Samsung Chromebook (Wi-Fi, 11.6-Inch) Reviews
I waited on back order for this device. At $249 I was willing to take a chance. My wife has the Kindle HD8.9" and loves it, but I like having a keyboard. I figured at that price I could gamble a little bit. So far, it's been everything I was expecting. And I dearly love having a keyboard for those times when I'm surfing the Net and feel the need to talk back, or get an idea and want to take a quick note. Scratchpad--which comes with the device--is perfect.
I did a fair amount of research before purchase and am still amazed by people who clearly don't. This is a web based device and must have an internet connection to do its basic job. Yes, it can do a few things offline, but very few. For me the ability to write off line on both Google Docs and Scratchpad is all the offline I need.
It's lightweight, pretty, and I've been amazed at the battery life. My research led me to believe it was OK but not great. So far it's been significantly better than I expected.
Like any other device--FIRST DECIDE WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. It's not a laptop. It's not a tablet. It's a whole new thing of its own. For me it works really well.
UPDATE 1.7.13: I continue to be impressed. Although this machine is Google centric I am required by my company to carry and use an iPhone. So far I've uploaded all of my iTunes music library to Google Drive so I can listen on Chromebook. I also use an iPhone app "JotNot Pro" to scan and upload documents to Google Drive. I especially love it for scanning business cards. Works perfectly. I can hardly wait to find out what other things I can do.
I bought a pricier version of the Chromebook (Series 5 550) back in August 2012 after getting fed up with my Vaio laptop's slow boot speed and constant need to update software, both OS and AV related, all of which impeded my simple desire to be able to check email, browse a few websites for a couple minutes, and then log-off. The Chromebook satisfied all of my desires for a super-fast functional netbook so well that when my parents' desktop PC broke down, I knew precisely what to buy them for my father's 60th - this newer Chromebook.
After setting it up for them - a doddle really, enter the password for your wireless connection and ensure you have a Google account and that's it - I showed them how easy it was to use. Simply open or close the Chromebook's lid to turn it on and off. Boot speed is literally seconds. Updates are necessary though these are few and far between and also take literally seconds to update. And browsing is completely straightforward - Chrome looks simpler as a browser than IE.
Comparing my Chromebook and this newer Chromebook, there are some differences that are noticeable. On the newer model, the power cable plugs into the back, which is also where the USB slots are, while the 550 plugs onto the left hand side where the USB slots are also housed. Battery life on my 550 is a couple hours longer, the screen is larger, and it looks sleeker - the newer model folds up leaving a kind of line at the back making it look a bit clunky, design wise. Then again my 550 is also pricier (though with the cash-back offer Samsung ran when I bought it at PC World, the difference was only fifty pounds).
But in terms of speed and browsing, there's no noticeable difference. My parents are delighted with the Chromebook and love the speed and ease with which they can go online, check email, and then turn it off all within a minute whereas their old desktop clunker took about 15 minutes to fully start up and, when it did, browsing the internet was a slow and joyless activity (my father's words).
The speed of Chromebook's boot up time is because the OS is in the Cloud (internet storage) so without an internet connection, this device is more or less worthless - this is why I've kept my Vaio for Office, movies, and downloads. It also doesn't have a disc drive so you can't play DVDs or Blu-Rays on it, and you can't download on to it, so no iTunes, or anything that requires downloading - the plus side being you don't need anti-virus software as no viruses can download onto your machine.
For those looking for an affordable and easy to use device but don't like tablets and prefer using a mouse and keyboard (a lot more people than you think) then Chromebook is for me, and now my parents, the only way to go.
The Chromebook is very good for a computer for casual browsing on the internet. The pros and cons i'm sure have been stated by other reviewers but i'll list a few i really think are important.
Pros:
-Boots in seconds.
-Price(Got it for 250 at best buy)
-Very slim and lightweight.
-Google docs is a good Microsoft office substitute.
Cons:
-Tiny screen(compared to my previous laptop)
-It cannot run software regular computers can such as Microsoft office, etc.
-Needs wifi to be useful
I want to restate THIS IS NOT A NORMAL PC. You cannot download things to it like a PC with windows. I know people who bought this computer because it was so cheap, but had no idea what it was. They were then disgruntled over this fact and decided it was no good. For a college students such as my self this is perfect. Its easy to carry around and with wifi all over the school you have no problems. If i need programs like mathematica, visual c++ and if i absolutely need to use Microsoft office for a specific project i just use the school's computers. For the the average person using a computer to browse the web, check email, or typing simple word documents this computer is ideal.
This definitely gets 5 stars.
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