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Acer is launching an all-in-one Chromebase desktop with a touchscreen this summer

Acer is launching an all-in-one Chromebase desktop with a touchscreen this summer

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While Google's Chromebooks are finding a measure of success in certain markets, Chrome OS hasn't exactly found much traction in other form factors, like the Mac mini-esque Chromebox or all-in-one Chromebase. That's not stopping Acer from offering up its own take on the all-in-one desktop — the company just announced its own Chromebase. Unlike the Chromebase that LG first introduced in late 2013, this one has a new hardware trick — its 21.5-inch, 1080p display is a giant touchscreen.

Chrome OS form factors beyond the laptop haven't really caught on yet

The utility of such a screen remains a bit in question, however. Unlike Windows, Chrome OS isn't exactly designed with touch in mind — but that's slowly starting to change. Google announced a touchscreen Chromebook from Asus that can be used in tablet mode yesterday, and alongside it will be a few tweaks to Chrome OS that'll make it a bit more touch-friendly. When you consider the fact that Android apps will soon be coming to Chrome OS as well, those touchscreens make a lot more sense than they did a year ago.

As far as the rest of the hardware goes, the Chromebase will run on Nvidia's Tegra K1 processor. It sounds like Acer will offer a few configurations — we were told that it'll have "up to 4GB" of RAM. Storage is the typically minimum 16GB found in most Chrome OS devices, but Acer is including 100GB of Google Drive storage for two years. There's no pricing info yet, either — but if this machine fits your needs, Acer will sell you one sometime during Q2.

Update, 3:40PM ET: Added details on the RAM and storage from Acer.