Is there a nice basic Chromebook yet?

[slayer202]

Currently using a C720p. I love it but would like something newer/faster

All I really need is 4gb and Full HD touchscreen, ~11". Don't care about folding screen. Android Apps would be nice. Decent build / weight. It seems like the options for touchscreen chromebooks is incredibly limited and anything decent adds on a ton of options I don't want and become overpriced. Anything on the horizon?

 

[ScottAD]

I love my C720p. I still don't want to let it go but it is showing it's age. Simple Chromebooks may be going away if Google starts requiring additional hardware.
https://www.wired.com/2016/09/chromebooks-totally-transform-laptop-design/
https://www.wired.com/2016/09/chromebooks-totally-transform-laptop-design/
Lenovo 100S is one of the best budget options out there. Can be found for $149.99 or lower.

Dell Chromebook 13 (yes a bit larger screen) is another good option but is ~$430

 

[VirtualLarry]

Lenovo 100S is one of the best budget options out there. Can be found for $149.99 or lower.

I own the Lenovo IdeaPad 100S "CloudBook" (Windows 10) 11.6" model, and I really like it. It's slim, has awesome battery life, and is almost "snappy". (Seems to have a fairly high-performance eMMC implementation, compared to some CloudBooks I've used.)

I assume that their ChomeBook version is similar / same hardware. It's pretty nice.

 

[Kaido]

Same, still rocking the C720 (although I do regret getting the touchscreen, so annoying...wish I had gone for the 4GB version instead). Granted, with Android app support, the touchscreen will make a lot more sense.

What I really want is 16 gigs of RAM. However, Google killed off their Pixel (which was crazy-expensive anyway) & I don't know if they're going to replace it or not. Dell has a model that has 8 gigs. HP has a business Chromebook that has 16 gigs of RAM, although it's limited to an m7 CPU instead of an i7 CPU:

http://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/business-solutions/hp-chromebook-13-g1-(energy-star)-w0t02ut-aba

However, it does have a really nice docking station that only uses a single cable for connection:

http://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-elite-usb-c-docking-station-t3v74ut-aba

Would be pretty awesome to have a Chromebook with 16 gigs of RAM & something like a large 4K desktop monitor to dock it to for sit-down typing. But $150 for the dock plus $1030 for the 16gb RAM Chromebook...ouch. Of course, it does have a QHD screen, which is nice. Would almost be worth it to just buy an Ultrabook & slap Neverware on there for a DIY Chromebook!

 

[slayer202]

I didn't expect to like the touchscreen but I love it; can't go without it now, sadly!

and what do you need that much ram for?!

 

[Kaido]

and what do you need that much ram for?!

ADHD.

 

[slayer202]

Acer R13 looks pretty good, I'm not sure if a 13" screen would be too big or not, but I guess I can check it out next month. Convertible screen folds all the way over for those who like that. Doesn't seem like something I need but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised as I was with touchscreen

 

[slayer202]

I really wish it was an inch or two smaller but I think I'm gonna get an Acer R13, just shopping for the best price (and I'm not sure it's officially released yet). Any tips? B&H has the 64gb for $430 shipped, no tax. The 32gb might be available at a couple places for a little bit less

 

[holden j caufield]

I run an android vm in my dell ultrabook that has 16gb of ram and assign it a lot of ram. You can do the same with chrome OS.

 

[daxzy]

I run an android vm in my dell ultrabook that has 16gb of ram and assign it a lot of ram. You can do the same with chrome OS.

Out of curiosity, what Android VM do you run? I've tried Ami-DuOS and Andy, but had varying degrees of success (issues with touchscreen/accessing webcam).

 

[slayer202]

So I'm using my new Acer R13 right now. Still getting accustomed to it, but so far the main difference between this and the C720p is the size and quality of the screen. I definitely prefer the smaller screen and slightly lighter machine, but this full HD display is much nicer. Going back to the C720p to check something really highlighted how poor those low res displays are. I'll check back once I've used this a bit more

 

[slayer202]

the tablet configuration is kinda strange when the back of the"tablet" is a keyboard. it's hard to tell if that will be useful before android apps are available. for now, it seems pretty rare that I'll have the chromebook folded over like that, as 99% of the time the keyboard will be more valuable.

 

[virtuality]

On the horizon: the Samsung Chromebook Pro, 12.3", 2400 x 1600 for $500: https://liliputing.com/2016/10/meet...ebook-pen-support-high-res-display-leaks.html
Oh, it's ARM-based.

Maybe this? https://www.wired.com/2016/09/chromebooks-totally-transform-laptop-design/

 

[slayer202]

is ARM no good? at first glance that samsung looks a lot better than the acer R13. I'm liking it so far, but it does tend to slow down with a lot of tabs open, especially with a lot of graphics/video

 

[virtuality]

is ARM no good?

It depends. If you want to use it as a Linux or Windows machine as many do, then obviously you need Intel. If you want to use it as a Chromebook, then you may have other preferences.

 

[slayer202]

https://9to5google.com/2016/10/25/samsung-chromebook-pro-specs/

a little more info here. I'm a bit wary of the resolution though; my 13.3" acer displays everything quite tiny at 1920x1080. 2400×1600 on a smaller screen seems like it might be difficult, no? It's a pain having to zoom on every webpage. maybe I'm an idiot and I'm missing something

 

[corkyg]

No need to zoom. You can just set your view at a comfortable number.

 

[virtuality]

Website to watch: https://chromeunboxed.com/

 

[slayer202]

gah, I was just on a plane and I must have hit the power button somewhere between packing and grabbing it from my bag on the plane. I couldn't log into the chromebook without wifi...I was able to sign-in as a guest but that didn't give me access to the movie files I was planning on watching...seems like a really bad design

 

[Kaido]

gah, I was just on a plane and I must have hit the power button somewhere between packing and grabbing it from my bag on the plane. I couldn't log into the chromebook without wifi...I was able to sign-in as a guest but that didn't give me access to the movie files I was planning on watching...seems like a really bad design

Wait, I'm confused - Chromebooks have an offline mode that let you sign in locally, even without wi-fi access, so if you had a movie file on the local SSD, you should have been able to login & play it in the media player. Did it block you from logging into your account? What message did it give you?

 

[slayer202]

There was a little caution symbol where you would normally type your password. When I clicked the button, there was a popup saying something about no internet connection, or maybe it was that the internet was requiring some sort of login (for united's service). Whatever it was, there was no way for me to type my password. I didn't see any sort of off-line option other than signing in as guest. Which I suppose makes sense because if you have no internet connection, they can't confirm whether your password is still valid?

 

[virtuality]

Currently using a C720p. I love it but would like something newer/faster

All I really need is 4gb and Full HD touchscreen, ~11". Don't care about folding screen. Android Apps would be nice. Decent build / weight. It seems like the options for touchscreen chromebooks is incredibly limited and anything decent adds on a ton of options I don't want and become overpriced. Anything on the horizon?

Meanwhile, touchscreen Chromebooks went mainstream, but they all fold. (I don't understand why would anyone want to touch her non-folding laptop's screen, though.) It depends on your budget. What do you mean by cheap? No Full HD screens of size 11.6". It depends of which feature is more important to you? Either, or. What's your budget? Basic Chromebooks are around $200, relatively high end ones are about $500.