Chromebook

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Well, not really just those things. With a chromebook everything is on-line anyway so the storage is pretty irrelevant. There is also size and weight and processor speed...

in other words it all matters depending on your needs.

So you can't really do any work unless you're online? That would be a deal breaker for me. I want to access work files even if I'm not online at that moment.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

So you can't really do any work unless you're online? That would be a deal breaker for me. I want to access work files even if I'm not online at that moment.

I think they just recently added the ability to work off-line, but I'm not claiming to be an expert on that, maybe the monkey knows.

Here's something: http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/28/goo...-work-offline/

[tubemonkey]

Consider the Chromebook 303 to be a 12" tablet with a physical keyboard built-in. Compared to an identically powered Nexus 10, the Chromebook is twice as heavy, twice as thick, and half the resolution. It uses Chrome for the OS, whereas the Nexus uses Android. They both have the same storage, but the Chromebook has a card slot for further expansion. Price wise, the Chromebook is nearly 40% ($150) cheaper.

I can live with these "shortcomings" if the price drops to $199 over Black Friday.


Google Chromebook 303 -- $249

• Mfg: Samsung
• Oper Sys: Google Chrome
• Display: 11.6" - 1366 x 768 -- 135 ppi
• Processor: Samsung Exynos 5250 dual core
• Speed/ RAM: 1.7 GHz -- 2GB DDR3 RAM
• Boot Time: 10 seconds
• Storage: 16GB SSD -- SD card slot
• Battery: 4080 mAh -- 6.5 hours
• Dimensions: 11.4" x 8.1" x 0.69"
• Weight: 2.4 lbs / 1.1 kg

Google Nexus 10 -- $399

• Mfg: Samsung
• Oper Sys: Google Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
• Display: 10.1" - 2560 x 16000 -- 300 ppi
• Processor: Samsung Exynos 5250 dual core
• Speed/ RAM: 1.7 GHz -- 2GB DDR3 RAM
• Boot Time: instant
• Storage: 16GB Flash -- no card slot
• Battery: 9000 mAh -- 7.5 hours
• Dimensions: 10.4" x 7.0" x 0.35"
• Weight: 1.3 lbs / 0.6 kg

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I think they just recently added the ability to work off-line, but I'm not claiming to be an expert on that, maybe the monkey knows.

Here's something: http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/28/goo...-work-offline/

No idea, since I never use a computer offline.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

But will they be light and portable enough?
I think they will be just like any Win7 laptop, clunky but feature rich.

Have you looked at current netbooks?
Even this old one...
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/lapt...ne-ao751h.aspx
...has done fine by me. And that is with Vista instead of Win7. I got it for US$279 and it handles MS OFFICE, surfing, and pretty much everything I need in a portable. at 3lbs it is heavier than a bare tablet but once you add a keyboard most tablets aren't all that much lighter.

I know netbooks aren't cool anymore but they're cheap and they match up pretty well with the chromebooks. And the newer Atom processors are pretty powerful in their own right.

[Graham]

I'm still using a Samsung XP 10" netbook as my main travelling computer. As ftorres noted these can run full MS Office perfectly happy, even Access and Project. I'm an IT project manager by trade and have hammered this with Word, Excel, Project, Powerpoint and some Access.

What's more it's perfectly happy driving my 23" monitor in 1920x1080, and attached keyboard and mouse, when I want to work at home in silence. (My desktop sounds like a 747 coming into land.)

I did upgrade the memory to 2 GB, and switched to a better battery pack - which gives me over 6 hours - but this has been an incredibly cheap solution for the power of the device.

Graham

[kennyc]

At least it doesn't sound like an Airbus A380.

[paulsalter]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

So you can't really do any work unless you're online? That would be a deal breaker for me. I want to access work files even if I'm not online at that moment.

If you use Chrome as your browser you can try the offline docs feature to see how it works

You need to download Google Drive from the chrome store first
run the app (really just a link to google drive) then in the left hand pane is an option to enable offline use

after doing this disable your wifi and run chrome, Google Drive app should be available with your documents

it works quite nicely, but it might be restricted to Google doc types only

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm waiting for the Windows 8 Pro Surface tablets. They look very promising - the portability of a tablet with the ability to run legacy Windows apps.

Me too. I want to be able to remote into work, and you have to have full-fledged java VM to do that. They only have a windows link and an apple link. No Chrome OS.