Chromebooks

Sunbed · 30 Oct 2012 at 11:03

I recently bought a Chromebook - the Samsung Series 3 with the new Exynos 5 dual, but I've not seen a lot of chat about it on OcUK. So, I wanted to ask:

1) Does anyone else give a damn about Chromebooks?

2) If so, would it be best to talk about them in this section, or in "Laptops"?

I initially thought "Laptops", but people only want to talk about gaming laptops in there. Yes, a Chromebook is the same form factor as a laptop, but the type of things you would be using a Chromebook for is very similar to the type of things you would do on a tablet. Therefore I'm now more inclined to discuss them in here, especially since they are now using ARM based chips. With all this awesome new tech coming out e.g. Microsoft Surface, tablets in various sizes, Chromebooks etc, the lines are becoming very blurred between types of devices.

So, shall we discuss Chromebooks in here or shall I **** off back to Laptops and be...

http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/chrome/devices/

KIA · 30 Oct 2012 at 11:49

Great for young kids & old people.

Sunbed · 30 Oct 2012 at 13:41

^ Not sure if back-handed comment aimed at me, but yes, I imagine they are

Review:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/24/3549368/samsung-chromebook-review-series-3

Doz007 · 30 Oct 2012 at 14:58

I've always thought that these would make excellent laptops for someone heavily invested in Android and Googles services.

What's the general performance like, how's offline functionality, are you finding it a great companion to your Galaxy Nexus?

Sunbed · 30 Oct 2012 at 15:45

Doz007 said:
I've always thought that these would make excellent laptops for someone heavily invested in Android and Googles services.

Yep, that describes me pretty well. I use Chrome on my home PC, work PC (thank you portable apps), and my GN, so having all settings, bookmarks and extensions synced is very convenient for me.

Doz007 said:
What's the general performance like, how's offline functionality, are you finding it a great companion to your Galaxy Nexus?

On initial inspection: good! It plays 1080p youtube videos well. Although is stutters slightly when you open lots of tabs and keep the video playing in the background. Not really tested the offline functionality yet, but I'm pretty sure Google Docs and Gmail work offline now in the same way as the desktop browser. I'll try it tonight if I can.

As for playing nice with my Galaxy Nexus: yes and no. The Wifi hotspot works perfectly, but tethering via Bluetooth is a bit temperamental. I'm going to raise this on some more relevant forums. Generally I'd use the Wifi hotspot method for tethering anyway.

Things not tested yet:
- Playing video from USB. It has H.264 hardware encoder so I need to try some HD video playback.
- Streaming video and displaying on TV via HDMI.

modelportfolio2 · 31 Oct 2012 at 10:49

Bought the original Samsung 5 Chromebook last year and have loved every moment with it. I had been using Chrome browser exclusively on any and all devices and Chrome OS seemed the natural evolution. The Chromebook syncs perfectly with all Google services in the ecosystem---Gmail, GCal, G+, Drive, Play Store, Talk, Hangouts, YouTube, Gallery, Finance, Goggles, Maps, Books, etc.

If you live in the Google ecosystem, which I do, it seems the perfect laptop. I have the Nexus 7 for media consumption in some situations but for work there is nothing better IMO. I keep meaning to upgrade to the newer Samsung Chromebook but have not had the over-whelming need to do so as the original Chromebook is so damn good. The new price (£229) makes the purchase a no-brainer.

iamtheoneneo · 31 Oct 2012 at 11:57

I did care about them , so much so that I was trying to secure 200 of them. Problem is Google pretty much blanked me so I told them to do one.

SKILL · 31 Oct 2012 at 12:01

I've been looking at these, but really not sure ChromeOS is really for me, but then with Ubuntu working now (via sd card/memory stick iirc but that could replace ChromeOS on the on-board flash with some tweaking) and even the possibility of Android if you so desired, and were crazy enough, (Nexus 10 uses the same chip so should be a relatively simple port) it's quite tempting...

bastic · 31 Oct 2012 at 12:26

if it would only run software for internet dongle my mother usues, I would get one for her to replace her old laptop...
dongle is her only internet access at the moment

Sunbed · 31 Oct 2012 at 13:27

iamtheoneneo said:
I did care about them , so much so that I was trying to secure 200 of them. Problem is Google pretty much blanked me so I told them to do one.

200!

Wow. None of my business but, may I ask why you needed so many?

[timko] · 31 Oct 2012 at 18:00

Sundance said:
200! Wow. None of my business but, may I ask why you needed so many?

Multiboxing WOW.

