Samsung Chromebook (Wi-Fi, 11.6-Inch) Review
Not since the early 1990's have I considered using a different OS other than Windows. But today is a new day and after many years of having my explorer freeze up or the constant update notification, I was ready for something else! I've dabbed in Linux and apple but Linux felt unfinished and Macs are simply over priced for the extra benefit. Here comes chrome OS at a price of $249 for a laptop that looks much more expensive and performs well.
Here is the deal. Chrome OS is not windows so do not expect it to work like windows or do what windows does. Chrome is simply a web based OS that allows you to use Chrome store apps, which are essentially web apps. Yes you can do this in windows and in fact you will be able to do everything this computer does in Windows, but windows has too much bloat. You need more computer to run as smoothly in windows and again, the updates, the virus scans, malware, and so on is still prevalent in all windows.
Most web apps are free which comes as a benefit of leaving windows behind. Like android you will find that most webapps are free to use. I'm not a person who can't afford to buy programs but why buy them when you can get them for free? These web apps are cute, awesome, and some of them you would never have discovered if it wasn't for the chrome store, and that's the beautiful thing about chrome. Chrome lets you venture out of the grip which is windows.. We are already locked in the business world to using windows, this allows you to at least personally free yourself from the Pc world.
Why would you buy this over a tablet? The tablet is an amazing device. I have a galaxy tab for myself and an ipad for my 2 year old daughter and without a doubt they are wonderful devices to consume information. You can scroll through Pulse flawlessly, read the news easily, watch videos laying down in the comfort of your bed, and consume just about anything the web has in store for you. The key word is CONSUME. The tablet is great to consume but try writing something like this review, a blog post, create a spread sheet, edit a video, or you get the point. This Chrome book and all Pc's in general are great to produce things and not just consume the web. All in all you can produce things much easier on this device than other platforms in the same price point and with its lightweight design take it anywhere you need to take it. After buying this laptop my galaxy tab sits by my nightstand as a reader because now I can produce and consume easily in this chromebook.
Finally the cloud is the reason many say this chromebooks fails and the reason to purchase. To use the cloud you have to be connected to the internet and this chromebook feels limp without the internet. But wait a minute, I have tethering on my phone, wifi in my house, wifi at work, my business, and most places I eat also have free wifi. The reality is I can have internet anywhere I want with my phone or super high speed just about anywhere else I find my self with free wifi all around us now days. I would say that you really should have tethering on your phone to not feel constraint on this device. When is the last time you were without your phone? Now comes the best part of the cloud and chromebook. Chrome OS almost forces you to use the cloud and this is not such a bad thing. Too many times you will find you have double files, copies of thing here and there, and basically you get a new computer you lose some of that info, with the cloud all you will need is one copy and it will always be with you. It's a permanent hard drive for all your devices. No more emailing yourself spreadsheets or docs, you will simply turn on your computer and continue your work right where you left off. No more losing those beautiful photos you took on your old phone, store them once in the cloud and those memories will be with you always. Forcing you to use the cloud and get use to a new habit is not a bad thing once you see all the benefit and experience the ease of having one hard drive connecting all of your devices. Thanks for reading and as a 20 year Windows user I'm excited about finding something that brings us back to the simplicity of productivity.
I've been living with my Chromebook (CB) for a few days and without going as deep as some here, here's some bullet points:
Amazing form factor - almost identical to an 11 inch Macbook Air but personally I prefer the feel of the plastic - I feel similarly about my Samsung Galaxy S3 over an iPhone too.
So light and small compared to my HP DM4 or really anything but a tablet.
Instant start up into Chrome OS is a convenience that now makes jumping on my W7 laptop a frustrating experience.
Keyboard is phenomenal. At my desk I use a full size Logitech keyboard but I find going the the CB keyboard very natural.
Trackpad is up there with the best in the business.
Screen - decent - its no retina display but does the job and I like the matte finish.
Build quality - really good. Yes there's a little give if you push hard enough on the shell and keyboard but quality is way beyond what you would expect for the price.
Chrome OS. - I am deeply embedded in Google Apps for email / calendar / contacts / web browsing and do about 90% of my work in the Chrome browser so I am loving the simplicity of the Chrome OS and CB.
MS Office etc - I do a lot of work in Powerpoint and some image and layout work with Adobe CS. Unfortunately at the moment the CB is not going to replace my Windows laptop at my desk but I can use Chrome Apps and Office Online apps in a pinch for some of that work if I need to on the road.
