Samsung Chromebook. Buy it.

[Bateluer]

I still can't see the need for one for my own use, but it's interesting.

Maybe I'll pick one up to play around with for $40 at the inevitable garage sales/swap meets a year or so from now.

A year or so from now will see at least 2 generations of Chromebooks. Something tells me you're not going to be interested in this ARM Samsung Chromebook in 2 years. Same as you wouldn't be interested in a Transformer TF101 today.

 

[Zaap]

Same as you wouldn't be interested in a Transformer TF101 today.

If I saw a Transformer TF101 for $40 at a yard sale, I'd snap it right up.

Those are still more useful than $40 though.

 

[pm]

If you put Ubuntu on it, and install a SD card (to increase the storage), I hear it makes a pretty good laptop, although Ubuntu instead of Chrome supposedly does make feel a bit more sluggish. It's got a nice screen, good battery life, it's light and it's cheap. I've used one a bit and I was generally impressed with the built quality and the screen is very nice. Running Chrome it feels very smooth and very fast.. I wished the SD card would seat totally (it sticks out a bit) but I really didn't have many complaints.

But my concerns echo most everyone elses'. I like to use my laptop when I'm travelling and I don't always have an internet connection, I like to watch movies on it, upload my photos from the day, play the occassional game and I have my doubts how well it will do any of these three. But to surf the web, read and reply to emails (and Anandtech) I bet it works great. C

 

[pyjujiop]

I've already got a real laptop for getting shit done. I've got a tablet for fun, I've got a fat ass phone for fun and email and camera and more.

Nope, not getting a chrome book.

+1

If all you do is browse the Web and use cloud services, the Chromebook is fine. For anything more, you need a fully-featured laptop. For me, the Chromebook would be a $250 toy, and I've got better toys to spend $250 on.

 

[Red Storm]

+1

If all you do is browse the Web and use cloud services, the Chromebook is fine. For anything more, you need a fully-featured laptop. For me, the Chromebook would be a $250 toy, and I've got better toys to spend $250 on.

Thing is, for a LOT of people that is all they need. I know everyone here at AT is a full time professional and needs the latest versions of Photoshop and AutoCAD running on their laptops 23/7, but the majority of people do not need that.

My Chromebook will be delivered today.

 

[bigrash]

Seriously though, is a Chromebook at all useful offline?

That's exactly why I'm not getting one.

 

[dguy6789]

That's exactly why I'm not getting one.

Yeah seriously. An Android tablet will do what a Chromebook will do if you have web connectivity(and have better battery life) and will do much more than a Chromebook if you do not have web connectivity.

 

[halik]

So you really wanted a tablet, but ended up buying a laptop that lacks essentially all of the upside of having a laptop. Yaay answers for questions no one asked!

 

[Ravynmagi]

That's exactly why I'm not getting one.

Well for many people these days, most of what they want to do does require being online anyway. Surfing the web, checking email, watching streaming videos, social networking, online games.

I never used a Chromebook yet, but my understanding is some of the Chrome Store apps do work offline.

 

[Red Storm]

Yeah seriously. An Android tablet will do what a Chromebook will do if you have web connectivity(and have better battery life) and will do much more than a Chromebook if you do not have web connectivity.

An Android tablet does not have a keyboard. If it does, it's way more expensive than the Chromebook.

Chrombook gives you a desktop version of Chrome, you don't get that on Android.

 

[ponyo]

You have to understand what you're getting. My 9 yr old daughter likes her Chromeboook. She uses it for school stuff and to watch Hulu, and I don't have to babysit her as it's super simple to use. And I don't have to worry about her being too rough with moving and carrying it. I wouldn't trust her with Windows laptop.

 

[you2]

But that's my usage; I would put the videos on the sd card so I can watch movies without inet connection. When I have inet connection I want to be able to read email/web browse. I think vlc or mplayer is available; they certainly are if you run ubuntu. I kind of wish they just used android rather than use yet another (chrome) os. You can certainly play 1080p videos on this sort of hardware with andriod.
-
My issues is that I want a 13inch device with 1080p screen and 8+ hours of battery life. And quite frankly if they can't offer this cheap then laptops can meet this requirement. Oh yea and sub 3 lbs.
-
The primarly reason to consider a chrome book would be if it is mega cheaper than the laptop which is around $1000.

