Microsoft launches a price assault on Chromebooks (TheVerge)

[Ry]

Microsoft launches a price assault on Chromebooks

Microsoft will just have to ensure that its PC partners don’t turn this pricing opportunity into a second round of underpowered Netbooks, otherwise the simplicity and performance of Chrome OS might just tempt holiday shoppers away from Windows.

 

[blackguard]

I have a funny feeling that part you quoted is exactly what's going to wind up happening.

 

[JeffDenver]

Current cheap Laptops are already better than Chromebooks. The difference between $300 and $200 is not as much as a lot of people think.

Life is great outside of a browser.

 

[independentvolume]

I have a funny feeling that part you quoted is exactly what's going to wind up happening.

lol. I love android but chromebooks are a pretty big fail. This is where Microsoft can make some hay and I think that's a good thing. The more players in the mobile arena the better. We all know the wheels on windows phone continue to get little traction so this could give that a boost as well if they start tying devices together.

 

[B. Diddy]

I just got an HP Chromebook 14 to replace my Toshiba Win8 laptop in the kitchen, which seemed to be getting clunkier by the day. Not missing it at all so far!

 

[Ry]

If Chromebooks weren't a threat, then this image wouldn't need to exist.

 

[blackguard]

lol. I love android but chromebooks are a pretty big fail. This is where Microsoft can make some hay and I think that's a good thing. The more players in the mobile arena the better. We all know the wheels on windows phone continue to get little traction so this could give that a boost as well if they start tying devices together.

What this article is pointing out though is that the last time companies tried making low cost laptops that ran windows we ended up getting those really horrible netbooks. I don't see how they think they're going to pull it off this time without repeating that. Even MS can't make a surface tablet/laptop hybrid at lower cost without sticking that godawful RT on it. Celerons and 4GB RAM suck on a windows OS.

Furthermore, Microsoft's hardware partners very much believe in 'you get what you pay for'. They cheap right out on quality on low cost notebooks. Personally if I couldn't afford a high end laptop I'd just as soon get a tablet and not these or a Chromebook either. Why do you need a low cost laptop so much anyway? Work? You're in a financial pickle if you need a $200 portable workstation!

The only use I see for these things are schools in impoverished developing regions.

 

[independentvolume]

What this article is pointing out though is that the last time companies tried making low cost laptops that ran windows we ended up getting those really horrible netbooks. I don't see how they think they're going to pull it off this time without repeating that. Even MS can't make a surface tablet/laptop hybrid at lower cost without sticking that godawful RT on it. Celerons and 4GB RAM suck on a windows OS.

Furthermore, Microsoft's hardware partners very much believe in 'you get what you pay for'. They cheap right out on quality on low cost notebooks. Personally if I couldn't afford a high end laptop I'd just as soon get a tablet and not these or a Chromebook either. What do you need a low cost laptop so much anyway? Work? You're in a financial pickle if you need a $200 portable workstation!

Tech has come a long way since then and those netbooks were running windows 7. Windows 8 is coded waaaay more efficiently. I doubt people are going to expect to run cad programs on these, but having full office and the ability to work well offline is a pretty big selling point.

 

[blackguard]

Tech has come a long way since then and those netbooks were running windows 7. Windows 8 is coded waaaay more efficiently. I doubt people are going to expect to run cad programs on these, but having full office and the ability to work well offline is a pretty big selling point.

See above, you were typing at the same time I was editing, so I think I answered this towards the end

 

[independentvolume]

yes you did. lol. Either way, competition is great.

 

[blackguard]

If your goal is to run full office then it's likely work related. If you're looking for a portable workstation and can't budget in an actual laptop it's time to rethink your career choices. Just my 2 cents

 

[Ry]

I won an Acer Aspire One a few years back at the Game Developers Conference. It ran XP with 1GB of RAM and the Intel Atom N270. Was fine for the first year.

I don't even turn that thing on anymore. I would rather be in the browser.

 

[independentvolume]

While true, the wealthiest people I know are also the biggest penny pinchers I know. lol.

 

[blackguard]

Just as an aside, Google quick office is compatible with most Office docs anyway. MS in their usual snail pace to keep up in mobile has resulted in what tech pundits have been saying for a while: people candidate and have looked for alternatives.

