Anybody know if the chromebook is any good?

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Shay Dee

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My second netbook is falling apart in my hands AGAIN! It always goes the same way, screws fall out due to over heating no matter what I do, and then the hinges where the the screen is connected to the keyboard begin to crack.
Before you know it, my netbook is starting to look like a Tab, the screen is hanging off, and its such a shame because the actual netbook is working fine.

So anyone got a chromebook? It looks thin and lightweight, also it's okay for price. But is it worth it all the same?
 

Kerosene

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For surfing the internet? Yeah. Anything else, you're strangling them.

What's your budget? Only laptops? Preferences? Right now would be a good chance to look at the year end clearances on laptops.
 

Shay Dee

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No laptops, too big, I need to carry this baby out with me all the time.

I want it for surfing and writing mainly, er...and I guess I'm setting up a blog. I know chromebooks are run by some google software, so not sure how relevant that is when it comes to blogging.
What's so frustrating about it? Is it like one of those things you get and hold for five minutes then want to jailbreak it?

Budget is £230 MAX, though if I spend that much I want something that will last. My netbooks last two tears tops.
 

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I'm personally interested in a Chrome book for travel. I use Gmail, and Google apps regularly, and I have Blogger blogs.

You will need to have regular reliable WiFi.

The only person I know who has a Chrome book is John Scalzi, and he seems to neither love nor hate it.
 

kuwisdelu

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Budget is £230 MAX, though if I spend that much I want something that will last. My netbooks last two tears tops.

Frankly, I can't recommend anything for that little that will last. Netbooks fall apart because they're cheap and shitty.

If you want something in a similar form factor that will last, I'd suggest an 11" ultrabook, like a MacBook Air or an ASUS ZenBook, but they'll cost you about triple that.

What do you need to do on it? Would a tablet and a Bluetooth keyboard suffice?
 

Kerosene

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Budget is £230 MAX, though if I spend that much I want something that will last. My netbooks last two tears tops.

There's a difference in having a product that will last, and letting it last; treating it well.

I have a netbook (and expensive one from 2 years ago) and love it to hell and back. I carry it with me to college everyday, even if I'm bringing along my laptop. I've treated it well and it has never failed, nor does it have any scratches or problems because I treat it with care.

Jumping off the stabbing point.

I do like kuwisdelu's suggestion. A Nexus 7 with a andoid-enabled bluetooth keyboard would be in your price range. Problem lies in that a tablet is more fragile than a netbook.

You can get a netbook, but if I was you, I'd save up my money and buy a 13-14" laptop. Something with a strong design. Or, you can go used, but that's gambling a bit if you don't know computers too well.
 

kuwisdelu

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Problem lies in that a tablet is more fragile than a netbook.

I'm not sure. I'd probably trust a $500 iPad over equivalently priced notebooks. I don't know about the price points below that.

You can get a netbook, but if I was you, I'd save up my money and buy a 13-14" laptop. Something with a strong design. Or, you can go used, but that's gambling a bit if you don't know computers too well.

It sounds like 13-14" would be a bit big for her needs. I'd get an 11" ultrabook.
 

Shay Dee

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Hi guys!
Well between April and christmas eve I had money, just no home and I house hopped a lot so my netbook went everywhere with me but both my old and new one -samsungs, started to snap in the same place. Def don't want a laptop, too big so tab and keybord I'll check out and ulttabook too, I forgot about them...
 

kenebaker

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If you want something in a similar form factor that will last, I'd suggest an 11" ultrabook, like a MacBook Air or an ASUS ZenBook, but they'll cost you about triple that.

Ugggh, I bought a Zenbook - biggest mistake of my life. What a crappy product. Worst keyboard and trackpad I have ever come across.
 

kenebaker

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In all honesty though, if you want an ultrabook, which is extremely light and thin, you will be paying for it. The Chrome Books do not get very good reviews on the tech sites - plasticky, requiring a constant internet connection to be of any use and the operating system has not fully evolved yet. I would go with a small netbook, or a small laptop - there are some really good deals out there. I would definitely NOT get the chromebook (and I am an avid Google supporter, but not a blind one).
 

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I have a dirt cheap Acer netbook that would have lasted better except for two things. I dropped it so many times from desk to ground, was a bit careless with the cord and can't re-install the operation system because f***ing Microsoft won't support XP. Which is a shame because I think it was their best operating system.

Otherwise is was decent and I've had it at least four years now. It took a lot of abuse. The biggest problem is the cord and it only runs slow because of the OS issue thanks to viruses I never properly got rid of.

As for an iPad, don't get one. There are other tablets that are far better.

And you probably can't go wrong with a Sony Vaio or HP netbook - just watch for sales at electronics stores where you are - now and over the next month is when the really good deals are to be had, usually.
 

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]As for an iPad, don't get one. There are other tablets that are far better.

I don't think there are. I love my iPad. It's my second, and I'm finding the dictation feature especially useful.

I am a huge fan of the Retina screens as well.

I do sometimes use the iPad with an external keyboard, but that works as a protective cover and stand as well as a keyboard.
 

onesecondglance

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As for an iPad, don't get one. There are other tablets that are far better.

I'd disagree on that. With an iPad you know you're getting good hardware and excellent choice of apps.

I personally have a Microsoft Surface RT for the same purpose as the OP. It's very light and portable, and the type cover attachment gives me a proper keyboard and trackpad as well as being a protective cover. Only problem for the OP is that it's massively out of budget! But I don't think you're going to get what you want for that kind of money. Disposable as tech is these days (which is a shame), it's still normally worth spending a little more to get something that is good, rather than toiling away on something cheap and rubbish.
 

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As for an iPad, don't get one. There are other tablets that are far better.

