Google Chromebook

[FestivusMiracle]

I'm planning on buying a new laptop for grad school, and I'm seriously considering buying the Samsung Chromebook that costs $250.  What do you all think about having a Chromebook as a primary laptop in grad school?  Is it a good idea, or should I go ahead and invest in another traditional laptop?

 

I've always had Windows laptops in the past, but I never actually had Microsoft Office on my last computer, so anytime I needed to use Word/Excel/Powerpoint I would just use the computer lab, or use Openoffice programs.  After thinking about it, I realized that I really never used my computer for anything other than going online, writing papers, and occasionally using spreadsheets or powerpoint, all of which can be done using Google Chrome (although for most serious academic tasks, I don't think Google Spreadsheets is a legitimate alternative to Excel).  Other than the operating system, Samsung's Chromebook has pretty much everything I'm looking for: extremely affordable; SSD hard drive (I don't need a lot of space because all I plan on saving is documents, spreadsheets, and PDFs, plus you get extra online storage anyway); very compact and lightweight; and an extremely long battery life.  Am I missing something, or is the Chromebook a legitimate alternative to a traditional laptop?  

[aberrant]

It depends on why do you want to get a chromebook specifically, instead of, for example, an ultrabook or a tablet.

 

"Going online, writing papers, spreadsheet, powerpoint" these can also be done on tablet (android, iPad, or Windows). I also don't think tablet runs on a traditional HDD, so other than the fact that you'll be to use "an external keyboard", the two (chromebook and tablet) are very comparable. I personally prefer using a touchscreen more than a touchpad if mouse is not an option. If you are going to spend $250, maybe you can also consider other tablet(s) also. For the record, chromebook was $200 during holiday sale event(s) -- http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/11/19/ipad-alternative-new-200-chromebooks-holiday-hit/

 

ps. I have both ultrabook and tablet, yet I use my ultrabook more often because of its performance (which includes multitasking), but obviously, it is supposedly more expensive than chromebook.

Edited May 27, 2013 by aberrant

[TakeruK]

Note: Obviously this will just be my very subjective opinion on this topic -- your own needs and expectations may not be the same, but I hope you (or someone else) will still find these thoughts useful.

 

I'm very interested in cheap, lightweight, and very basic laptops such as the Chromebook. However, I still don't think it's worth the price at this point. My problem is that it is far too lightweight. Only 16GB on "on-site" storage? My phone has the same storage capability! Google Drive is pretty cool, but 100 GB is not a lot and you only get that free for 2 years -- then it's $5/month to keep the same level of space. So in the 4-5 year lifetime of the laptop, you will have to pay $370-$430. You would only get 100 GB of storage, and most of that is only available where you have an internet connection (which is true in most cases, but not always true in some places you might really want to access something, e.g. airports, airplanes, cheap hotels that you're staying in, coffee shops etc.). Also, sometimes while an Internet connection is theoretically possible, it can take a long time to actually connect!

 

Overall, I like the idea of the Chromebook but currently, it cannot replace my primary computing needs. Other than the issue of storage above, I also want to use my computer to do things like store / edit my photos, connect remotely to a work terminal, run Skype, create high quality figures and PDFs, make animations from still images (for science!), store and read papers on my hard drive directly (e.g. with Mendeley), and keep copies of old presentations, data, etc. that I would want to show others "on demand".

 

I feel that the Chromebook is really good if you find yourself spending all of your time on your computer using Google Chrome only. I do find myself using most of my time on Chrome, but not all. I used to only use OpenOffice for my "office suite" needs, but at my current school, we all get the latest versions of MS Office for free, and I cannot believe how much better MS Powerpoint is over OpenOffice. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, you do "get what you pay for". I think I've already used MS Powerpoint enough and it has improved my work enough in just the last 8 months to make it worth the $80 price of MS Office Student Edition if I had to pay for it myself. 

 

So, because of the lack of functionality outside of running web apps (I just checked: you cannot install any software that isn't a Chrome App since it only runs the Google Chrome web browser: http://support.google.com/chrome/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&topic=1289187&ctx=topic&answer=1290513). That is already a deal-breaker for me -- I don't want to spend $250 for a web browser. The storage space issue is another thing. Therefore, I don't think I can ever use a Chromebook as my primary computer.

