Chromebook compared to other laptops?

RockoB8

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I am considering picking up a Chromebook very soon here, and I'm eyeing any of the Acer Chromebooks out there and I was wondering if it's worth getting? I usually use my PCs for surfing the web and doing freelance work and I don't really plan to use it for anything else like gaming and watching movies. What do you think? Is it worth getting a Chromebook? Or should I get a new laptop instead?
 

sk8trix

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I am considering picking up a Chromebook very soon here, and I'm eyeing any of the Acer Chromebooks out there and I was wondering if it's worth getting? I usually use my PCs for surfing the web and doing freelance work and I don't really plan to use it for anything else like gaming and watching movies. What do you think? Is it worth getting a Chromebook? Or should I get a new laptop instead?

Okay so, I own both a laptop and a Chromebook.Both are good choices and it really boils down to what you will be needing to do most. Some google fanboys or Microsoft fanboys will disagree but its all just them taking sides.Chromebooks are browsers with keyboards but you can use google docs. Google docs are great for storing information and other files, granted you're give two years of google drive. If you're a power user and you need all of the advanced features in microsoft office then you might be better off with a laptop(either linux or windows). If you want to watch hd video a chrome-book will struggle compared to a laptop but then again if you're needs are browsing reading articles, light video consumption and using a basic word processor a chrome-book will be more than enough. Battery life on my chromebookarm which is old by today's standards is great, keyboard is amazing and screen res is good, some cons to my chrome-book are the camera is crap, small internal storage, and obviously cant watch 1080 or 4k video. It all depends on what you need it for. A laptop will have upgradable ram storage and cd drives so if thats important to you then go with a laptop.
 

RockoB8

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Yeah I figured the Chromebook isn't as good as a laptop. I honestly just want to get one to play around on, maybe have one around just so I can do some freelance work (writing for blogs, sites, etc) So a browser is perfectly fine for me. Plus the apps I can use will come in handy. I suspect newer Chromebooks will have higher definition at least? I also would like to have an HDMI port on it too, to which I can just connect to my TV to watch something through Flixster or something.

Thanks for the reply, I'll consider my options. :)
 

Rolandh

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Yeah I figured the Chromebook isn't as good as a laptop. I honestly just want to get one to play around on, maybe have one around just so I can do some freelance work (writing for blogs, sites, etc) So a browser is perfectly fine for me. Plus the apps I can use will come in handy. I suspect newer Chromebooks will have higher definition at least? I also would like to have an HDMI port on it too, to which I can just connect to my TV to watch something through Flixster or something.

Thanks for the reply, I'll consider my options. :)

I got the Acer C720 yesterday and it's great. It can play HD & 4K YouTube Videos just fine & I'm going to try a HD mp4 that I downloaded, I don't usually Torrent but I needed a video for a Blog post on the Chromebook & all my legit videos are on an NTFS HDD & I've currently got Chromium OS on my Windows capable laptop so no way of pulling them down to the Chromebook (will be nice to see how well the 2GB model that's only available in the UK can handle HD mp4's).

Roland
 

RockoB8

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I got the Acer C720 yesterday and it's great. It can play HD & 4K YouTube Videos just fine & I'm going to try a HD mp4 that I downloaded, I don't usually Torrent but I needed a video for a Blog post on the Chromebook & all my legit videos are on an NTFS HDD & I've currently got Chromium OS on my Windows capable laptop so no way of pulling them down to the Chromebook (will be nice to see how well the 2GB model that's only available in the UK can handle HD mp4's).

Roland
I'll keep the Acer C720 in mind when I make my decision. I do like higher quality videos on YouTube, so that may come in handy. By the way, this 4K resolution, how much more superior is it to 1080p?
 

eggantom

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It's actually possible to install Linux and make your Chromebook dualboot. There are a number of simple manuals on that topic. So, guess you can try Chromebook and switch to Ubuntu (or ChUbuntu) in case you need something more than standard CB functions.
 

TheDoros

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I'm going to slightly build on what Sk8trix mentioned.

If you need Microsoft Office you can always use Microsofts Skydrive to create, edit, and work on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint projects. Though I think some of the more advanced features may not be available, if your going to be using it for mostly blogs and websites it should prove to be more than enough.