Chrome Apps - I suggest spend some time checking out the Chrome App Store. There is everything from enterprise to productivity software and a ton of entertainment and games.
Music - subscribe to RDIO or Rhapsody and with a wifi connection your music needs are covered.
Kids - I set up my kids Google Accts and am happy to hand it over and let them log in without having to worry about any of my files / settings etc. In fact I'm probably going to buy them each one for the holidays.
As a second computer for traveling or running out to meetings this is a no brainer for $250. Also great for using on roadtrips for the kids to watch movies or play games - just load up an SD card or USB stick with media.
My hope is that the cheap price and Google Apps for Education means that more schools get computers in the hands of more pupils. Definitely a game changer.
A review of the new $ 249 Google Chrome Book
Google has introduced a new portable computer - they call it the perfect additional computer - and I see it as a paradigm shift in the role of a portable computing device.
The new Samsung Chrome Book has an 11.6-inch full color display. It weights 2.42 lbs and is .7 inches thin. It has a battery life of over 6.5 hours and runs on a Samsung Dual processor with 100 GB of online Google Drive space. It features a web cam with USB and HDMI ports and is Bluetooth compatible. It runs the Chrome OS, which means it has Google apps built in, and is priced at $249.
I think it's one of the most remarkable product introductions I've seen in my 35 years working in the PC industry.
This new Chrome Book re-defines what a portable computer can do and how it can be used, and is completely based on the concept of Cloud Computing . It works right out of the box, has no moving parts, and has built-in anti-virus protection.
Google has created a complete infrastructure for cloud computing; Google Chrome browser for surfing the web, Google email, online google docs application software compatible with MS Office apps, google drive to store whatever documents you want in the cloud, free downloadable apps such as google voice for phone calls and video conferencing with webcam, and dozens of other applications. And of course the Google Search Engine. All the software you need is in the Google Cloud.
I've had 5 portable computers over the years and I bought each one to be an additional computer to my office computers. But now you don't need a bulky expensive laptop computer with a big hard disk and Microsoft Office installed on it.
I had also bought an IPad as a possible new portable computing device. Trying to use my Ipad for email and type on the glass was maddening. I couldn't get it to print as I didn't have an Apple Airprint compatible printer, and I was shocked to learn that I could only buy music and media through Apple Itunes.
I could easily print to any of my printers with the Chrome Book, it has a great real keyboard, and I can buy anything from anywhere - Amazon or whatever vendor I can get the best prices from.
Placed side by side, The Macbook Air and The Google Chrome Book look almost like twins in design, keyboard and screen size.
With the Chrome Book, I can surf the web, watch Youtube videos, play games, check my email, video chat, make free phone calls, and If I want to create a letter or a spreadsheet I just use Google docs and I can store them online in Google drive. If there are files on my main computers I want to be able to access with my Chrome Book, I can upload those files to my online Google drive, and be able to access and edit them.
The new Samsung Chrome Book defines the new world of Cloud Computing and provides virtually everyone easy access to this world at an astoundingly low price. I also feel that many people could use this as their only computing device.
For Raw Bytes, this is Frank Delaney
Raw Bytes Computer News
KPBX Spokane Public Radio FM 91.1 National Public Radio
This computer is not meant to be a desktop replacement. It is not for everyone, either, as Google's ad states. However, it is a computer that can be utilized by many people. I'll talk about the following aspects of the computer in this review: 1. Keyboard 2. Trackpad 3. Screen 4. Performance 5. What can people use it for in general? 6. Price, build quality and wrap-up
1. The keyboard on this computer is absolutely marvelous. As you may have guessed, I'm using it to type this review. The keys are spaced very evenly, and there is a reassuring *click* that makes old mechanical keyboards look like dinosaurs. One minor detail many people will notice: there seems to be no Caps Lock here. It has been replaced by a search key. However, Google is quick to tell us that we can still access the key by pressing Alt-Search. Also, no number pad, but computers of this size can't really have them due to space constraints.
2. I will always keep my mouse handy because I'm not much of a trackpad person. However, that's not to say that I'm going to do you readers a disservice and not review an important aspect of the Chromebook. This trackpad parallels the one on my dad's MacBook Air. In case that's not clear, it is the best trackpad you will get at this price point (more on that later). Suffice it to say that using it is a fluid experience that will leave all but the pickiest among us satisfied.