On a serious note, most likely procurement for a business or place of education.

modelportfolio2 · 31 Oct 2012 at 23:20

Good review of the Chromebook today from TechCrunch US answers many likely questions:

http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/31/sa...ed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Techcrunch+(TechCrunch)

Sunbed · 1 Nov 2012 at 10:00

Finally, an extensive review from Anandtech:

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

Also some benchmarks from someone in the Chromebook forums:

That gives us an indication of the performance we'll see in the next tablets such as the Nexus 10.

I did some tests of my own last night. I connected it to my TV via HDMI, and eventually figured out how to switch the display output (Ctrl + maximise screen). It wasn't scaled correctly as my TV has a slightly lower resolution (720p), however, after some googling I found that the next update to Chrome OS will bring better external display options with scaling. 1080p youtube videos played fine on the TV, after about 1-2 seconds of stuttering. iPlayer also worked perfectly on the TV.

I also tried to play some HD films from an external HDD but I didn't have much success. After renaming the mkv files to mp4 the Chromebook recognised the format, but playback was stuttery and I didn't get audio. I'm sure there will be an optimum bitrate/codec/container etc but I wasn't going to research it. I know it has a h.264 hardware encoder, and it can play 1080p youtube videos so it must be capable.

My early conclusion is that, from a user experience perspective, a tablet would probably beat the Chromebook things like media consumption e.g. games, video. However, I think the Chromebook takes it for basic portable web browsing and document editing. Pretty much as you'd expect really.

modelportfolio2 · 1 Nov 2012 at 17:14

The most popular laptop on Amazon is the Chromebook (and a derivative is number six):

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Computers-Accessories-Laptop/zgbs/pc/565108

Sunbed · 8 Nov 2012 at 21:01

Just found out it's the second best selling on Amazon UK... not bad! Using it on the train now

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_nr...=laptop&ie=UTF8&qid=1352408250&rnid=340832031

jamoor · 8 Nov 2012 at 21:48

They ought to just have a laptop running android and ditch chrome Os, what's the point really?

Sunbed · 9 Nov 2012 at 09:49

jamoor said:
They ought to just have a laptop running android and ditch chrome Os, what's the point really?

You could, but you wouldn't be able to get the full Chrome browser on Android (yet). We've reached a point where ARM chips are becoming powerful enough to run "proper" Chrome, but not Android + "proper" Chrome. That's my understanding anyway.

Google have explicitly said Android and Chrome OS will converge. It's just a matter of time.

As for the Android vs Chrome OS argument: Buy an Android based tablet for casual browsing and media, or buy a Chromebook for a richer web browsing and anything where more typing is required e.g. emailing, document editing. An Android tablet is a "safer" bet for most people, and they are generally more polished devices i.e. slicker, more stable. In my eyes the Chromebook is, as a concept, more futuristic.

Emlyn_Dewar · 11 Nov 2012 at 22:14

Still enjoying the Chromebook, after owning/using it for a bit more time Sundance?

Anyone know if the built in file explorer will pick up network attached storage, or are there any decent plug-ins in the store that will?

I gave Chromium OS a go on an old Dell Mini 9 over the last week, and have really liked it, more or less sold on a "proper" Chrome OS device now.

Sunbed · 12 Nov 2012 at 09:54

Emlyn_Dewar said:
Still enjoying the Chromebook, after owning/using it for a bit more time Sundance?

Yep, I'm still pleasantly surprised every time I take it out my bag. I looks like it's worth more than £230, and the keyboard and trackpad are decent.

My biggest gripe at the moment is the screen. For web browsing/typing it's adequate, but it's far from the quality you will get on any tablet so text can difficult to read. As a solution I use Ctrl +/- to zoom in on text if I'm reading for a decent length of time. Also certain types of flash players don't work well on the Chromebook. Oddly, BBC iplayer works well, but some BBC news videos and live TV cause the Chromebook to crash. Thankfully a crash isn't a big deal, as it only takes about 15 seconds to restart and log in again.

As a portable web browsing machine, it's unmatched for the price. I keep mine in my briefcase which goes everywhere with me. A tablet would do the same job (and more) most of the time, but it's more awkward when you want to type anything substantial. A standard laptop would be more expensive and wouldn't have the battery life or portability. An ultrabook would be better than a Chromebook in most respects but you pay 3/4 times the price.

Emlyn_Dewar said:
Anyone know if the built in file explorer will pick up network attached storage, or are there any decent plug-ins in the store that will?

I highly doubt it at the moment, although I'm sure it's a requested feature. If you can set up some sort of FTP interface then that should work.

Antowns · 12 Nov 2012 at 10:47

I was in a shop recently and I was disappointed to find it only had 16GB of hard drive space. So not really an option to install another OS if you wanted. Although they've priced it nicely so that it fits in with the netbook range.