Coming up aces: Acer 317 Chromebook on sale for $169 at Walmart

(Image credit: Walmart)

The Acer 317 Chromebook is touted as "the world's first 17-inch Chromebook," and Android users might want to jump on this lightweight laptop deal. (Well, not literally.)

Right now, you can get the Intel Celeron-powered Acer 317 Chromebook for just $169 at Walmart, down from $369. That'll save hybrid office workers a sweet $200, and ounce for once, it's one of the best laptop deals we've seen this week, especially when it comes to Chromebooks.

Acer's 317 Chromebook is the first-ever 17.3-inch Chrome OS laptop, and this lightweight multitasking machine is best for consumers who live by the “go big or go home” maxim. If you’re sick and tired of smaller Chromebooks that don't accommodate larger hands, the Chromebook 317 is exactly what your sausage fingers have been waiting for.

This Chromebook comes with a 1.1-GHz Intel Celeron N4500 CPU, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of flash memory and Intel UHD graphics. Open the lid and you’ll find the star of the show: the massive, 17.3-inch display. Its side bezels are slim, but the thick chin houses another eye-catching Acer logo while the chunky top bezel features the 720p webcam.

At 5.3 pounds and 15.8 x 10.5 x 0.9 inches, the Acer Chromebook 317 is unsurprisingly much heavier than its competitors. The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 (12 x 8 x 0.6 inches, 2.7 pounds) and the Asus Chromebook C423NA (12.7 x 9 x 0.6 inches, 2.7 pounds) are both thinner and lighter.

There are lots of connectivity options. On the left side, you’ll find a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, a microSD card reader and a headset jack. The right side has a Kensington lock slot and another pair of USB ports: Type-A and Type-C. For even more plug-and-play options, check out our best USB Type-C hubs and best laptop docking stations pages.

On our battery life test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits, the Chromebook 317 lasted an impressive 9 hours and 30 minutes. It outlasted the average Chromebook (9:23), the Galaxy Chromebook 2 (8:18) and the Chromebook C423NA (7:58).

For well under $200, this is a great Chromebook deal for multimedia mavens of every ilk, and Walmart is working to keep up with Amazon's Prime Early Access deals. Keep checking back for even laptop deals.

As a freelance journalist, TJ has over a decade of multi-medium storytelling under his belt. Leveraging a quarter century of collective coddiwompling amid the ever-evolving landscape of wireless gadgetry, his unique editorial background allows him to explore a variety of tech-centric subsectors on this fascinating planet. When he's not field testing new gear in the Catskills, Adirondacks, or an actual field, he can be found sipping Negronis in his living room and crafting Dr. Seussian poetry inside a tattered moleskin.