Chromebooks are awful. And here are some examples why.

[ultravisitor]

I'm so tired of people who have never owned a Chromebook talking about how crappy they are.

This bears repeating.

 

[benhmadison]

There are many great things a Chromebook can do faster and more efficiently than a laptop or tablet. For example, taking notes in a college classroom is much easier on a Chromebook. Within 30 seconds of opening it, I'm able to take notes or access email without any other programs or Windows updates interfering. As previously stated, battery life is phenomenal. It's much better than a laptop for streaming content to a Chromecast or other type of streaming device. Other than using Word or Power Point (When I absolutely have to) the Chromebook can do most everything better, not to mention it's the future of computing. Everything will soon be stored via a cloud.

 

[Geodude074]

There are many great things a Chromebook can do faster and more efficiently than a laptop or tablet. For example, taking notes in a college classroom is much easier on a Chromebook. Within 30 seconds of opening it, I'm able to take notes or access email without any other programs or Windows updates interfering. As previously stated, battery life is phenomenal. It's much better than a laptop for streaming content to a Chromecast or other type of streaming device. Other than using Word or Power Point (When I absolutely have to) the Chromebook can do most everything better, not to mention it's the future of computing. Everything will soon be stored via a cloud.

You said there are many great things a Chromebook can do faster and more efficiently, but you only listed two. Both of which are debatable.

People are always saying that Chromebooks boot up faster than Windows notebooks, but the only reason why they do is because Chromebooks have an SSD. Place an SSD into a Windows notebook and it will boot just as fast as a Chromebook. Also, if you don't have the cash for an SSD, just put your Windows notebook in Sleep or Hibernate. Why does no one ever utilize Sleep or Hibernate? This is exactly why Sleep or Hibernate was created - so you could start up your PC quickly from a stand-by.

Battery life is a toss up between models. Not all Chromebooks get better battery life than Windows notebooks, and not all Windows notebooks get better battery life than Chromebooks.

 

[Algus]

Your examples are not thin and light. How are they on heat and fan noise?
Assuming that is the Haswell celeron battery life should be pretty ok.

Yes I'm being picky but since my chromebook delivers I can afford to be.

I use dolphin + desktop user agent on my tablet and note 3. It works pretty ok but I dislike browsing mobile sites. Nice thing about chromebook is I get the desktop browsing experience with built in keyboard and touchpad. Sure I can do this on a tab but say 10-11" tab and I'm already several hundred over chromebook price without including accessories to replicate desktop experience.

Only thing chrome os doesn't do that I'd like is DVD support. It has local media play and word processing software. Internet access is a nonissue as I just tether with my phone if I have no wifi

The Asus does look nice though. Slap Debian with XFCE on it and would probably be gtg. I won't use Windows period unless it is for gaming.


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[Geodude074]

Your examples are not thin and light. How are they on heat and fan noise?
Assuming that is the Haswell celeron battery life should be pretty ok.

Yes I'm being picky but since my chromebook delivers I can afford to be.

I use dolphin + desktop user agent on my tablet and note 3. It works pretty ok but I dislike browsing mobile sites. Nice thing about chromebook is I get the desktop browsing experience with built in keyboard and touchpad. Sure I can do this on a tab but say 10-11" tab and I'm already several hundred over chromebook price without including accessories to replicate desktop experience.

Only thing chrome os doesn't do that I'd like is DVD support. It has local media play and word processing software. Internet access is a nonissue as I just tether with my phone if I have no wifi

The Asus does look nice though. Slap Debian with XFCE on it and would probably be gtg. I won't use Windows period unless it is for gaming.


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The ARM Chromebooks may not produce much heat and noise, but they have TERRIBLE performance. That's the trade-off you get, and in my opinion, it simply isn't worth it.

Just wait for more Bay Trail T laptops/hybrids to come out. The Asus T100 is really paving the way for "netbooks" of 2014. Thin and light, no heat or noise, low price, full Windows x86 functionality, can be used as a tablet OR a laptop, and yet it has the processing power of Core 2 Duo's of old.

 

[JRDroid]

You said there are many great things a Chromebook can do faster and more efficiently, but you only listed two. Both of which are debatable.

People are always saying that Chromebooks boot up faster than Windows notebooks, but the only reason why they do is because Chromebooks have an SSD. Place an SSD into a Windows notebook and it will boot just as fast as a Chromebook. Also, if you don't have the cash for an SSD, just put your Windows notebook in Sleep or Hibernate. Why does no one ever utilize Sleep or Hibernate? This is exactly why Sleep or Hibernate was created - so you could start up your PC quickly from a stand-by.

Battery life is a toss up between models. Not all Chromebooks get better battery life than Windows notebooks, and not all Windows notebooks get better battery life than Chromebooks.