 

It would be a great secondary computer though, but as aberrant said, the Chromebook is priced at about the same level as tablets or even just a little bit under an iPad ($400). For a secondary computer, I wouldn't need a keyboard, and touchscreens are much better. I also feel that some tablets are much more developed than the Chromebook. Personally, I only have my primary computer (which is a traditional laptop) and I don't have the budget to spend $300+ for a secondary "fun" computer that I don't really need. Since I don't have unlimited money, something like the Chromebook (or other tablet) is pretty low on the list of priorities -- maybe I'll get it one day, when I have tenure, haha.

 

Conclusion: I think that the limitations of the Chromebook prevent it from being a primary computer (or it would cause a lot of frustration and effort), yet the cost of it is too high to be a good investment as a secondary computer. I would personally spend 2-3 times as much and get a full working laptop as my primary computer and use a phone or something for lightweight, on-the-go browsing.

[rising_star]

Honestly, for just a bit more ($300-400) you could get a decently powered Windows 8 (or Windows 7) laptop with at least a 320GB hard drive. So, that's the route I would go rather than a Chromebook. But I also do a lot of work in places without (good/reliable) internet, so relying on internet connectivity would be problematic for me. I'd keep an eye on various blogs (like Cheapskate) to look out for deals on an laptop or ultrabook, and then just purchase one of those.

[peternewman89]

For Poli Sci, you'll need more than just a chromebook.  I'm starting in the Fall in a PhD program and we'll be doing a lot with R and Stata and who knows what other statistical programs. Those won't run on a chromebook.  You'll need to have a full Windows or OS X system unless you plan on doing any and all statistical work in a computer lab.

[FestivusMiracle]

Honestly, for just a bit more ($300-400) you could get a decently powered Windows 8 (or Windows 7) laptop with at least a 320GB hard drive. So, that's the route I would go rather than a Chromebook. But I also do a lot of work in places without (good/reliable) internet, so relying on internet connectivity would be problematic for me. I'd keep an eye on various blogs (like Cheapskate) to look out for deals on an laptop or ultrabook, and then just purchase one of those.

 

I used to follow the Cheapskate blog a lot, so I guess I need to start checking in with it again, considering I'm in the market for a laptop.

[FestivusMiracle]

I appreciate all the advice.  I'm still trying to decide on the type of laptop I want, but luckily I've pretty much got all summer to decide.  If any of y'all check out a Chromebook in person, let me know what you think!

[jitterbug1472]

I bought the Samsung chromebook about 4 months ago. I use it probably every day. I prefer laptops to tablets, so having it is really nice because it makes my backpack noticeably lighter. It's really only functional with an internet connection, but start-up and connecting is incredibly quick. The first time I turned it back on after using it I thought I had forgotten to turn it off and it was just waking up from sleep mode. If you're not used to using Google drive, I would suggest trying it out before purchasing the chromebook. It's what you'll use for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. They're all very user friendly and you can share them directly with people so that they can view and edit the documents without needing to attach them to emails and save them on your separate computers. The one problem is though, if your school uses online courseware (blackboard/moodle) you may need to take a couple of extra steps to upload papers. All you have to do is save the document as a .doc. Occasionally I do have trouble opening some documents. The chromebook allows you to view .doc files, but requires you to save it as a Google doc to edit it. Doing so can change formating. Some image or pdf files aren't able to be viewed. If your professor adds comments on a word document in Microsoft, you will not be able to view them. The chromebook is constantly updating. When I first bought it, I wasn't able to watch Netflix on it. But now I have an "app" for it. There are a bunch of apps for you to select from that are free. Ones that customize your browser, photo editors, course assignment organizers. I love it because I like using google. I have drive on my phone (Samsung Galaxy) as well, so when I update in one place it automatically updates on the other as well. Of course, that's true for using drive on any device. It does not have a cd drive, so if that's important to you, it's one thing to keep in mind. If you do anything that requires a lot of storage, like gaming, it's definitely not the right choice. But for surfing the internet and typing papers, it does the trick and is great for travel. I know one concern raised was that you can't download software you may need, like statistics programs. But I never planned on having that on my personal computer anyway. The computer in my office provided by my department has that software on it. If the same isn't true for you though, maybe it isn't the right choice. Oh, and instead of Skype you'll use Google hangout on it. Takes some getting used to but works well. It does require your friends to have a Google account though. I would say that it's a great personal computer, but if it's the only computer you'll be using, it may not be the right choice.