I bought one because I was sold on the battery life compared to other laptops at the $199 pricepoint.
 

jiovine

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My needs are similar to yours and I have tried a series of devices and own a Lumia 925, MotoX, Lenovo Notebook, Nexus 7, Chromebook as well as a Nokia 2520. In my opinion, I consider the Chromebook and Windows RT devices to be quite similar in the following regards - you are limited to the Apps provided within the respective providers store. Both are limited to the browser provided on the device - Chrome or IE. Both offer Cloud Storage and additional on device storage via SD.

I tend to lean toward the Nokia 2520 as I have the flexibility of a tablet plus 4GLTE. With the addition of the Nokia Power Keyboard I get laptop functionality with an extended battery and two additional USB Ports. I mainly use mine for work and it integrates perfectly within our company environment with SharePoint, Lync and O365. Plus you get the office suite -- I hate dealing with Office Web Apps.

So internet everywhere and the ability to run full office suite and convertible format is what did it for me. But your needs may differ but thought I would throw this one out there...
 

Euan Tan

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I recently got my C720 and it is really great. It boots fast and loads webpages in blazing speed. You can find some apps in the chrome web store such as spotify, ad block and all that but it doesnt support apps like skype and itunes.. It has an HDMI port I havent tried it though. comes with 100 GB cloud storage. Plus has an SD card reader but it does stick out from the laptop. If you can wait, i would wait a few months more for the upcoming chromebooks but as of right now C720 is one of the best to get. (I got the C720P touchscreen)
 

Algus

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For various technical reasons, Chrome OS is a super secure environment that is hardened to protect you against viruses and malware. It sports incredibly fast boot times and virtually no maintenance. Newer machines like the C720 have tremendous battery life and fast response time overall. Build quality is fairly good, though cheap plastics and poor screens can't be hidden by good design. The tradeoff is that you are limited to running the Chrome Web Browser and the various packages that have been prepared for it. The good news is that this turns out to be quite a lot of stuff including full fledged word processing, media players, and so on. Packaged apps allow for considerable capability when not connected to the internet though the overall pool of software remains sorely lacking compared to every other major operating system out there.

If there is specific key software you need, Chrome OS can still work for you if you are able to remote desktop into a computer that is capable of running the software you need. If your activities are no more sophisticated than basic office work and web browsing, Chrome OS likely has you covered natively. Various methods to install a more traditional Linux distribution are available and newer models like the C720 have a "legacy boot" option available that will allow the computer to boot a different OS in the traditional fashion. I suppose it is even theoretically possible to install Windows via legacy boot (though I am not sure why you would want to do this)

The big advantage now that we have legacy boot is that we can now buy cheap computers without having to pay for Microsoft licenses and software. The disadvantage to this is that you will have to teach yourself a new operating system if you've only ever used Windows and while Chrome OS is pretty intuitive, this does mean finding all new applications to get your work done.
 

ILoveMyTowel

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The way I see it, a Chromebook is fantastic as a secondary device (eg. you have a PC set up at home). It can work as your primary/only computing device, but you may find yourself occasionally frustrated at the lack of [insert program here]. The Acer C720 is a solid device, and Amazon's been pushing it refurbished for $150 recently. You should be able to find it for that price on the acer ebay account at the moment.

The other thing to consider is that the Samsung Chromebook 2 is coming out soon (11 and 13 inches). They're pricier options, but definitely worth considering - especially the 13 inch, which sports a full 1080p screen. One thing to keep in mind is that these run ARM chips, so dualbooting linux won't be very fun.
 

JRDroid

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The other thing to consider is that the Samsung Chromebook 2 is coming out soon (11 and 13 inches). They're pricier options, but definitely worth considering - especially the 13 inch, which sports a full 1080p screen. One thing to keep in mind is that these run ARM chips, so dualbooting linux won't be very fun.

I love Chromebooks but I disagree with this entirely. Right now, buying an ARM Chromebook is a mistake. Their one huge advantage was battery life, but the Haswell Intel chips get such good battery life that this is no longer true. I have a Samsung ARM Chromebook and I would not recommend anyone get an ARM Chromebook. Get Intel.
 

Rolandh

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I'll keep the Acer C720 in mind when I make my decision. I do like higher quality videos on YouTube, so that may come in handy. By the way, this 4K resolution, how much more superior is it to 1080p?

Playing back HD higher than 720p & 4K on the internal screen of the Acer shows no noticeable improvement over 720p, & I've not got a 4K screen to hook my Acer up to to compare 1080p & 4K.

Roland
 

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