Find me one single Windows (FULL Windows, not Windows RT) laptop for sub $300 with an SSD and good enough cloud storage integration to make it work. Sleep or hiberenate are good in certain situations, but are not ideal in others. This is another pro for Chromebooks really, you don't have to think about whether you should put it in sleep, hibernate, shut it off, or what based on what you are doing that day. You just shut it and go. Cheap Windows laptops have their place, but so do Chromebooks. THey are really one of the things tht you just have to try (in real life, not a store) to fully understand what makes them so great.

 

[Algus]

Well when you're talking "as cheap as possible" there's always a give and take. ARM Chromebooks are certainly inferior in performance to Haswell Chromebooks but after owning one for a year, I don't find I'm ever really limited in what I can do. I used to work mine pretty hard, docked to a 24'' 1080p LED and multitasking on both displays. It worked pretty good for this as long as I wasn't trying to stream HD video and load lots of websites at the same time. As long as it gets the job done, I don't really care if some other processor can get it done faster.

Bay Trail does hold promise. As long as at least one vendor is pushing out machines that don't have a locked down BIOS so I can replace Windows with something more desirable, I'll definitely be interested. Good Debian+XFCE setup is almost as responsive and requires just as little maintenance as Chrome OS. I suppose I'd be better off if I went even more lightweight, but I like stock XFCE to much. T100 still costs a bit more than a Chromebook though. If they can get a decent Bay Trail machine down around $300, we might be in business.

 

[JeffDenver]

This bears repeating.

Because if you have never owned a product, you certainly are not entitled to talk about it's faults. I totally agree. We need more internet police.

 

[JeffDenver]

Everything will soon be stored via a cloud.

Yeah, I have been hearing that for a long time now. In my experience it is not any more practical now than it was a year ago. I still use local storage quite a bit, and so do most people I know. Especially for productivity devices.

I use cloud services a lot actually...but only as tools and supplements. Never as my primary storage. Internet access is simply not as reliable as local storage IMO, and may never be.

Your examples are not thin and light. How are they on heat and fan noise?

No Chromebook is as thin and light as my tablet. Fan noise? I have never been in any situation where this was an issue. The cheap laptops I have used are extremely quiet. For screen size I agree tablets are not going to compete.

 

[ultravisitor]

No Chromebook is as thin and light as my tablet.

A tablet is not a Chromebook. I actually have both. Sometimes I prefer to use the Chromebook; sometimes I prefer to use the tablet. They are not interchangeable.

Suggestion: perhaps you should try evaluating a Chromebook for what it is, rather than criticizing it for what it is not. You might not get to complain about them as much (or maybe you will), but you might also learn something about them in the process.

 

[Algus]

BTW "thin and light" is a laptop form factor. Laptops in the 11.6'' and 13.3'' range are considered thin and light laptops. Sometimes also called ultra books as opposed to full sized laptops that are in the 14.1'' and 15.6'' range

 

[JeffDenver]

Suggestion: perhaps you should try evaluating a Chromebook for what it is, rather than criticizing it for what it is not.

What is it? That's what I'm trying to find out. Do I really need to spend $250 to find that out? It isn't something I can be told?

 

[Algus]

Yes. You have to buy it. That is the only way the brain maggots can get from the computer and into your skull.


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[jparker71]

If you need the added functionality a Windows laptop brings then a chromebook isn't for you. As for me, there wasn't anything I was doing on my laptop that I couldn't do on a chromebook. When it came time to replace it I bought the $249 Samsung and haven't looked back. It's all about use case. Just because it's right for me doesn't me it's right for you. And just because it's wrong for you doesn't mean it's wrong for me.

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[A895]

If it means anything I have seen multiple students at my college with a chromebook instead of tablet. They were using them as regular laptops, and they were the Samsung Chromebook from last year. I see chrome books as that productive version of a tablet and Bluetooth keyboard except its more laptop like than tablet like making it more productive than your average tablet. I see it more as a mass consumer product for those who want something tablet light but need something a little more productive than a tablet.

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[Kevin OQuinn]

What is it? That's what I'm trying to find out. Do I really need to spend $250 to find that out? It isn't something I can be told?

Oh it can be told, and it has been told, in this thread. Allow me to try, it's a cheap, fast, fairly well built, secure way of browsing the web. Browsing the web includes anything you can do with Chrome on Windows, especially with the Acer C720. It has great battery life, transparent updates that the user doesn't have to act on (including security patches), and the odds of it contracting a virus are almost non-existent.

Sometimes telling isn't the problem, understanding is.

 

[JRDroid]

What is it? That's what I'm trying to find out. Do I really need to spend $250 to find that out? It isn't something I can be told?