[anjichpa]

I'm a big fan of the $250 Samsung Chromebook.  It's fast, lightweight, and has better build quality than any Windows machine I've seen/used sub-$500.  If local storage space is a concern, I'd recommend popping in an SD card.  Once it's in, you won't need to take it out and won't really notice that it's there.  Alternately- Acer, HP, and even Samsung offer Chromebooks with traditional, higher-capacity hard drives.  I'd still recommend the Samsung with flash memory, however, as it's quicker.  So long as you don't need OS-specific software on the machine, I find the user experience on the cheap Samsung much more satisfying than any cheap Windows laptop.

 

Unless you're tech-savvy- and know the specific software and OS requirements you need- do NOT get a Chromebook if you need specialized software.  Chrubuntu should run software available on Linux, but if you know that already, you don't need to read this post.

[anjichpa]

I recently bought the $250 ($230 right now on Amazon and Newegg) ARM Samsung Chromebook and love it.  If you understand the limits of the hardware and software, I think it's the best value in tech right now.  I'd say the experience is 80% of the Macbook Air for 20% of the price.  You won't fully forget that you're using cheap hardware, but I find the user experience leaps and bounds better than low-end Windows machines.  For reference, I have the Chromebook, a Google Nexus 10 tablet that I use with bluetooth mouse and keyboard when needed, a 3 year-old 17 inch desktop-replacement VAIO laptop (still powerful by today's standards even with age), an original 7-inch Kindle Fire, and a self-built desktop (a very nice setup).  From a software standpoint, I'm heavily tied into Windows for work with heavy reliance on Excel, Access, and proprietary software that only runs on Windows.  Additionally, I'm a pretty heavy user of Google services (Gmail, Drive/Docs, and Google Music All Access).  

 

For grad students, the Chromebook should work well if you don't need MS Office (still significantly better than any of the alternatives imo) or other Windows-specific software, and you aren't comfortable working in Linux.  Chrubuntu and Crouton are extremely easy to install if you are a Linux fan.  It's extremely portable, the OS is extremely lightweight and responsive, and the keyboard and trackpad are great for a device at such a low price.  The processor is weak, but for <10 tabs it seems only slightly slower to render pages than my laptop or desktop (both very high-powered processors) as long as you're not on extremely resource intensive sites (very flash-heavy sites or streaming HD video for example).  

 

When at home, I use my desktop when I'm stationary and need to get serious work done.  If I'm on the couch or on the move, I use the Chromebook heavily.  I'll grab it to write a quick email rather than sit at my desktop.  My tablet is being used a lot less now that I have the Chromebook.  I greatly prefer working in ChromeOS to working in Android.  I primarily use my tablet for reading ebooks and RSS feeds.  At work, I use the combination of my Vaio laptop and my Chromebook, skewing slightly towards the Vaio.  When I start school in the fall, I expect to use the Chromebook very heavily, possibly supplementing its use with my tablet.  I see no reason to lug the laptop along.

Edited July 27, 2013 by anjichpa

[Sigaba]

I'm planning on buying a new laptop for grad school, and I'm seriously considering buying the Samsung Chromebook that costs $250.  What do you all think about having a Chromebook as a primary laptop in grad school?  Is it a good idea, or should I go ahead and invest in another traditional laptop?

 

I've always had Windows laptops in the past, but I never actually had Microsoft Office on my last computer, so anytime I needed to use Word/Excel/Powerpoint I would just use the computer lab, or use Openoffice programs.  After thinking about it, I realized that I really never used my computer for anything other than going online, writing papers, and occasionally using spreadsheets or powerpoint, all of which can be done using Google Chrome (although for most serious academic tasks, I don't think Google Spreadsheets is a legitimate alternative to Excel).  Other than the operating system, Samsung's Chromebook has pretty much everything I'm looking for: extremely affordable; SSD hard drive (I don't need a lot of space because all I plan on saving is documents, spreadsheets, and PDFs, plus you get extra online storage anyway); very compact and lightweight; and an extremely long battery life.  Am I missing something, or is the Chromebook a legitimate alternative to a traditional laptop?  

 

I recommend getting the most capable (read: expensive) business-class laptop (read: stable but not very fashionable) one can afford at the best price one can find (e.g. during an online sale or through your school's computer store). If you one configure the machine at an online store, consider the utility of getting a less expensive processor and using the savings to get additional RAM and a bigger, faster hard drive.