If you put Ubuntu on it, and install a SD card (to increase the storage), I hear it makes a pretty good laptop, although Ubuntu instead of Chrome supposedly does make feel a bit more sluggish. It's got a nice screen, good battery life, it's light and it's cheap. I've used one a bit and I was generally impressed with the built quality and the screen is very nice. Running Chrome it feels very smooth and very fast.. I wished the SD card would seat totally (it sticks out a bit) but I really didn't have many complaints.

But my concerns echo most everyone elses'. I like to use my laptop when I'm travelling and I don't always have an internet connection, I like to watch movies on it, upload my photos from the day, play the occassional game and I have my doubts how well it will do any of these three. But to surf the web, read and reply to emails (and Anandtech) I bet it works great. C

 

[kubani1]

That's exactly why I'm not getting one.

email, google docs, anything you can put on a USB or SD card can be used offline, there are also a good few chrome apps that support offline use.

whilst it might not be perfect, to say it is useless offline is an overstatement. I quite like the idea and would thoroughly recommend it for my mother or others who find using a computer a little daunting.

while i don't have a need for one, I would gladly receive one as a gift, and maybe in a few years when i need to buy another laptop i might consider a chromebook.

 

[Zaap]

An Android tablet does not have a keyboard. If it does, it's way more expensive than the Chromebook.

Honest question:

How much typing is anyone doing on a Chromebook?

I guess for emails and for forums like this, but I tend to think of needing a keyboard as more for doing something like writing or coding or something. Are those things possible (offline) on a Chromebook? (If so, I actually might like one as a writing tool)

 

[Red Storm]

Honest question:

How much typing is anyone doing on a Chromebook?

I guess for emails and for forums like this, but I tend to think of needing a keyboard as more for doing something like writing or coding or something. Are those things possible (offline) on a Chromebook? (If so, I actually might like one as a writing tool)

Email? Chat? School work? Plenty of reasons to type.

A lot of the Chrome apps have added offline functionality, so you don't need to be online to use them.

Honestly the biggest deal breaker is the lack of Netflix. I know Google and Netflix have both said they're working on it, I just hope they realize it's pretty important. It's nice not having to rely on Hulu Plus for instance.

 

[Zaap]

A lot of the Chrome apps have added offline functionality, so you don't need to be online to use them,

Ah, okay. That makes a big difference.

I already use Google Docs for collaborative writing projects since it's the easiest solution I know of for multiple people to work on the same document at once.
As long as you can save and work on documents even when not connected, I could see one of these being a pretty nice solution.

It's not like I'd only do work with the thing- it's that I like devices that are versatile for a decent range of tasks. (IE: it's not like people can't also surf the web and watch movies etc. on the same device they work with, likewise I wouldn't want a device I can only goof off with and not be able to do work with should I need to.)

 

[boneycat]

Not sure what the appeal is for a chrome book, other than it is cheap. It'd be better to just buy an android tablet. Not like you can get any work done on this.

 

[Eug]

An Android tablet does not have a keyboard. If it does, it's way more expensive than the Chromebook.

Chrombook gives you a desktop version of Chrome, you don't get that on Android.

That's what I don't understand. The hardware requirements would be the same. Android would run fine on the same hardware. However Android has real app support.

It just seems that Google is just trying to force the issue with Chrome through cheap pricing when really it would make much more sense to just expand the scope of Android. Android already has great keyboard and mouse support.

The only barrier is that Android focuses on touch input, but there is no requirement for that in the greater scheme of things. Email and surfing without touch input on Android run as they should so making a non-touch Android laptop would not be a big deal, and since it is not a touch screen it wouldn't cost more for the hardware.

I ran a keyboard and mouse with my Nexus 7 and they worked well. I'd love to see a Nexusbook in the future... I don't want to give up my needed Android apps like my 3rd party web cam viewers, iCloud syncing, Netflix, DicePlayer etc.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

Not sure what the appeal is for a chrome book, other than it is cheap. It'd be better to just buy an android tablet. Not like you can get any work done on this.

so true. you type on the arm chromebooks, and the type appears like 10 seconds later. arm=not ready for laptop prime time yet

 

[Eug]

so true. you type on the arm chromebooks, and the type appears like 10 seconds later. arm=not ready for laptop prime time yet

Is it really that bad on the Chromebooks? If so it is the OS's fault then. Keyboard typing response on my Nexus 7 is instantaneous. No lag at all.

