Backstory: I have an aging Dell XPS 13 from 2009, the era when Dell XPS machines were gaming machines instead of their ultrabook line. I'd been thinking about whether to replace it with another gaming laptop, or to get a tablet for general putzing about on the web and finally get another gaming desktop, possibly a Steam Machine, because I like the sound of an HTPC that can adequately cool a gaming graphics card. I thought about the Nexus 7, but I'm not sure that I feel that the 7" tablet size is a big enough step up from the current crop of 4.7-5" flagship Android phones to justify spending $200+.

Last week, I saw that Amazon had factory refurbished 16GB Acer C720-2802 Chromebooks for $150, and the UPS man dropped it off today. When I saw how easy it was to replace the SSD, I ordered a 128GB SSD to replace the factory one.

C720-2802 key specs:
11.6" 1366x768 display
Celeron 2955U Dual Core CPU
1.2kg weight
2GB RAM
Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics
[now has] MyDigitalSSD SC2 Super Cache 2 42mm SATA III 6G M.2 NGFF M2 SSD
Claimed 8.5hr battery life general usage, has done 6.5 hours in reviewer digital playback benchmarks.

After opening the package, I fired up the C720 to make sure it works, and made a recovery disk on a flash drive. I then voided my 90 day warranty (non-refurbs get a 1 year warranty) by breaking a sticker and taking the bottom panel off, installed the new SSD, and half an hour later, I had a working Chromebook with newly octupled storage. I'm somewhat shocked that I did so without breaking any fragile plastic tabs. If I feel like expanding the local storage further, I can use the SD card slot for that.

So far, I'm getting used to the different keyboard layout and Chrome OS weirdness. The screen isn't amazing, but it's certainly good enough for my intended purposes of dicking around online and limited travel computing. The keyboard certainly isn't as good as my fiancee's Lenovo Y400, but it's better than some that I've used on laptops that cost 2-3 times what I paid. I'm still getting used to the clickable touchpad without buttons, but overall performance again seems better than some of the cheapie traditional laptops I've played with.