 

I also recommend getting an extended warranty that provides on site service and coverage for accidents, a cable lock, an external mouse, and a good laptop bag.

 

My reasoning is that a more capable, more durable machine offers a higher level of peace of mind and productivity. In regards to the latter, one will be able to search through 50k+ PDFs while downloading U.S. census data while crunching numbers with Excel while drafting a paper in Word (while checking in at Facebook). In regards to the former, purchasing a business-class machine, one will have access to a different level of service than one gets with a consumer-oriented device. For a variety of reasons, companies like Dell tend to value the b2b side of things more than the consumer side.

 

What ever choice you make, please do the following. First, when researching options, don't just look at finished products (a Lenovo Thinkpad model xyz) but also research the components therein (motherboad chipset abc, graphics card efg).  If graphics card efg is going bad in Apple MBPs, one will have the opportunity to say "Well, I don't want that feature in my Lenovo."

 

Second, do not do any comparison shopping after making a purchase. A better machine at a better price is almost always just around the next corner. Affirming that fact is a good way to drive oneself crazy.

 

An aside. It is ultimately a matter of preference, but in my view, trusting the cloud for storage is bad mojo.  When it is three am on the morning an assignment is due, the last thing I want to know is that I can't get something because a server is temporarily down for a scheduled upgrade and/or the network is misbehaving for reasons beyond one's control.  YMMV.

[anjichpa]

Sigaba makes a lot of valid points.  I'll provide a counterpoint on buying a business-class machine.

 

The reason Dell, Lenovo, etc. value B2B more highly is that their margins are higher catering to enterprise rather than the average consumer.  Extended warranties, support and services are also comparatively very high-margin.  It's up to you if the extra cost (and often heft for the hardware itself) is worth it.

[jeffster]

Sigaba makes a lot of valid points.  I'll provide a counterpoint on buying a business-class machine.

 

The reason Dell, Lenovo, etc. value B2B more highly is that their margins are higher catering to enterprise rather than the average consumer.  Extended warranties, support and services are also comparatively very high-margin.  It's up to you if the extra cost (and often heft for the hardware itself) is worth it.

 

Building on this, I also recommend against extended warranties.  I worked in retail computer sales, followed by computer repairs, for several years out of high school.  These are incredibly profitible for the companies that sell them, because they don't pay off for the average purchaser.  Unless you're at a point where buying a new laptop later would completely ruin you, but you somehow have a few hundred to throw away now on the warranty, you're better off self-insuring that risk.

[ANDS!]

. . .you're better off self-insuring that risk.

 

I'd prefer a warranty over self insuring (through State Farm or something) any day of the week.  A personal insurance policy is unlikely to cover routine repairs (that for whatever reason you can't do yourself) or cosmetic issues.  My warranty has.  Never mind that what the policy will cover is probably going to be prohibitively limited to be of use beyond "Laptop exploded spontaneously. . ." or some such.  Yes, it's likely to cost far less and you can cover yourself in terms of theft, but you get what you pay for.

 

Also, I'd never get a machine that was tied to internet access.  That is obviously why these machines are so cheap, but the hassle of having a paper due, and not being able to access it - yuck (of course you could get an external, but then you are starting to veer into price-territory of a standard lappy).

[jeffster]

 

 

 

I'd prefer a warranty over self insuring (through State Farm or something) any day of the week.  A personal insurance policy is unlikely to cover routine repairs (that for whatever reason you can't do yourself) or cosmetic issues.  My warranty has.  Never mind that what the policy will cover is probably going to be prohibitively limited to be of use beyond "Laptop exploded spontaneously. . ." or some such.  Yes, it's likely to cost far less and you can cover yourself in terms of theft, but you get what you pay for.

 

Also, I'd never get a machine that was tied to internet access.  That is obviously why these machines are so cheap, but the hassle of having a paper due, and not being able to access it - yuck (of course you could get an external, but then you are starting to veer into price-territory of a standard lappy).

 

 

Oh, sorry, by "self insure" I meant YOU are insuring it.  From your bank account.  AKA it breaks and you fix it

[Sigaba]

Oh, sorry, by "self insure" I meant YOU are insuring it.  From your bank account.  AKA it breaks and you fix it

 

The point about extended contracts centers around the potential of a machine going bad at the worst possible moment. For example, the week a major assignment is due. Does a graduate student have the time and resources in that situation to fix the machine?

