatively small, unassuming Chromebox. Inside the CXI has am Intel Celeron 2957U CPU, 2GB or 4GB of RAM and a 16GB SSD drive. We didn't get much time to play around with it – but Chrome OS is Chrome OS – though the limited hands-on we did get would suggest at least comparible performance with Acer's Chromebooks.

With prices starting at $179.99 for the 2GB model and rising to $219.99 Acer has once again put out a competitively priced Chrome OS device. In the U.S. and Canada expect to see the CXI on shelves this month

.