Google Chrome book

[Fordman4ever]

Anybody have a Google ChromeBook? Been thinking about getting one and wanted to know how people like it. The idea behind it is pretty cool, just wanted to see how folks used it or if it was hard to get used to.

[iaMkcK]

If it's still essentially the same concept [A web browsing laptop... Period] as it was a year ago.. A friend had one. She loved it. I, on the other hand.. Hated it. I love the flexible of a computer. But if all you do is check e-mails and do website related things.. It's a blast. But a high price point [A year ago] that would make me rather get a cellphone and have the same benefits + more. YMMV.

[Thrak]

I've had one for a LONG time, years... I was selected to be a beta tester.

It is a very interesting concept. They've added alot more apps, and the most recent update has given it more of a traditional laptop feel. It does take some getting used to, and you'll need to really thing about what you NEED it to do.



Most everything will be stored in Google Drive, so you will have word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, etc apps via the Google Cloud.

Take a look at the Chrome Web Store and see if any of your NEEDS are available as an add-on. Web Store

All in all for what it is, its nice. We still use it. It has TONS of battery life, a great screen, and is very simple to use for the most part. (any advanced features require alot of know how) We're already pretty entwined with Google any way, so it was an easy transition for us. My wife and I each have a google account, have android phones/tablets, we share our calendars, share files on Drive, etc, so it works well for us.

The thing to remember though, unless you make an effort to move stuff to the local SSD, you MUST have internet access or the thing becomes pretty useless. The OS is basically a web browser.

[Fordman4ever]

Thanks. Sounds like what I'm looking for.

[Thrak]

No problem. If you have any questions, just let me know... some people get frustrated at the lack of 'features' since everyone is so used to PC and Mac. For example, there is no way to adjust the screen resolution... it is what it is and you dont get a choice.

[Fordman4ever]

great, will do. Can you video chat with it? I really want this for a deployment/travel laptop. All I need to do it check email, facebook, and chat with the wife.

[Thrak]

Yeah for sure. When I go on biz trips, I take the laptop and she keeps the Chromebook home and we use GoogleTalk with video chat, it works pretty good on this old CR-48, but I'm sure it would work alot better on the newer hardware.

Its even better nowadays with the Google Hangouts because you can do many people from many different clients. So you can connect with the chromebook, then someone with an ipad, iphone, android phone, PC with IE, or Opera, Firefox... can all connect to the same hangout. Great for holidays with family.

I hear it has no hard drive and you have to store your files on the google "cloud" or whatever it is called... can anyone confirm this?

[CigarNut]

Originally Posted by Fordman4ever

great, will do. Can you video chat with it? I really want this for a deployment/travel laptop. All I need to do it check email, facebook, and chat with the wife.

Given your needs you may also want to look at a tablet -- any of them would probably meet your requirements and they are very portable.

There are a couple being offered up on CA that might work for you.

[Thrak]

Originally Posted by Robulous78

I hear it has no hard drive and you have to store your files on the google "cloud" or whatever it is called... can anyone confirm this?

Thats not exactly true... it does have a "hard drive". It is actually an SSD drive, and the size depends on which one you choose. Most are 16GB though from what I've seen.

While the system pushes you towards 100% cloud storage, you can still save files locally. The question is, what kind of files and what do you plan to do with them?