Samsung Chromebook (Wi-Fi, 11.6-Inch) Reviews
I gave this product 5 stars despite its clear limitations. No one is saying that the Samsung Chromebook can do everything that your Macbook Air can, but I will say that it can do most of the things that students use their laptops for, and for a fraction of the price. When on the go and not connected to wifi I use the offline docs editing feature and do whatever writing I need to get done. If I want to make a document look nice I'll use the Chrome Remote Desktop app to fullscreen into my headless Windows box sitting at home. It feels like I'm on the desktop. I'll open the Gdoc from the web browser on that computer, then paste the text into Word and format it.
I love this thing's physical features. It's incredibly light and thin, and it's true that it's not as pretty as an Air. There's a lump on the top where the hinge for the display is, and the plastic scratches super easily. I don't care one bit. The ports on the back aren't as convenient as they would be on the side, but it's what they had to do to make it so thin and cheap. The screen, when closed, presses against the keys and picks up any finger residue. That's one of the main issues, but it's a price I'm happy to pay.
I was using the Google SR-48 prototype Chromebook prior to this one, and the biggest complaint I have is battery life. It's 6 hours and more than enough for me but I feel less invincible than I did before, as the battery would last forever.
My bottom line: If you're able to adapt to the Google way of doing things and jive with it, you can get any productivity task done on this machine for a measly amount of money. It's a fantastic product, miles better than stupid netbooks and a grand cheaper than sexy Ultrabooks. Good for any student. Perfect for writing - they keyboard feels great! And of course it's fine as a web browser. It will run Netflix and Youtube just fine, though some web protocols don't run as fast as they ought.
I waited patiently for this Chromebook, it was back ordered for almost a month, and it was worth it. I have read a few reviews, by in large very positive but they still did not prepare me for the quality product that Samsung is turning out. It can replace up to 90% of your computer needs if you use it in a non specialized way; the hardware is truly amazing, light like a feather, blazing fast when browsing if the wifi provider doesn't let you down, marvelous keyboard, beautiful resolution. It loads up in five seconds, shuts down in three, its battery lasts seven hours, have i said enough?
Get it while its still $249 and do not fret about not having office or netflix, you will not be disappointed. .
Google realized something most of us don't quite realize yet: hardware is a commodity, and while it is still following Moore's Law with respect to overall horsepower/capability, for what most people do with their laptops/netbooks/tablets, they don't actually need a 1000-2000 laptop.
I will add that in my personal computing wardrobe, I have a work issued Dell Latitude laptop, an iPhone 4S, a Dell Zino, an iPad 3, a Kindle Paperwhite and now a Chromebook.
Here's the thing. For work, I need a windows laptop for now for the reason most people do: working with images, using Microsoft office, transferring and managing files, working on the VPN and collaborating with my customers and coworkers.
But when my work laptop is off, there are basically 5 things I always do: 1) read books, 2) occasionally let the kids play games, 3) consume media, 4) surf the web and 5) email/communicate with others.
Despite the assortment of devices I have, the ones I use the most are the Kindle and my iPhone. The iPad is neat, but usually I find myself starting a task which is just easier with a keyboard. It's become a toy for the kids and for my wife to use for Pinterest/Facebook.
I really hated the idea of turning my work laptop back on at night, and I really felt like the iPad didn't enable me to do enough with it that I started looking at buying a second laptop.
I couldn't find a laptop that was of decent quality, weighing less than 4 lbs with a SSD running an ARM CPU that offers at least 4 hours of battery life. This meant either buying a very heavy and very cheap laptop which was prone to failure for $350-$450, or spending between $800-$1000 for a MBA or Windows 8 ultrabook.
I took a gamble and purchased the Chromebook, and based on many of the mixed reviews, didn't know if I would be happy with the purchase or not.
Let me get the negatives out of the way first, because there are a few:
1. As others have pointed, the body is not unibody aluminum. It creaks and is plastic, so you'll get some moaning and groaning if you hold it a certain way, and it will probably have its paint peel over time.
2. The keyboard sounds like it needs to be oiled. Never used a squeaky keyboard before, but whatever.
3. The ports are all in the back. Can be annoying if you need to use them, especially USB.
4. If you are not looking at the display head on, it will wash out and be unviewable. 45 degrees or more from dead on center and good luck seeing what is on screen.