[TakeruK]

Extended warranties are expensive, but since time is money, they could be well worth it, depending on what you need out of your machine. As Sigaba said, your computer can break at the worst possible moment, and in that case, you want to just get it fixed, without extra effort on your part. I would think that this is especially true in businesses.

 

But, depending on what you plan to use your machine for, an extended warranty may not be necessary. For me, I do my work on my work machine, and mostly use my laptop/personal computer for personal things. Sure, I might put in an extra hour or two in some evenings to put together a powerpoint, or work on a homework assignment, but if my laptop breaks, I can just go into my office and work there. So, I don't have to worry about putting in the extra money to ensure that I have a machine running at all times. In fact, our department has an excellent team of IT staff that ensures all the machines in the department do just that!

 

So, I see jeffster's point, that for a personal computer, where constant access is not vital, the extended warranties are not often useful. I have replaced Dell parts on the standard warranty before, it's not terribly convenient. I think it took about 10 days for me to send in my machine and for them to send back the fixed machine (they send you a box, then you send them the computer in that box, then they send it back to you -- so it's 3 mailing cycles!). I think Applecare has a much better turnaround time. I haven't used it before though but my friend's power cord/charger got fried and he went in the store and immediately got a replacement free of charge and without having to wait for shipping either. I also like the idea of being able to access the manufacturer directly through a retail storefront (there aren't any Dell stores). So, for a personal-use only computer, I would just put aside the money I would use on the extended warranty and spend it on repairs down the road if necessary. If no repairs are necessary, then horray! I have money saved up for my next machine!

 

But, I know in some fields, grad students don't have offices, work computers, or IT staff so in that case I would think an extended warranty is well worth the investment.

[FestivusMiracle]

I just pulled the trigger on the Samsung Chromebook.  At $230 (on Amazon), and after reading many reviews detailing how awesome it is, it seems like an incredible deal.  I appreciate all the advice in this thread, and I'm hoping to post an update later on and describe my experience with using the Chromebook in grad school.

 

Ultimately, the reason I decided to get a Chromebook is because I really only use a computer to get on the internet and write papers, and I already use google apps, so it makes sense.  Also, I really like that the Chromebook has a SSD hard drive, long battery life, and is extremely lightweight.  With the exception of not running Windows, the Chromebook pretty much has all the specs that I would want in a laptop.

 

BUT, the only reason I would prefer Windows over Chrome is because I may be forced to run a Windows-only program in grad school.  However, I think the main program I will use in grad school is Stata, which, from my understanding, can run on Linux (Linux can be run on the Chromebook).  And if that didn't work, I think I could also run Stata remotely from my old Windows laptop to the Chromebook as a last resort.  This all assumes that I'll need Stata on my laptop, but I'm planning on using the lab computers anyway, so I probably will never have to cross that bridge.  But knowing I have all of these options (especially being able to run programs remotely) gives me peace of mind about getting the Chromebook.

 

And lastly, it's probably worth remembering that the Chromebook is really just a super-powered tablet, and that at $230, it's not like it's a big deal if it doesn't work out as a primary computer and I have to eventually buy a really pricey laptop.  Even if that happens, I still think I'll enjoy having the Chromebook when I need it.  

[jeffster]

If you think of it once the semseter is underway, let us know how you like it for school purposes!  I'm hoping my laptop holds on another year, but if it croaks I might be looking for something less expensive myself.

[frundelson2]

I highly recommend the Google Chromebook for school and for its low price tag. In fact, I just blogged about why I bought a Chromebook here: http://makingcentsofaphd.blogspot.com/2013/08/saving-money-on-laptop.html

[FestivusMiracle]