3. This is a 1366 x 768 matte screen. What does this mean for consumers? Let's just say it's not the best screen out there. For that, one must look no further than an iPad 4 or a Nexus 10 (both are more expensive). Once again, it's a matte screen (for more on that, look up matte vs. glossy screens on Google, Yahoo, or Bing). No dead pixels so far, videos are fine, but remember that this is a relatively small screen, so it may well be hard on your eyes. I myself am 18 years old and have decent vision, but some who will consider this should be aware that it is imperative to try to go to a local Best Buy and use it for several minutes. Rest assured, however, that the display on this computer is great for what it's supposed to be.
4. This may well be the most important section for some of us, myself included. This computer has what's called an ARM processor. It is one of the most powerful ARM processors currently available for consumers. These processors mean no fans, no noise, but possibly worsened performance. Let's look at all three of those points: it is true that there are no fans or hard drives or other moving parts of any kind in this device, and it really doesn't make any noise. As for actual performance, with just 2 GB of RAM advertised, and probably less actually available for the user, try not to open more than roughly eight to ten tabs at once. I'll be more specific: if YouTube is running, music will be choppy almost all the time if anything, and I mean anything, is loading. If Google can fix this through one of their every-six-weeks software updates, then great, but if not, know that this is what you get at such a low price point. Oh, and by the way, as for games, your mileage may vary. What I mean is that you can go ahead and try to play your favorite browser-based games, but some games will run slowly, while others will run smoothly. If you wanna play chess on the Chromebook, be my guest; I doubt it'll lag.
5. Also an important section, obviously. Chromebooks are not for everyone, as I noted before. Let's review what you can and can't do here first: you CAN create documents, slideshows, spreadsheets, and even forms that can be posted online for others to fill out (awesome feature by the way, try Google Forms, even if you don't have a Chromebook). You CAN have a calendar here with appointments and all that jazz (Google Calendar), and you CAN have reminders as well. You CAN do many things even when there is no Internet connection: documents, slideshows, spreadsheets, music, MOVIES (not YouTube videos), games that support offline play, among other things. I think it's adequate to say that Chromebooks have come a long way in terms of being able to use them offline. Moving along, you CAN'T play any games that are not in the browser (examples are World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, etc). You CAN'T use Skype, Facetime, Photoshop, or any program that has no browser mode. Off the top of my head, some more prominent examples of this include writing code for computer programs, but if that's what you do, then you probably already knew that.
6. It only costs $249 plus applicable taxes. I think that this is great. Half the price of the iPad but it can do everything that the iPad can, and it has a larger screen and a keyboard to boot (it is a laptop, after all). Also, let's not forget that this device looks almost like a MacBook Air. It's thin, light, and sleek (boy, are those words overused). It looks great in my eyes. Sure, the iPad has a much, much, sharper screen, but it's more expensive. This is the perfect workhorse/plaything/do-it-all-except-non-browser-stuff device. I'd say buy it, but before you do, do what I did: try to justify it to yourself. Don't say, "Do I want/need this device?" Instead, say, "Will I use this device for enough things to justify buying it?" The price point is low enough that many of you could do no wrong in buying the Chromebook, so go out and get one if it'll be useful to you.
I had bought the Samsung 550 (and have reviewed that too). I've been very happy with the 550, but when this new version was released at only $249 I couldn't resist buying it (I'm married to a geek, so you can never have too many gadgets around the house).
Here's what I love about this laptop - it's incredibly thin and light. However when you use it it feels big - the keyboard is a full-size one (the keyboard on the 550 is great too, but this is better) and the trackpad is huge too for a laptop this size. An improvement over the previous version is the trackpad surface - it's very smooth (almost feels like glass)which makes scrolling a breeze. Overall, the hardware is great and it looks really good (especially for the price tag)
I was not expecting any surprises with the software since my old 550 has the latest features (thanks to automatic updates). However I was pleasantly surprised by the speed of the new 550 - it boots up quickly, pages load really fast too and all in all it's great to use. There are also a few new add-ons that are an improvement as well - apps that create a Google Doc, Slide or Spreadsheet with one click, as well as a new Camera app that's a lot of fun. I hope Google releases these for my old 550 too.
All in all, I'm very happy with this laptop and highly recommend it - great features and usability for an amazing price. A great Christmas gift idea!
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