Guest post by “If you want a Windows laptop, get a Windows laptop. But, if you want an easy-to-use, Web-based laptop, consider getting a Chromebook. So long as you realize that the Samsung Series 5 and its brother from another company, the Acer Chromebook, is not a full-featured Windows or Linux notebook computer you’ll be fine.”
And i agree to many of the points in the review.. BUT (there always has to be one sadly)
The keyboard is horrible. It does not even have a normal size <ENTER> key, so you will keep hitting the key above it if you are a fast typist. Usual bad netbook designs in that regard.
Why do you consider this to be a very nice review? It hardly mentions the OS, it just list some specs and uncompared benchmarks. The comments about the batterylife are strange (battery life is great and needed for flights where this thing would hardly be useful anyway, but then later he mentions that less battery more power would be even better)
Why not buy a much cheaper netbook and add ChromeOS as a multi-boot option? For the money you save you can easily buy a prepaid USB3G-stick with a lot more data AND you can actually do whatever you want in the other OS’s.
What is the target audience for these devices? A person that only uses the web for everything and has money to spare? How many people like that acutally exist?
Chrome OS runs only on Google blessed laptops, what you can do is to run on other devices the open source cousin Chromium OS
I really hope chromebooks will become very successful, as I believe that might help opening up a few monopolized “standards” around the web..?
Usually I prefer to put Debian on netbooks (well, I put Debian on just about anything actually
).
Not much beats that when it comes to security, stability, speed and versatility.
gl google
Monopolized standards? You mean like “Google is the Web?” That standard?
Seriously though, Google is becoming just a little too powerful for my tastes when it comes to how much control they have over our online lives, and what information you can and cannot easily find on the Web.
Google should be giving these way for free, really, given that Google’s online services they are designed to work with are ad supported, unless you have a business account. In which case you are already paying for the online service.
Don’t think I will be buying one of these since more of my life is already on Google that I am comfortable with.
Edited 2011-06-14 17:36 UTC
I think you can combine this with your phone and Chrome-sync-thing-whatever-it-is-called.
But what I would like to know is, does it do encryption before sending it to Google ?
I know I did read it does do encryption on the ‘disk’, just in case it was stolen. But that is a totally different ‘problem’.
The review says that the Samsung Chromebook lacks an Ethernet port, DEL key, and function keys. Looking at the photo, I also don’t see Home, End, PgUp or PgDn. There are 10 mysterious keys at the top of the keyboard, but I’m not sure what they do. They probably do multi-media things, but perhaps some replace Home, End, PgUp and PgDn – it’s too difficult to tell from the photo alone.
Overall, disappointing. I was considering buying one of these machines, based on the hope that it would be possible to install full-fledged Linux alongside ChromeOS and dual-boot as the need arises. Unfortunately, the missing components would make for a crippled Linux computer.
And I really don’t get the “wisdom” behind dropping Ethernet and DEL. Maybe ChromeOS doesn’t make use of function keys, but how can a machine that requires connectivity not support Ethernet. And in normal writing, I use the DEL key several times per minute – can’t imagine working around that limitation with cursor keys and backspace.
The author of the review doesn’t seem to mind these missing components, though he whines about no Bluetooth. I guess it’s a matter of personal preference, but I’ve found no compelling reason to use Bluetooth. Plugging in a microphone-headset isn’t a hardship, at least not for me.
This review is for Samsung’s first Chromebook. Let’s hope that Acer can do better. But the manufacturers do have to conform to Google’s wishes, so I’m not hopeful.
I’m guessing the buttons at the top are back, forward, refresh, full screen, menu (maybe?), dim screen, brighten screen, mute, decrease volume, increase volume, and power.
Some combination of Ctrl, Alt, and the arrow keys will probably be used as a replacement for Home, End, Pgup, and PgDn.
The missing delete might be a bit of a pain, but I usually use backspace anyway.
The lack of an Ethernet port does surprise me, but if I was considering buying a Chromebook, I don’t think it would hold me back. For the amount of time that I actually use wired networking, I might as well buy a USB Ethernet adapter.
The buttons on top are back/forward, refresh, etc.
No del alt+bksp is delete. I have a CR-48 and I can attest that it works great as a second computer.
Ctrl-d. Easier to keep you hands in position anyways.
For the same price you can get a netbook. I just don’t see the niche they want to fit this in.
Bonus though: The laptop has a matte screen. I wish I could buy a laptop with a matte screen.
I might be wrong but I think Apple is one of the few manufacturers that offer such an option.
Well, I’ve checked online and although there’s indeed something, it’s not exactly as if they offered matte screens to everyone asking and paying the price…
1/It’s not available for 12″ and 13″ macbooks and macbook pros, only for MBP 15″ and up. At least online. So you must like big laptops (I do, some don’t) and be ready to spend at least $1800 + the $150 extra + the price of a Windows licence if you need it.
2/It’s not a matte screen but an antiglare-coated shiny screen. If it’s the same sort of coating that they use for glasses, it means that you still get nasty specular reflections, but they’re slightly less strong and, perhaps most visible, have a different color (blue-ish or green-ish depending on the coating). So it could be better, but really not up to the lost quality standards of a matte screen, with their non-distracting and weak diffuse reflections.
Cf wikipedia for an example of glasses AR coating that’s pretty much as effective as what I’ve seen in store :
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Anti-reflective_…
Seems that people who want matte screen will still have to buy specific models… Or maybe go Lenovo, as they seem to still offer matte screens on most of their products.
Edited 2011-06-15 06:10 UTC
Most business-aimed laptops have matte screens. My current Dell Latitude and the previous HP EliteBook work machines both had them.
Get a ThinkPad, I have a T510, it’s a great machine. There are new models like the T520 and T420 also which are great. ThinkPads come with matte displays.
Edited 2011-06-16 08:50 UTC
Google Apps standardized companies. It takes away the whole pain of having to secure and manage your mobile desktops in the same way that Google Apps takes away all the intricacies of managing a company backoffice. Huge step in the right direction.
I for one have been expecting a “Google Computer” for more than half a decade now, so I see tremendous value in this.
The prices on these things are way too high. $499? I honestly expected they would be in the $250 to $300 range. You can buy actual notebooks from Dell that can do far more than run a Web browser for less than these Chromebooks cost. I honestly don’t see them selling very many of these at these kinds of prices. Not many people are going to shell out $499 for what is basically a Web browser book, when they can buy a regular notebook that can browse the Web, and do so much more, for less money. Price is going to have to come down about $200 before I’d even think of buying what is essentially a notebook that only runs one application (a Web browser).
Edited 2011-06-15 21:02 UTC
Yeah, this is pure FAIL