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Graham · 02-27-2013, 10:30 AM

Well, this gambit of releasing a tasty high-end device to promote interest in Chromebooks generally has worked on me.

I can't justify Ultrabook prices at the moment, but I was looking for a slightly larger replacement for my (much-loved) netbook as a device specifically for writing projects, so I bought the Samsung WiFi Chromebook, for £224 from Amazon.

I can see why people give these things rave reviews soon after opening them! The real test will come a few months down the road when I find out all the things that I can't do - I'm keeping a list - but the first impressions are wonderful.

The adverts do not lie.

I was doing useful work on this less than 3 minutes after turning it on for the first time, and that included taking time to say 'ooh shiny' quite a lot.

You plug it in and turn it on, then log into your wifi connection. Chrome starts and asks you for your Google password. It gives you a dialog with terms and conditions that you have to accept. Then it loads. It's really that simple. If I hadn't read the terms it would probably have been even quicker.

I'd been testing out a Chrome web app called Scriptito earlier in the day, which is an HTML5 writer's tool a bit like Scrivener - as I knew that the latter wouldn't run - and I'd been plotting out a short story. Once the Chromebook had logged in it offered me a Getting Started tutorial, but I ignored this at the time and went straight to the browser, found Scriptito and there was my project. I continued where I left off.

Obviously for £224 (with free delivery) the build quality isn't in the same league as the Pixel device, but this little Samsung is a lovely sleek thing, and it's actually noticeably lighter than my 10.1" Samsung netbook. It's got a very pleasant chiclet keyboard and it was a joy writing in a comfortable chair by the window.

I then amazed myself even more by using the TeamViewer web version to take control of my Windows desktop. Worked like a dream, as did printing, and watching some on demand TV during lunch with the chromebook driving my TV via HDMI.

Things that didn't work so far:

I had to switch my password store from KeePass to LastPass, but I'd been looking into that anyway.
There's no Skype web app, but I added 'imo Messenger' to Chrome and this connected me to my Skype contacts immediately, with chat, audio and video options.
There's no Silverlight, so Lovefilm Instant streaming doesn't work, but all the flash-based sites I tried worked fine, as did BBC iPlayer.
There's no support for WMA files, but mp3s are fine, and I was listening to a podcast that I had in Dropbox which the Chromebook streamed perfectly happily.
The streams I'd picked in TuneIn radio weren't supported, but there are many internet radio options in the Chrome store, so I should find a workaround for this.

These are definitely outweighed so far by the things that did work, which pleased me. Team Viewer, as mentioned, but also Napster's web player, Comixology, and the on-demand TV sites.

Given that the device ships with 100GB cloud storage for two years - which I was also thinking of getting - this is a great purchase.

So, the basic concept of the Chromebook feels sound. The online storage offering should also be removed from the price to get a true feel for the amount you are paying for the machine. Seeing what I can already do with this cheap machine I'm prepared to say that the Pixel is not dramatically overpriced for its build quality and included cloud storage.

But as a marketing ploy to get people to buy the cheaper Chromebooks? Brilliant.

Graham

02-27-2013, 10:30 AM	#99
Graham Wizard Posts: 2,743 Karma: 32912427 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: North Yorkshire, UK Device: Kobo H20, Pixel 2, Samsung Chromebook Plus	Well, this gambit of releasing a tasty high-end device to promote interest in Chromebooks generally has worked on me. I can't justify Ultrabook prices at the moment, but I was looking for a slightly larger replacement for my (much-loved) netbook as a device specifically for writing projects, so I bought the Samsung WiFi Chromebook, for £224 from Amazon. I can see why people give these things rave reviews soon after opening them! The real test will come a few months down the road when I find out all the things that I can't do - I'm keeping a list - but the first impressions are wonderful. The adverts do not lie. I was doing useful work on this less than 3 minutes after turning it on for the first time, and that included taking time to say 'ooh shiny' quite a lot. You plug it in and turn it on, then log into your wifi connection. Chrome starts and asks you for your Google password. It gives you a dialog with terms and conditions that you have to accept. Then it loads. It's really that simple. If I hadn't read the terms it would probably have been even quicker. I'd been testing out a Chrome web app called Scriptito earlier in the day, which is an HTML5 writer's tool a bit like Scrivener - as I knew that the latter wouldn't run - and I'd been plotting out a short story. Once the Chromebook had logged in it offered me a Getting Started tutorial, but I ignored this at the time and went straight to the browser, found Scriptito and there was my project. I continued where I left off. Obviously for £224 (with free delivery) the build quality isn't in the same league as the Pixel device, but this little Samsung is a lovely sleek thing, and it's actually noticeably lighter than my 10.1" Samsung netbook. It's got a very pleasant chiclet keyboard and it was a joy writing in a comfortable chair by the window. I then amazed myself even more by using the TeamViewer web version to take control of my Windows desktop. Worked like a dream, as did printing, and watching some on demand TV during lunch with the chromebook driving my TV via HDMI. Things that didn't work so far: I had to switch my password store from KeePass to LastPass, but I'd been looking into that anyway. There's no Skype web app, but I added 'imo Messenger' to Chrome and this connected me to my Skype contacts immediately, with chat, audio and video options. There's no Silverlight, so Lovefilm Instant streaming doesn't work, but all the flash-based sites I tried worked fine, as did BBC iPlayer. There's no support for WMA files, but mp3s are fine, and I was listening to a podcast that I had in Dropbox which the Chromebook streamed perfectly happily. The streams I'd picked in TuneIn radio weren't supported, but there are many internet radio options in the Chrome store, so I should find a workaround for this. These are definitely outweighed so far by the things that did work, which pleased me. Team Viewer, as mentioned, but also Napster's web player, Comixology, and the on-demand TV sites. Given that the device ships with 100GB cloud storage for two years - which I was also thinking of getting - this is a great purchase. So, the basic concept of the Chromebook feels sound. The online storage offering should also be removed from the price to get a true feel for the amount you are paying for the machine. Seeing what I can already do with this cheap machine I'm prepared to say that the Pixel is not dramatically overpriced for its build quality and included cloud storage. But as a marketing ploy to get people to buy the cheaper Chromebooks? Brilliant. Graham Last edited by Graham; 02-27-2013 at 10:47 AM.