Samsung Chromebook (Wi-Fi, 11.6-Inch) Reviews
So I've been looking at this Chromebook for a few months now, after someone at work (I work in IT at school) brought one in. I did a lot of research and read a lot of reviews, and finally purchased one after I got some extra spending cash and a credit card. I bought this for school and of course personal use, and it's absolutely perfect--in regards to what I thought it would be and what it can do.
First off, disregard reviews from customers who are unsatisfied with the limitations of the Chromebook. If you didn't know it couldn't do something you desired, it's on your part; you should have done research into what exactly a Chromebook can and can't do.
So yes, it's essentially a quick and simple computer that goes online. I'll be using this for writing papers, and doing all online related work for school. Quick shotgun of my personal assessment: very fast boot-up time as expected, keyboard is fantastic (very Mac-esque, one of the few things I like about macbooks), battery time is great, display is great (really), haven't tested the camera yet, trackpad could be better (at times, it's a bit off but not a big deal and it's working fine now), sound is great, build quality is great.
Anyway, feel free to shoot any questions you may have about the Chromebook. I love Google and all, but I'm not biased enough to disregard the truth of any flaws.
Edit - Random miscellaneous things: headphone needs to be pushed in very firmly into the jack, bottom of laptop gets warm/hot but definitely nowhere as hot as a normal laptop with a standard processor.
I bought this chromebook for myself in early dec, and it hasn't left my side since. I can honestly say, based on the pricetag, I expected much less. Samsung seriously delivered here. 5-7 seconds for boot and instant on with the speed and mobility of an ssd. Fortunately I've lived in Google's chrome browser for the last 2 years, making the transition to chrome OS very easy - definitely something I would suggest to anyone thinking of buying a chromebook.
This is the most useful laptop I've ever used. I could have gone with a machine with more horsepower but this ridiculous "on-time" (6-7 hours) and just silly "standby" (literally all day) make this particular chromebook really shine. Then there's Google Docs, makes me smile. Probably the most underrated feature is the inherent security of using chrome OS. Or perhaps the silent endless updates. I suppose storage might turn somebody off, 16 GB is pretty limited - unless you mount a USB 3 flash drive. By the time my free 2 years of 100 GB of Google storage wears off I'll be able to transfer anything in there to a USB 3 flash drive (at that point they'll be ridiculously cheap).
Dear Google, thank you for doing what Microsoft is apparently unable to :)
I had been looking for a lightweight laptop with a large battery life. I was very tempted to buy the newer retina display Macbook; however, the price tag was a big enough deterrent. I purchased the Samsung Chromebook instead, hoping it would be decent enough for the $250 price tag.
I have been using this for several months now and I am surprised how often I use it. What's more surprising is my wife actually uses it regularly. She even claimed it as her own now. The simplicity of having a small, long lasting, simple to use computer made it a family favorite device. We both each own a tablet and desktop, but since purchasing the Chromebook all these devices have seen much less usage. Having a real keyboard makes use favorable over a tablet.
I expected several issues since this is a new ARM device with a new operating system, but the few I found were quickly fixed. this is durable as well. I have dropped it from my coffee table and bed several times without an issue.
Initially I was planning to replace Chrome OS with a different ARM linux distribution; however, this has met almost all my needs. The only thing I can't do is easily program on the device. I have to ssh to another computer to develop code. I have used Cloud development sites, but prefer ssh.
Pros:
Battery last several hours (5-7)
Light weight
Quickly powers on and usage on the web within 10 seconds
Supports multiple users (Google Accounts)
Very little to no heat coming off of the laptop
Easy to update
Cons:
Can't do all things a standard laptop can (can not program)
Native client NaCl is currently not working for ARM Chrome OS (supposedly it is in the works)
Overall this device far exceeded expectation for the limited price.
Buy Now
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