When the Google (News - Alert) Chromebook was first introduced to the marketplace, it seemed to be a pretty neat machine, but there was some doubt whether or not it had much staying power. The price tag (News - Alert) alone made the device expensive for a laptop that you could only use if you happened to be somewhere with a Wi-Fi connection. Despite some people wondering whether the Chromebook would really catch on, this holiday season there has been a new wave of Chromebooks released with the latest version the cheapest yet. Acer (News - Alert) and Google have teamed up in order to release a hybrid PC and Chromebook. The best part is that it is priced at just $199.

The Acer C7 Chromebook sports an 11.6-inch screen and intel processor, a full size keyboard and a clickable trackpad. The C7 has a 320GB hard drive and can rely on 100GB of additional storage using GDrive for two years for free. The Chromebook has long bragged about how quickly they boot up and this one is said to boot in 18 seconds and have 3.5 hours of battery life.

The battery life is where the C7 really disappoints. That 3.5 hour battery life is almost half as strong as the Samsung (News - Alert) versions of the Chromebook. The newest Samsung Chromebook has a price tag of just $249 with 6.5 hours of battery life.   The Samsung Chromebooks also have the ability to access a 3G network, which can come in handy when you are working somewhere that doesn’t have a Wi-Fi Network.

The Acer version of the Chromebook is also heavier and thicker, but an MSRP of less than $200 could be the magic bullet for the device this shopping season. The C7 also is being marketed as something that will be easier to use for the whole family, because you can log in with your own Google account and have access to only your files. The next person to use the device logs in with their account and only has access to their files. The C7 goes on sale today at the Google Play store and Best Buy.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO Miami 2013, Jan 29- Feb. 1 in Miami, Florida.  Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.