 

[JeffDenver]

lol. I love android but chromebooks are a pretty big fail. This is where Microsoft can make some hay and I think that's a good thing. The more players in the mobile arena the better. We all know the wheels on windows phone continue to get little traction so this could give that a boost as well if they start tying devices together.

Same here. I kinda like the idea of a Chrome OS, but I hate how dependent it is on the internet. I need local storage, and the library of apps Windows 8 offers. Chromebooks are like a tablet with a keyboard.

The price difference is simply too trivial at this point to justify giving up those things. I think they could take off eventually, but they need to mature a lot more before they will sway people from Win8 laptops IMO. Windows 8 is actually pretty awesome on low end hardware, and is going to get awesomer now that the disease of Steve Ballmer is finally receding. All the Win8 laptops I have set up are still running great.

Tech has come a long way since then and those netbooks were running windows 7. Windows 8 is coded waaaay more efficiently. I doubt people are going to expect to run cad programs on these, but having full office and the ability to work well offline is a pretty big selling point.

This ^^^

People think these are XP machines with a flashier UI, and that is simply not the case. Windows 8 is lightyears better than XP (or even Win7) was. In every way. Driver support/upgrading, Updates, ect.. Windows 7 itself is still pretty good, but Win8 runs even better than that on the same hardware.

The only real flaw in Win8 was the start menu, and there is an easy fix for that now.

 

[ultravisitor]

I would rather be in the browser.

Same. The only thing I don't do in a browser is torrent. Literally everything else I do can be accomplished easily in a browser.

 

[LeoRex]

Same here. I kinda like the idea of a Chrome OS, but I hate how dependent it is on the internet. I need local storage, and the library of apps Windows 8 offers. Chromebooks are like a tablet with a keyboard.

And that's why they are becoming popular. See, it's clear that things are getting REALLY varied and a bunch of different form factors are going to coexist. Chromebooks aren't for someone looking to get some meat and potatoes productivity going.... but, they do give just a smidge more utility than tablets. And people like keyboards. Even though it seems like multitouch displays have taken over the world, people still like their keyboards. And a little clamshell laptop running enough software to let you go putz about on the internet still has a comfortable place in the world.

 

[JeffDenver]

And that's why they are becoming popular. See, it's clear that things are getting REALLY varied and a bunch of different form factors are going to coexist. Chromebooks aren't for someone looking to get some meat and potatoes productivity going.... but, they do give just a smidge more utility than tablets. And people like keyboards. Even though it seems like multitouch displays have taken over the world, people still like their keyboards. And a little clamshell laptop running enough software to let you go putz about on the internet still has a comfortable place in the world.

I just don't see any demand for Chromebooks. The few minor conveniences they offer will not compensate for all the stuff people will need to do without. It doesn't help that people are already used to the Windows OS (often having used it for decades). I just don't see Chrome making any inroads without some killer feature. Slightly better battery life and slightly lower prices won't be enough IMO. People are not going to like being forced to have online access to do stuff. It limits portability because internet access is not ubiquitous yet, and may not be for a very long time.

They might manage to carve out a niche market, but they will never go mainstream as they are right now. Windows 8 laptops are just too good a deal.

 

[ultravisitor]

I just don't see any demand for Chromebooks.

Um, really? Just because you don't see the demand doesn't mean it's not there. Two of the top three selling laptops on Amazon are Chromebooks. Look at that. That right there shows that there is a demand. Yes, that is a limited view of the market because it only shows the purchases of Amazon customers, but you said you didn't see "any demand", and that Amazon list clearly contradicts your statement. There is quite clearly demand within Amazon's customer base.

Maybe you don't see a reason for the demand because of the other options that exist, but that's about you. Your experience does not speak for the experience of the entire marketplace.

 

[Evilnut]

I got my Chromebook a year ago. Ever since then, my laptop is only used for my music recording software 4 my band. I just don't have a need for the laptop at home anymore since I got my Chromebook. Between my Nexus 10 and my Chromebook, 90 percent of all of my computing needs are met. Aside from my very specific music and recording software, they just do everything I need them to do.

Posted via Android Central App from a beautiful Ebony backed Moto X or the amazing Nexus 10