I've been very interested in the Chromebook concept, but I've never gotten to try one out for a prolonged period of time. For those who own one or use one frequently, what's it like? Is it worth it? I'd really like to know as it's an interesting concept design and a sneaky way for Google to try to take control of the market. Do you think it will become the next big OS like Windows?
There are at least five or six other threads on this. Chromebooks range in price from $200 to $400, and they're better than comparable Windows machines for one main reason. Chrome OS is far lighter than Windows 7 and Windows 8. Budget Windows PCs fall in a similar price range, but an Intel Celeron or Pentium processor isn't powerful enough to run the OS without any hiccups. Some budget Windows PCs are nearly unusable because the processor can't keep up with too much multitasking. I use a Chromebook and Windows PC side-by-side with great results. The only thing I don't really do with my Chromebook is keep too many files on it or in cloud storage. I can program through various apps and take care of work-related things with ease, though. Basic media consumption and Flash gaming works fine, too. Chromebooks are getting more powerful in the graphics department, too.
I recently bought a Chromebook. I bought a Lenovo off eBay. It was brand new in a unopened box. I really love it. They are fairly new, but I don't think they are going anywhere. I read somewhere that Adobe was developing a Chrome OS version of Photoshop. Chromebooks are pretty popular among the college crowd. Some Chromebooks have hard drives too. I'm not sure if Chrome OS will become as popular as MS Windows, but they will definitely give Microsoft a run for the money.
Yeah I'm not too excited for this, I mean sure they're really cheap but you really get what you paid for. I would rather buy a tablet or something and besides if you're really into some heavy computing stuff this won't do you any good, granted it's not made for it but still.
So I think it depends on what you're expecting, if you do your research and know what to expect, I think you'll be happy with it. The price absolutely can't be beat and it truly is a good deal for the price. You do need to have an internet connection for pretty much anything you want to do with it, and it does have limited storage, but in terms of studying, getting work done, checking email and social media and typical online activities it's good.
Will it take over Windows? Absolutely not. Apple has been trying for years and still hasn't done it, so no on that. However, most people really don't use Windows. They have it on their computer because it's on their computer, but most of what they do is on the internet, so it doesn't matter what the OS is. If you know for sure that most of what you want to do can be done with Google Docs, then yeah, go for the Chromebook as it is so light and easy to carry around with you. But, if you need a desktop application through Windows, then no, you'll only get angry. Office is also online now, so you won't be completely locked out of that suite unless you need Access or Publisher.
Not my cup of tea. Chromebooks are just netbooks basically, at least that's what I think. I would rather go with a tablet or something similar but it's good to have some sort of PC like environment to work with.
For the price I think they're pretty good. I mean, you can't get more than that when it comes to $200 but then again it's about as useful as you allow it to be. If you're expecting something like a PC then you're going to be disappointed but if you're thinking a tablet device that is a bit more powerful and has a lot more feature then go for it.