5. I would often zone out and forget I'm not using a laptop. Since I don't use Google Docs, I would have to lug out my PC to edit a document.
6. This is minor, and may be user error as I learn to use the Chromebook, but since it doesn't run apps per-se, there aren't any alerts or notifications you can set up. Example - on my work laptop I installed Google Talk, so I always get a pop-up notification in the system tray when new email arrives. Not so on Chromebook.
7. The webcam is not good at all.
If those are dealbreakers for you, you probably shouldn't be buying a Chromebook.
Now for what it does well:
1. Price. It's $249. You get 2 years of 100 GB Google Drive storage, and 10 go-go in flight internet passes. If you are someone like me who (up until now) pays Google for storage space (or someone else like Dropbox, box.net, etc), that's $120 you will save over 2 years versus getting a monthly plan. The internet is also worth to me $10 a pass. If you're a Google user and fly a decent amount, this is almost a no-cost purchase.
2. Even if you're not, I dare someone to find an ARM based netbook weighing less than 3 lbs that gets more than 5 hours of battery life with a great keyboard for less than $400.
3. Chrome runs fine for just about anything that is not CPU intensive, but again, if you need that level of horsepower, you either already have a Macbook Air/Pro or a heavy duty Wintel laptop. For surfing the web, watching amazon prime, communicating with friends, viewing images, reading news and consuming information, writing your blog, streaming music, this is plenty sufficient.
4. The keyboard is phenomenal. It does sound squeaky, but it's extremely comfortable to type on.
5. The trackpad (and maybe I have low expectations) works great as well. No jumping around, getting lost on the screen, great responsiveness. Beats anything I've used on windows laptops.
6. It's an attractive piece of hardware. Derivative? Yep. But who cares. It looks good. People keep asking me what it is when I'm at Starbucks with it powered up.
7. It closes the gap for me between my smartphone and my work PC. Would it be nice if it had a touchscreen and ran Android apps? Sure. But at $249, I can now justify buying the next Chromebook, as I assume at some point they will have touchscreens and run apps. I usually have my phone nearby, so if I need to play games, run apps, or call someone I have it.
8. This is a negative of all tablets, but they're extremely difficult to use if they aren't sitting on your lap. Reading books on a tablet is not fun right now, the tablet is too heavy. The Chromebook is perfect for most environments - it rests on your lap or can sit on a table.
Bottom line, this is a great device for what it is. If you find yourself wishing your tablet had a keyboard, or if you find yourself using your tablet for nothing but games and email, then you probably will find this to be great. If you worry about having access to Microsoft Office, or needing something which will let you print, or you find yourself often in places with no internet, you probably should consider other options.
When I'm sitting around watching TV, or in a coffee establishment/restaurant, at the airport, or parked at work, I reach for my Chromebook most of the time. If not, then I probably either need my work laptop or my phone.
And since they're so cheap, I don't worry about buying the next one whenever it comes out.
It seems that many Chromebook reviews and comments (from Google Support Forums) center on what a Chromebook CAN NOT do. The simplicity of the Chromebook is that it's built to browse the web, and it does it very well with a great battery life. I typically get in excess of seven hours of battery life from my Samsung Chromebook. I've only booted up my Dell laptop ONCE since I received this Samsung Chromebook on 12/21 - and I only did it to host some pictures.
I use a Dell laptop for work purposes (I work in an office of ~30 people), and the boot time drives me crazy every time I have to reboot it since I'm used to pressing power and being up and running in less than 20 seconds.
Positives of the Samsung ARM Chromebook:
1) Battery life: 7 hours in my usage
2) Fast bootup/shutdown times (20 seconds/under 5 seconds)
3) Ease of operating from the cloud (if you have any issues, you lose practically nothing with a reset)
4) The weight (at ~2.3 pounds, it's noticeably lighter than other computers I've used)
5) The keyboard is GREAT.
Negatives:
1) Video playback does leave a good bit to be desired. Netflix does not work at this point.
2) The screen is average. No more and no less. It's a $249 laptop screen.
3) The case of the computer has scratched on the bottom, and I do fear that the top will eventually meet the same fate.
Feel free to comment with any questions and I'll be glad to attempt to help out.
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