Thinking of getting a chromebook for Uni

Jony27

Jony27

Jony27

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Hi all, just stumbled across these chromebooks and they have caught my interests :D
Ill be starting a course in Computers Information Technology at the end of the month and thought that a laptop/tablet would be ideal for taking down some notes until I read about Chromebooks.
It seems to be the cheapest/most convenient way as its portable AND has a a physical keyboard.

ATM, I can find 3 Chromebooks under £200, the Acer,Samsung and HP.
Main difference I can see are
  • HP has a bigger screen
  • Acer has HDD instead of SSD
  • Both Acer and HP have Intel Celeron CPU


It just sounds perfect for what I intend to use it for as I will be keeping the Pc in my sig in my hall and the Chromebook to lectures/classes.

Now one of the main question is which chromebook to go for?
Currently Im leaning towards the Samsung :o

The other main question is, does anyone actually bring laptops or take notes in lectures anymore? :p
 
I'm doing CIT at Queens (I assume you're going to Queens or Jordanstown?), currently on placement after finishing 2nd year.

You will see a lot of people with laptops in the lectures, but few will be using them for taking notes. I've brought mine a couple of times to view the lecturers PowerPoints, rather than taking notes as there was an issue with the projection screen being way too small (this was in first year, so it may have been changed by now).

Tbh, a pen and paper is better and faster for note taking, and probably always will be. Tablets are too fiddly to type quickly on as well, so imo, just go with a pen and paper.

EDIT: You will take notes for the first few weeks, then nothing, then take notes again come exams. Common trend :)
 
Yeah, CIT at Queens :D
What do they use them for apart from taking notes :eek:

Pen and paper is the cheapest I suppose :p
Although I have a problem with loose file pages being misplaced all the time :o
 
Do you have an old PC you can install Chromium on first to try?
You might find that ChromeOS isn't for you!

If I was specifically going to buy a Chromebook for taking notes, then I'd go for the Samsung, purely down to it being so portable.
 
Most of the time Facebook/Twitter, League of Legends (think that's what its called?), even seen some guy rockin' out on Skyrim. Mouse and all. Couple of people watching Dragonball Z as well.

Don't really mind much, but it can be distracting when you actually want to listen and pay attention!
 
Emlyn_Dewar said:
Do you have an old PC you can install Chromium on first to try?
You might find that ChromeOS isn't for you!

If I was specifically going to buy a Chromebook for taking notes, then I'd go for the Samsung, purely down to it being so portable.
Click to expand...

We have a laptop I could try it on :D
Can I get the Chromium OS directly from google?

Nymins said:
Most of the time Facebook/Twitter, League of Legends (think that's what its called?), even seen some guy rockin' out on Skyrim. Mouse and all. Couple of people watching Dragonball Z as well.

Don't really mind much, but it can be distracting when you actually want to listen and pay attention!
Click to expand...

Haha, surely they would/should have earphones on in one ear?
 
Anyone on laptop in lectures i attend always seems to be on facebook/browsing/games etc never see anyone taking notes lol.
 
It's surprisingly difficult to change operating system, otherwise they look ok.

I used a netbook in lectures - mostly typing notes in emacs, or looking up background information on whatever the lecturer was talking about - but also wrote on paper.
 
Hi guys, just want to update this as I didnt want to start a new thread.

Been on the lookout ever since OP and have considered an actual laptop for similar price.

With the Samsung Chromebook for £229 and a ASUS X501A-XX514H at £279(i3 version worth £50 more?)
 
I'd keep a look out on the Dell Outlet. There is an Inspiron 14z ultrabook on it now for ~£350. Higher price, but a much more capable machine.
 
Depends on the module ref: laptops and notes. Some modules lend themselves well to a laptop (and onenote is a fantastic piece of software) whereas others pen and paper is much easier.

I do a lot of work at uni, and run the climbing club, and live at home, so need something capable and portable, so I can do everything when mobile. Also do some PCB design on it.

For loose paper, get a notebook. I started using one on placement last year, and put everything in it. It very quickly becomes completely indispensable!!
 
Nymins said:
I'd keep a look out on the Dell Outlet. There is an Inspiron 14z ultrabook on it now for ~£350. Higher price, but a much more capable machine.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, it needs to be from the purple place/indian food place as it will be taken on a monthly payment :(

abbotsmike said:
Depends on the module ref: laptops and notes. Some modules lend themselves well to a laptop (and onenote is a fantastic piece of software) whereas others pen and paper is much easier.

I do a lot of work at uni, and run the climbing club, and live at home, so need something capable and portable, so I can do everything when mobile. Also do some PCB design on it.

For loose paper, get a notebook. I started using one on placement last year, and put everything in it. It very quickly becomes completely indispensable!!
Click to expand...

Itll most likely be used just for taking down notes along with a pen and paper and probably a bit of research on some things. Also want something to bring home with me during weekends as I will have to leave the PC in halls.
 
Uhhhh.

Quick update, now looking at Ultrabooks :o

Thought I may as well go all out as this will hopefully last me till the end of my course.

So budget is around £550 atm and probably max.

Currently looking at an Asus Zenbook UX32A for £570, the OCUK Prof. W540 (with 128GB SSD) for £550.

Or maybe the Acer S3-391.

Main thing Im looking out for is portability hence why Im staying away from fat notebooks :p. Also battery life is a key factor something around 5-6 hours.
 
It looks like you've binned off chromebooks but I just wanted to point put that its very easy to use a program called crouton to instantly switch between chromeos and a full blown linux os. You get the best of both words with no compromises.

I'm use an arm based samsung chromebook which is completely fanless, cheap, light as a feather and decent battery. I usually run xubuntu 13.04 and do light software development on it.
 
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