Owners of Chromebooks have been telling you in this thread and have told others in other threads. You keep trying to compare them to full Windows laptops or tablets. They aren't either of those things. I have a Nexus 7, a 17.3" ASUS gaming laptop (G75VX), and a Samsung Chromebook. I use all three regularly for different things. Each one has strengths and weaknesses. A Chromebook isn't a bad product because it doesn't do what Windows or a tablet does. It isn't supposed to. If I'm going somewhere to work on a report, I don't want to lug around a giant laptop and I don't want to work on a 7" screen, even with a bluetooth keyboard. My Chromebook fills this niche. If I'm browsing the web while watching TV and want to write a long response to a post, I don't want to type the whole thing on a touch screen and I don't want to have a giant laptop on my lap. My Chromebook fills this niche. If I'm in a car (with someone else driving) and I need to do work for school, I do have room for a 17" laptop and don't want to work on a 7" touchscreen. My Chromebook fills this niche. I have personally used my Chromebook to pull photos taken on a dSLR off an SD card with no issues (one of the big complaints the article in the OP had). Are there Windows laptops at the same price that could accomplish these things? Yes, but they are slower, thicker, heavier, have worse battery life, and I don't need any of the extra functions Windows has in any of those situations. They are not a viable option to have as your only computer for many people, but for people who value content creation over content consumption, they can make more sense as a secondary device than either a cheap Windows laptop or a tablet.

The reason so many people have a problem with your opinion and are telling you that you won't understand them until you buy one is because many of us are telling you we own them and have legitamate use cases where a Chromebook makes more sense than other comparably priced options, and you insist we are wrong. When you haven't tried one. You are entilted to evaluate a product based on what you have read or its specs or whatever, but when actual users who have the product in their hands and use them on a daily basis tell you you're wrong, you may want to listen.

 

[ultravisitor]

Sometimes telling isn't the problem, understanding is.

Truth.

 

[Aquila]

In no small way, I would say that if you're trying to do things that you would normally not do in your Chrome browser, the point is being missed. I've never once tried to import anything directly from an SD card to Chrome (it's incredibly easy to do, but it's not part of the way that I use devices), nor use Chrome for a major productivity project that requires VBA, SAS, MS Access or SQL Server. I'd probably use my PC with 4x as much RAM to compile code. I wouldn't use my Chrome browser to play major graphics intensive games and, even though it's possible, I probably wouldn't do major photo or video editing for anything that's not intended to be posted in forums or social media. There are very good productivity and gaming specific devices out there and this is not meant to replace them, but to augment them. I can do 100% of what a Chromebook can do on a PC, and I can do 99% of what I want to do on a Chromebook. What I can't do on the Chromebook is the reason that I have multiple devices.

I truly believe just about any student, high school, college, etc could use this as a sole device (other than a phone) easily into grad school and that 90%+ people could do the majority, if not all of the tasks they use the web for with ease in a Chromebook, it'd just require a slight perspective adjustment to eliminate the concept of, "installing apps". There are apps, but most of them are missing the point. Chromebook passes all compatibility and format needs I have at my college so far, and if it doesn't, it does remote in to my PC and it also seamlessly syncs with anything that I save via my Chrome browser on my PC or on my work machines, phone, both tablets, etc. I've seen so many reviews complain about missing local storage or not having a CD drive, etc. Just silly.

 

[Geodude074]

Find me one single Windows (FULL Windows, not Windows RT) laptop for sub $300 with an SSD and good enough cloud storage integration to make it work. Sleep or hiberenate are good in certain situations, but are not ideal in others. This is another pro for Chromebooks really, you don't have to think about whether you should put it in sleep, hibernate, shut it off, or what based on what you are doing that day. You just shut it and go. Cheap Windows laptops have their place, but so do Chromebooks. THey are really one of the things tht you just have to try (in real life, not a store) to fully understand what makes them so great.

Why are you asking for FULL Windows instead of Windows RT? I would argue that even Windows RT is more functional than Chrome OS, since it comes with Office 2013 and you can download different types of applications and not just web-browser extensions. Oh, and you can run different browsers too.

Chromebooks may come with an SSD but it's only 16 GB, which is PUNY. My phone has more internal storage than Chromebooks. The beauty of Windows is that it offers you choice - you can have a huge 500 GB mechanical HDD for storage, and a smaller 32 GB SSD for less than $45 if you so wish. Also, internal storage is better than cloud storage in about 99% of all scenarios I can think of.

You can change your settings in Windows so whenever you push the power button or close the lid, it automatically puts it to sleep. Once again, the beauty of a real operating system gives you choice in what you want it to do. You can shut it and go if you want, or leave it running all day if you want.

Nevertheless, Chromebooks DO have their place. Chromebooks are great for technologically illiterate people, people who don't have the knowledge or the patience to make their Windows notebook work the way they want it to. Hence why I'm getting a Chromebook for my girlfriend because she fits that demographic perfectly - she knows nothing about computers, doesn't even know how to do a Windows search, so a Chromebook would be perfect for her.