So I wound up purchasing a Chromebook for use during my first semester of grad school, and this is the review I promised to write.  My main reason for starting this thread several months back was to figure out if the Chromebook could be used as my primary computer in grad school.  After using the Chromebook for a semester, I’ve decided that, in a nutshell, the Chromebook is a great laptop (especially considering its very cheap price) that MIGHT suffice as a primary computer in the most favorable of circumstances, but really it should only be thought of as a fantastic supplement to a more traditional laptop/desktop.  As I have access to Windows desktop computers at my school, the Chromebook has worked out relatively well for me.  However, for those of you who want to use the Chromebook as a primary computer without having access to an additional Windows/Mac computer, I highly suggest you rethink this idea and spend a bit more for a traditional laptop.  Windows apparently makes some very cheap and light laptops/tablets that should allow for more functionality than the Chromebook, and I’d suggest looking at these before considering an Apple (just my personal opinion; obviously Apple laptops have their uses, but if price is a big deal and you just need a good computer, I think a Windows laptop makes more sense).  Below is a bullet-point summary of the pros and cons of the Chromebook, followed by a more in-depth discussion of certain Chromebook features / issues.  Let me know if anything I’ve said in the review is inaccurate, as I am certainly no Chromebook expert.

 

Pros:

 

Computer runs smoothly and programs/windows rarely crash

 

Very good battery life

 

Lightweight and easy to carry around

 

No pop-ups, reminders, etc. (e.g., “Updates are ready to install”, “Your computer may not be protected”); Chromebook updates automatically in the background

 

Everything is in the cloud; you don’t have to worry about loss/theft of laptop

 

 

Cons:

 

PDF usage is complicated and inefficient on the Chromebook due to Google’s failure to address a few basic things

 

Lack of screen clarity and size

 

Limited printing options

 

Can’t edit sheets offline (at least you couldn’t the last time I tried)

 

Google’s office suite is nowhere near as polished as Microsoft Office

 

Limited third-party software (you’re pretty much limited to whatever is available in the app store; however, you know this going in with the Chromebook, so you should be prepared for this)

 

 

 

 

Ultimately, the biggest downfall of the Chromebook is how it handles PDF files.  In short, as a grad student you will spend the majority of your time reading PDF files, and Google appears to have gone out of its way to make viewing and editing PDFs on the Chromebook a gigantic pain in the ass.  First, if you want to perform any editing to PDFs, you will have to download a 3rd party program (I used PDFescape) to do it.  While this may not sound so bad at first, consider the fact that you will have to upload every PDF twice (once for your Google Drive and once for the 3rd party program), which takes up precious time, in addition to the fact that the 3rd party software will lower the resolution of your PDF, making it harder to see on the already low resolution screen.  I’m not one to bitch about screen quality, but there were several times this year when mathematical formulas inside a PDF on PDFescape were impossible to read, and I had to switch back and forth between the Google preview version and the PDFescape version.  The 3rd party software will also be relatively slow when compared to the Google preview PDF viewer.  Lastly, Google Drive will only allow PDFs under a certain size to be viewed (I think it is around 30 or 40 MB or less); any PDFs over this size will have to be viewed with third party software, and PDFescape has size limits as well, meaning that several PDFs I had to read this semester were not viewable AT ALL on the chromebook.  Luckily I had easy access to computers at school, so this was not a huge issue.

 

These issues with the Chromebook’s handling of PDFs cause me to recommend the purchase of a traditional laptop for your primary computing needs: With a Windows or Mac, just download Adobe Reader and move on with your life.  You won’t have to worry about constantly moving over files and how to deal with larger PDFs.  In other words, your life will be simpler and less frustrating, in addition to the fact that you will waste less time.  I hope that Google reads this review, because it seems like the PDF thing would be an obvious and relatively simple fix.  However, it appears that Google is pretty bad about fixing obvious issues with Chrome, such as not being able to edit spreadsheets offline and not being able to use the CTRL key to highlight non-sequential cells in spreadsheets (a small gripe, I know, but it’s been brought up repeatedly in Google forums without anyone addressing it, to my knowledge).   

 

My last complaint is that the Chromebook is too limited of a machine to be your primary computer, even if you use very few 3rd party programs.  The vast majority of my time is spent online, but there are still a few programs that I would love to be able to install and use (e.g., Adobe Reader, Fluenz, iTunes).  At the end of the day, you know what you’re getting with the Chromebook, so you shouldn’t be surprised that you can’t run these programs.  However, it still sucks, and I feel like it’s worth mentioning just in case any of you fail to recognize the significance of not being able to use any non-Chrome programs on the Chromebook.  

