"Why Chromebook Pundits Are Out of Touch"

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by afv011

Right, US only - the play editions are not available here. At least we get the Nexus line, plus the Chromebooks now, so it's not as barren as it used to be.

Georestrictions on phones, interesting concept.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Well I know HTC has rolled back some of their heavier skinning, and I believe the latest rumor is that Samsung will as well. So hopefully things will get better in the future as well.

--
Bill

I believe I saw somewhere where a new Google/Samsung cooperation deal would lessen Version deviations.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by frahse

I believe I saw somewhere where a new Google/Samsung cooperation deal would lessen Version deviations.

As part of the deal, Samsung has agreed to better promote Google Apps (like GMail, Play Store, Google Voice, ...) rather than the Samsung wannabes. They also agreed to tone down their skinning, and there was mention that the "Magazine UX" demoed at CES could go away in future updates.

As far as I am concerned, I will stay clear of Samsung as I personally can't stand their Touchwiz skin and wannabe apps that add nothing to the ecosystem (plain bloatware, as far as I'm concerned).

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by afv011

As far as I am concerned, I will stay clear of Samsung as I personally can't stand their Touchwiz skin and wannabe apps that add nothing to the ecosystem (plain bloatware, as far as I'm concerned).

I tend to like Samsung's hardware, which is why I haven't minded installing custom firmware to delete or replace whatever I disliked about their UI and compulsive apps. There's even a Korean version of the S4 with two mSD card slots, which I think is brilliant. I liked the last versions of their Series 5 and 9 ultrabooks as well.

The reason I'm considering not buying Samsung devices next time is because of Knox and the region-lock on SIM cards in their newer smartphones.

Their recent agreement with Google seems to bode well for their line of chromebooks, though.

[Graham]

Details on the Asus Chromebox at last:

http://www.omgchrome.com/asus-chromebox-specs-details/

The diminutive power-efficient fanless PCs will be available in various configurations, with prices starting at $179 in the US.

Two distinct Haswell-toting flavours will be available first. The cheapest uses the Chromebook staple Celeron 2955U CPU and 2GB of RAM, while a pricier, more powerful version pairs an Intel Core i3-4010U with 4GB of RAM.

So, a very cheap but slowish version, and a faster one which will give the current Samsung Chromebox a good competitor. These also have an SD card slot, which the Samsung doesn't (though it was easy enough for me to get a USB SD adapter).

Also:

ASUS say that an i7-powered variant will be available in select countries outside of North America.

Now, that's going to be worth watching out for.

Graham

[afv011]

Originally Posted by Graham

So, a very cheap but slowish version...

It's on par with what you get on Chromebooks, isn't it? Depending on the usage needs, the basic CPU will do.

This would do nicely as a home media centre.

[tubemonkey]

Asus Chromebox ----- Acer C720 Chromebook

• CPU ---> Intel Celeron 2955U (Haswell architecture)
• Cores ---> dual-core
• Speed ---> 1.4 GHz
• RAM ---> 2 GB
• SSD ---> 16 GB
• USB 2 ---> 0 ----- x1
• USB 3 ---> x4 ----- x1
• Card Slot ---> full-size SD
• HDMI ---> full-size
• DisplayPort ---> YES (full-size) ----- NO
• Ethernet ---> YES (gigabit) ----- NO
• WiFi ---> dual-band (2.4/ 5 GHz) 802.11a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth ---> 4.0
• Speakers ---> ??? ----- stereo
• Head/ Mic ---> YES
• Display ---> NO ----- YES (11.6" - 1366x768 - 135ppi - non-IPS)
• Camera ---> NO ----- YES (VGA - front)
• Price ---> $179 ----- $199

[afv011]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Asus Chromebox ----- Acer C720 Chromebook

• CPU ---> Intel Celeron 2955U (Haswell architecture)
• Cores ---> dual-core
• Speed ---> 1.4 GHz
• RAM ---> 2 GB
• SSD ---> 16 GB
• USB 2 ---> 0 ----- x1
• USB 3 ---> x4 ----- x1
• Card Slot ---> full-size SD
• HDMI ---> full-size
• DisplayPort ---> YES (full-size) ----- NO
• Ethernet ---> YES (gigabit) ----- NO
• WiFi ---> dual-band (2.4/ 5 GHz) 802.11a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth ---> 4.0
• Speakers ---> ??? ----- stereo
• Head/ Mic ---> YES
• Display ---> NO ----- YES (11.6" - 1366x768 - 135ppi - non-IPS)
• Camera ---> NO ----- YES (VGA - front)
• Price ---> $179 ----- $199

Thanks TB. So it's basically the same internals as the 720 with some additional USB ports, and video outputs, which is welcome.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by afv011

It's on par with what you get on Chromebooks, isn't it? Depending on the usage needs, the basic CPU will do.

This would do nicely as a home media centre.

Bear in mind that it may well be driving a big monitor, so what works for a Chromebook might struggle a little on the desktop. Having said that, the HP ARM Chromebook can drive its high res screen, so I might be worrying unduly.

The i3 version will certainly fly though.

Graham

[afv011]

Originally Posted by Graham

Bear in mind that it may well be driving a big monitor, so what works for a Chromebook might struggle a little on the desktop. Having said that, the HP ARM Chromebook can drive its high res screen, so I might be worrying unduly.

The i3 version will certainly fly though.

Graham

I don't think it would be a problem to drive a 1080 screen, after all, phones and Android tablets with less powerful CPU/GPU can play that. My Nexus10 can even play 1440p, and it's over a year old.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by afv011

I don't think it would be a problem to drive a 1080 screen, after all, phones and Android tablets with less powerful CPU/GPU can play that. My Nexus10 can even play 1440p, and it's over a year old.

My Samsung Chromebook struggled driving my 1920x1200 monitor, but my Samsung Chromebox has no problem with it at all.

Thinking back though, this may partly have been a perception caused by slow mouse speed.

Graham

[afv011]

Originally Posted by Graham

My Samsung Chromebook struggled driving my 1920x1200 monitor, but my Samsung Chromebox has no problem with it at all.

Thinking back though, this may partly have been a perception caused by slow mouse speed.

Graham

The Samsung has an ARM processor, so its GPU (ARM Mali-T604) is most likely less powerful than the GPU in the Intel Celeron. Were you using only the external monitor or both the laptop's and the external monitor at the same time?

[Graham]

Originally Posted by afv011

The Samsung has an ARM processor, so its GPU (ARM Mali-T604) is most likely less powerful than the GPU in the Intel Celeron. Were you using only the external monitor or both the laptop's and the external monitor at the same time?

I think I was just using the external monitor. I'll have to try it again sometime.

Graham

[afv011]

Toshiba joining the party.

The latest Chrome OS laptop to go on sale is the Toshiba Chromebook. Announced back in September, it is available through Toshiba’s online store or through some retailers including Amazon

Link

Toshiba's page

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by afv011

Toshiba joining the party.

Link

Toshiba's page

Does it have an IPS display? The specs don't mention it.