Whenever we evaluate Chromebooks, more or
less, we always come to the same conclusion: it is a good idea, a computer that
everything is done online, but it is not worth the value equation. That was
time Chrome OS devices cost $500, competing with the netbooks that could run
not only the Chrome browser, but also any all types of Windows applications.
The tablets are too, which can be equipped with thousands of apps on both iOS
and Android.
Samsung
Chromebook is priced at $249
But what would happen if we told you the
price had been dropped to $249? Then could you pull the trigger? That is the
gamble that Google and Samsung are fighting with the new Chromebook, which
retails for $ 249 with an 11.6-inch screen, 6.5 hour battery life and a more
compact design. In short, it is a hardware unit that is as beautiful as any
netbook you'll see, just cheaper. And good luck finding a combination of a
tablet and a keyboard is priced under $ 250.
However, this is one significant change,
which is the Chromebook's dual-core ARM processor, instead of something from
the Intel's Celeron line. The performance is unlikely to be as good, but is
that important if all you're running is the Chrome browser? Are the low prices
likely to be sufficient to appeal parents, visitors, and others looking for a
cheap second laptop? Let's have a look.
Style and feel
The
whole computer feels compact, the 2.5-pound, and because it has a smaller
screen (11.6 inches vs. 12.1 inches), it's much lighter than last-generation
Chromebook.
So far, Samsung's Chromebook line has been
priced in the range of $500 with a better build quality than what most netbooks
offer. As you might expect, at this time, the price has been dropped to $249;
it feels slightly cheaper than the latest generation Series 5550 - but only a
little. With the exception of the palm rest, which was made of inserted
metal, its design and feel are the same as the Chromebook we reviewed earlier.
One again, you are looking at a
super-lightweight computer which is made from matte gray plastic. The whole
computer feels compact, the 2.5-pound, and because it has a smaller screen
(11.6 inches vs. 12.1 inches), it's much lighter than last-generation
Chromebook, which weighs 3.3 pounds. The emerged-style keyboard is really
comfortable as well, and the trackpad is similarly large. It was a nice machine
with the price of $500, but now it's really nice because the price has dropped
to $249. You will not be able to find such a nice netbook with that little
money.
The new Chromebook is thinner, with a
thickness of 0.8 inches, but that thinness means that Samsung’s Chromebook has
returned to not having an Ethernet port. (It was not present in the OG model,
but has been added to the model that was on sale earlier this year). The
inability to use a wired internet connection might be a problem in the computer
labs, where Chrome OS devices have proven to be popular, although we doubt that
the normal customers won’t be interested. Look at the edges carefully, you will
also find an SD card reader, a 3.5mm headset jack, USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, HDMI
output and a 3G SIM slot. As ever, the bottom of the device is sealed, so you
are unlikely to easily to mess with the battery, storage or RAM.
Keyboard
The
individual keys have an interesting soft surface, and all the vital buttons
(Enter, Backspace, etc.) are large in size.
Based on the nature of the Chromebook - a
cheap ultra-portable device for those who prefer a physical keyboard - Samsung
really cannot avoid providing a poor typing experience. After all, when the
Chromebooks were priced at $ 500, they had the same prices as the netbooks and
tablets. If the keyboard is not comfortable, there would be very few reasons
not to buy a cheap PC instead, or use a tablet with touch screen or keyboard
case. The typing experience was important at that time, and now it is also very
important, although the Chromebook costs less than most netbooks and tablets.
Fortunately, the keyboard here is as good
as it used to, despite the fact that this smaller model has less room to mount
all these buttons. The individual keys have an interesting soft surface, and
all the vital buttons (Enter, Backspace, etc.) are large in size. Like other
Samsung PCs, the keyboard is a little shallow, but you do not need to learn too
much: we were typing quickly after setting it up. In addition, we appreciate
the shortcut keys in the top row, which allows you to refresh the pages, and
change tabs to jump to the next page or previous page with the press of the
button.
As we have said, the trackpad is nice and
wide, which makes it easy to scroll two fingers. The one- finger navigation is
also proven reliable, but with tap-to-clicking feature, sometimes we had to use
a little more force to make these taps realize. In general, it is easy to use.
Unfortunately, it does not support pinch-to-zoom feature, which will be good to
enlarge the website with fine print and to expand maps.