 

With all of that said, I don’t regret buying the Chromebook, mainly because I do most of my work on a school computer and I like the small size and quick speed of the Chromebook.  For surfing the web, checking e-mail, and other basic tasks the Chromebook is awesome, especially on days when the Windows computers at school seem to be running especially slow.  The Chromebook is so much more efficient at these basic tasks than any other Windows laptop I’ve seen, which is why it is disappointing that the Chromebook is so deficient in dealing with PDFs.    

 

I could probably write several more pages on the Chromebook, but I’m lazy and planning on working on some other stuff tonight.  I just wanted to make sure I posted a review of the Chromebook as I promised I would, and hopefully this helps someone who is interested in purchasing a Chromebook.  I also hope someone at Google comes across my PDF complaint and addresses it, because that would really make my day [as you can probably tell from how much time I spent harping on how bad the Chromebook is at handling PDFs  ]  If any of you have Chromebooks, I’m curious to know how you feel about them...do you have the same complaints as I do?  Love it?  Hate it?  Let me know!

[OCD or Perfection?]

Finally somewhere I can share some insight lol! As a die-hard google fan, I have purchased two chromebooks so far. The first, samsung for 250. The second, Acer II for 198$.

 

Samsung:

Pros: lightweight, LONG battery, easy on the eyes-sleek, no cooling fan (wHAAA??)

Cons: extremely limited firepower (2 gb ram not enough to support HDMI movie watching or any video watching with a couple of extra tab), occasional freeze over heavier websites-flash stuff. Lower in-house memory-not an issue for me, I use google drive so my documents are accessible on all my (3) laptops, phone and Ipad and everywhere in the world where there's a computer.

 

Acer II:

Pros: Increased firepower with 4 gb ram (this should be the minimum for everything these days), cheaper (for real? $198), supports everything a laptop can do

Cons: ugly, cooling fan, battery life doesn't live up to Chromebook name (because processor is cooled by fan)

 

Overall:

Don't buy a chromebook for grad work as your sole laptop. Google docs lacks the many bells and whistles required for papers etc (unless you're an expert at it)

 

IF it's gonna be your major laptop, battery/weight notwithstanding, get the Acer II (now probably at $248).

 

DON'T get the Acer I. The difference, which many overlook, is the 2gb vs 4gb ram and it's a HUGE difference.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

Finally somewhere I can share some insight lol! As a die-hard google fan, I have purchased two chromebooks so far. The first, samsung for 250. The second, Acer II for 198$.

 

Samsung:

Pros: lightweight, LONG battery, easy on the eyes-sleek, no cooling fan (wHAAA??)

Cons: extremely limited firepower (2 gb ram not enough to support HDMI movie watching or any video watching with a couple of extra tab), occasional freeze over heavier websites-flash stuff. Lower in-house memory-not an issue for me, I use google drive so my documents are accessible on all my (3) laptops, phone and Ipad and everywhere in the world where there's a computer.

 

Acer II:

Pros: Increased firepower with 4 gb ram (this should be the minimum for everything these days), cheaper (for real? $198), supports everything a laptop can do

Cons: ugly, cooling fan, battery life doesn't live up to Chromebook name (because processor is cooled by fan)

 

Overall:

Don't buy a chromebook for grad work as your sole laptop. Google docs lacks the many bells and whistles required for papers etc (unless you're an expert at it)

 

IF it's gonna be your major laptop, battery/weight notwithstanding, get the Acer II (now probably at $248).

 

DON'T get the Acer I. The difference, which many overlook, is the 2gb vs 4gb ram and it's a HUGE difference.

I agree. Google Chromebooks are for like if you have the extra money and you want a lightweight netbook you can carry to Starbucks to fool around on. It's not a work engine. I'd spend a little more money and go laptop. I have an ultrabook. Very lightweight and all the power of a laptop. Only difference is ultrabooks don't have cd drives (which you don't even need these days). Mine is 2 lbs, i7 3rd gen, 1 TB hd, 8 GB ram, for $600. It's good stuff. 

[rising_star]

Gnome, I have a Samsung ultrabook and it came with a DVD drive... Just wanted to make sure people know that you can buy ultrabooks with DVD drives if you want.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

Gnome, I have a Samsung ultrabook and it came with a DVD drive... Just wanted to make sure people know that you can buy ultrabooks with DVD drives if you want.

Oh, interesting. Most don't have optical drives or Ethernet ports (by definition of an ultrabook). Mine actually has an Ethernet port. I guess they vary.