 

[ponyo]

Is it really that bad on the Chromebooks? If so it is the OS's fault then. Keyboard typing response on my Nexus 7 is instantaneous. No lag at all.

And you believe him? You can make any computer lag if you open billion things and make it run out of memory. Yeah, ARM Chromebook is so bad and has 10 second lag while you're typing. It's why Samsung Chromebook is the #1 selling laptop on Amazon for the last 4 months with 4.1 out of 5 stars customer rating. Because people love 10 second lag while they type.

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-XE303C12-A01US-Chromebook-Wi-Fi-11-6-Inch/dp/B009LL9VDG/ref=zg_bs_565108_1

 

[ponyo]

But I do believe it's now too late in the cycle to buy this Chromebook. It's already been out for 4 months so it's reached almost half way point in its life cycle. I would wait for the octo core with the increase memory refresh that's surely to come this October.

 

[dguy6789]

I thought even the Anand review of the Samsung Chromebook said the typing was laggy. The impression that it couldn't even handle typing properly was a key factor in me deciding to pass up on the device.

 

[ponyo]

I thought even the Anand review of the Samsung Chromebook said the typing was laggy. The impression that it couldn't even handle typing properly was a key factor in me deciding to pass up on the device.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6422/samsung-chromebook-xe303-review-testing-arms-cortex-a15

Here's Anand actual review.

Technically the Chromebook can do a lot, but for anything other than browsing, YouTube and Google docs use I wouldn't get my hopes up. The heavier apps just don't run smoothly on the platform. Even web browsing isn't what I'd consider fast, but it's still acceptable. To put things in perspective, I got a performance warning trying to play Cut the Rope on the new Chromebook. Stability can also be a problem. Try to deviate too much from normal web browsing and you'll be greeted with long pauses and even system locks. For example, while testing WebGL performance on the new Chromebook I had to power cycle the machine after the browser became unresponsive. Normal web browsing is fine though.

See the bold. It's all about expectation and knowing your use and need.

For the basic necessities however, the Chromebook does embody the fast enough computing concept. I researched, wrote and did almost all of my work while preparing this review on the Chromebook and generally found the experience acceptable. Other features like Pandora worked just fine (although I'd occasionally get hiccups in music playback if I loaded a particularly complex page). Whenever I'd switch back to my Ivy Bridge notebook I'd really appreciate the extra speed, but for writing and web browsing duties the Chromebook got the job done. Had Chrome OS been built around a lesser browser I don't think I would be as positive about the experience.

Anand is a power user with experience using top of the line hardware. If you read any of his iPad or other tablet reviews, he talks about how he has no need for such limited slow devices.

The move to ARM doesn't fundamentally change the performance or usability of the Chromebook. It's still a slow (relative to more expensive notebooks), limited use notebook. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but you need to be aware of what you're getting into with this thing.

Again, Anand reminds you to know what you're buying and to adjust your expectations accordingly. You're not going to get $1,000 speed out of $250 notebook.

For a basic web browsing and glorified typewriter platform, the Chromebook really does get the job done. It's a very focused, simple device that serves its purpose well. I don't know how big the Chromebook niche is, but Google has targeted it very well. At $249 if you need a physical keyboard and only need basic web browsing support, I don't know that there's a better solution. As an almost-disposable notebook for writing and browsing the web, I'm happy with the Chromebook. Good ultraportables are much more expensive, and even low cost PCs don't come with any sort of solid state storage. Admittedly the eMMC solution in the Chromebook isn't setting any records, but it does deliver consistent IO performance which is more than I can say for a cheap 5400 RPM 2.5" hard drive.

Power user like Anand is happy with the Chromebook. My daughter and I are happy with the Chromebook. But I knew our needs and what I was buying. We got our $250 Macbook Air.

 

[thecapsaicinkid]

It boggles my mind why people struggle so much understanding the Chromebook concept.