I have to say I don't agree with this. Looking in to the drawer next to me at work I see one of every iPad model, a Nexus 7, a couple of Samsung Galaxy tablets, a Kindle Fire, a Nook tablet, a Kobo Vox, and some kind of off-brand Android dealie. Any iPad or iPad Mini knocks the spots off anything else in there, 10" or 7", in my humble opinion. The OS is so clean and intuitive and consistent, even if it doesn't let you do so much as some of the others.

Trying to get to grips with a new Android tablet does my head in. They feel like smartphones used to before iOS came along - a mess of softkeys and nested menus and stuff.

This is all so long as you are judging them as tablets. If you are judging them as some kind of general-purpose computing device, then you're probably going to want things like USB and a browsable file-system and a less walled-garden approach to apps etc. But then if you want that sort of thing I reckon you're better off spending the same money on a netbook or a notebook of some kind.

And you probably can't go wrong with a Sony Vaio or HP netbook - just watch for sales at electronics stores where you are - now and over the next month is when the really good deals are to be had, usually.

I haven't owned one myself, but my mum's been through about three Vaio netbooks in the last five years, and each time she has to get a replacement it's an hour or two's work for me to clean all the bloatware off it. There seems to be a lot that can go wrong with them.

Refurbs are always worth a look, if you can find a dealer who sells them.
 

merry_and_silver

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I guess a question I would have is, What do you need your laptop/netbook/workbook/whatever to do? I still have a desktop, and not a great one, but it is good for the "heavy" stuff I do, like photo processing, which is not that heavy to a true power user. That means I can use a much less powerful laptop for word processing, which means in turn I can buy previous generation hardware. That won't work if you need your laptop to do all the fancy, latest stuff.

I've gone the shiny brand new cheap Acer route. I've also tried cheap EEE devices. The best laptops I've used though, for durability, are business laptops. They're not badly priced used. They are boring, heavy, and sturdy as hell. They are built to last, and it sounds like that's what you want. Maybe you could start looking at used ThinkPads, that kind of thing. They are definitely not cool, but they don't fall apart.
 

EMaree

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Some (all?) of the Chromebooks have a web-search key instead of a Caps Lock key.

As a self-taught typist and blatant heathen, this is a deal breaker for me -- I use Caps Lock the same way normal people use Shift.

I have to say I don't agree with this. Looking in to the drawer next to me at work I see one of every iPad model, a Nexus 7, a couple of Samsung Galaxy tablets, a Kindle Fire, a Nook tablet, a Kobo Vox, and some kind of off-brand Android dealie. Any iPad or iPad Mini knocks the spots off anything else in there, 10" or 7", in my humble opinion. The OS is so clean and intuitive and consistent, even if it doesn't let you do so much as some of the others.

Your drawer is a magical place of techy wonder.

Refurbs are always worth a look, if you can find a dealer who sells them.

Agreed, but as the OP is UK-based avoid Dixons at all cost. Currys/PC World/Dixons refurbs are terrible quality and their customer support is dire.
 

Torgo

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Your drawer is a magical place of techy wonder.

Yeah, until I have an app or ebook in review and I have to test it on nine different devices!

Agreed, but as the OP is UK-based avoid Dixons at all cost. Currys/PC World/Dixons refurbs are terrible quality and their customer support is dire.

Agreed! Morgan Computers is where I would shop.

This isn't horrible, and runs Win 7 - another benefit of a refurb is you're less likely to have to contend with Win 8.
 

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And you probably can't go wrong with a Sony Vaio or HP netbook

I wouldn't buy a Vaio these days; they're behaving like Dell and using refurb parts without telling customers.

I would look closely at Acer; they're not pretty, but they seem to last.

I'm still fond of Toshiba screens and keyboards, in terms of non-Mac laptops.

My interest in a Chrome book hasn't waned. I use Gmail and other Google apps a lot, including the word processor (I've written first drafts of books using it), the spread sheet, and Picasa.

I use gmail and blogger as well.

So for a light weight laptop for travel, if I know I'll have easy WiFi access, a chrome book might work very well for me. I'll have to get my hands on one to try, before I actually buy one.
 

kuwisdelu

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Ugggh, I bought a Zenbook - biggest mistake of my life. What a crappy product. Worst keyboard and trackpad I have ever come across.

I hear the Zenbook Prime is much improved. Can't beat that screen. And no PC trackpad will ever be as good as Apple's anyway.

The best laptops I've used though, for durability, are business laptops. They're not badly priced used. They are boring, heavy, and sturdy as hell. They are built to last, and it sounds like that's what you want. Maybe you could start looking at used ThinkPads, that kind of thing. They are definitely not cool, but they don't fall apart.

I don't know what you mean. Thinkpads are sexy.
 

ChristinaLayton

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There's a difference in having a product that will last, and letting it last; treating it well.


I couldn't agree more with this statement. I have a Dell Inspiron Mini 1010 black netbook, and it's from the year 2009, 4 years old. It's a hand-me-down, and I use it for everything: to watch, download and edit videos, although I wipe those off my hard drive regularly because I have a tiny 120-GB hard drive and I don't want to run out of space. I also use it for word processing, and doing everything on the internet. I even burn DVD's and CD's with it using a separate DVD-RW drive. This thing is literally on from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep, every single day. I get up at around 7-9 AM depending on the weekday, and go to sleep around 11 PM, over 12 hours, and it works just fine. I think I take really good care of it because it doesn't even overheat. If it did I wouldn't be able to touch it and I'd have to turn it off every hour to let it cool down. This is my only PC that hasn't overheated, ever by the way.
 

henmatth

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Maybe you'll find the perfect device by searching for UMPC? I got a UMID one day from Ebay. That's a miniature PC running XP. I absolutely loved the keyboard. It would be perfect for writing books on the go!
 
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