Samsung Chromebook (Wi-Fi, 11.6-Inch) Reviews
This is my 2nd Chromebook. I'm still using the old Chromebook (Samsung S5) at my house and I leave the new S3 ARM Chromebook at my girlfriend's house. Since Chrome is cloud based and syncs so well I go between the two Chromebooks seamlessly. The Chromebook S3 is faster than my old S5, and the built in speakers are much improved over the weak ones on the S5.
While I'm not using the new S3 ARM Chromebook her 8 year old uses it (with supervision) for homework and games. We set him up a Google account, and he knows how to sign me out and sign himself in. He operates the touch pad better than I can. He uses the maximize button (shift-maximize) to go in and out of full screen for games. He plugs it into the charger when he's done. It's kid proof. No accidental erase of my data since Chrome keeps the two accounts totally separate. My girlfriend and I watch the Google Chromebook commercials that say Chromebook is "The computer for the whole Family" and we totally agree. A Chromebook is not for everyone, but it's good for a lot people young and old.
I've had 20 gig of Google Storage (Drive) for over 2 years. First time I opened Google Drive on the S3 it prompted me and took me through adding the 100gig (free for 2 years). Drive and the Doc office applications are all I use now. I've not used Word or Excel since I got the 1st Chromebook (I have Office 2007 on Windows). I print from the Chromebook using Google Cloud print.
I use Chrome for my browser of choice on Window which allows me to use Chrome Remote Desktop (by Google) to access and control my Windows PC from my Chromebook (S3 or S5) when needed. That is really handy. I use the Chromebook's SSH terminal (CTRL-ALT-T) to access Linux systems instead using Putty (on windows).
I can't do everything on a Chromebook and still need Windows a tiny bit. But the S5 Chromebook allowed me to avoid buying a new Windows laptop last year. Now that I have the S3 Chromebook and Google Remote Desktop I have no plan to EVER buy another Windows PC.
I ordered the Chromebook and a full powered Acer Windows 8 laptop at just about the same time. After two weeks I'm returning the Acer and keeping the Chromebook.
So why would I ditch the full powered laptop for the Chromebook?
As a student and a business owner, the Chromebook handles 99.5% of the things I use my laptop for, but is much more portable and less expensive. Windows 8 also drove me insane, but that's a different review.
Pros:
* Super Thin
* Light Weight
* Non-glossy Screen
* Great Keyboard
* Google Docs (if you aren't using them as a student, you are missing out)
* Great Battery Life
* Fast Boot Time
* Inexpensive
Cons
* Limited On-Board Storage (compared to a regular laptop)
* No Optical Drive
Overall I'm very happy with my purchase and would highly recommend the Chromebook to anyone looking for a affordable alternative to an ultrabook or any full laptop. It does have some limitations, but those are more than made up with the cost of this device.
I've bought this chromebook when I was last week in England and I was leaving from Luton Airport. In Dixons, one of the best shops for electronics in England, had a small offer on Chromebook only 209 £, so I decided to buy immediately. I was worried about the security control and the weight of my hand baggage, but the chromebook passed both very successful. So first on the plane after take off, I just open the box to see how it looked like and I was immediately surpriesed by the design and the quality of materials, so I closed the box and I expected to arrive at home for finally play with my new toy.
So after six hours I arrived home and turn on my chromebook, to set up was a real piece of cake. I already have two chromebox and after few minutes for updating the firmware, immediately I found my favourite programmes also on this chromebook. So I started immmediately to test it deeply:
Battery is not super but it's enough with the screenlight at 70% you can reach the 6 hours and 20 minutes always with the wifi turned on.
The keyboard is fantastic one of the best I've ever tried maybe the best, distance from the keys is fine and the keyboard is very responsive, really I like it.
The trackpad is good but not great, sometimes is not responsive immediately, but isn't a very big problem.
Chromeos is a breeze for me is one of the best operating system, always responsive any problems at all with viruses and setting up. The google docs now are really great, it's possible to work offline and change fonts, editing, in short everything.
Of course there are still some cons, example alot of people is missing skype, well this is not real true. I tried the webapp imo and work perfectly and I was able to call with webcam without any particular problem.
I think this chromebook is perfect for everyone who wants a fast machine to connect to the web, creating or editing documents without any hassles from updating, viruses and so on.
And price? well price is probably the best option of this chromebook. I replaced my tablet with my chromebook and I'm very satisfied and above all it isn't so much heavier.
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