7 ms·

20 minutes with my Chromebook

62 points by RandallBrown 15y ago

simonsarris 15y ago
I'm hesitant to complain about a review because it is the author's opinion and they are fully entitled to feel however they want about the product, but if I may make one little yammer... This is the kind of review methodology I dislike: "I’ll give this 3/5 stars. I really believe in the spirit of the laptop. It beats out traditional netbooks like my girlfriend’s EeePC and it is going to be a lot better for typing/video watching than my iPad. Unfortunately, it’s still a long way from replacing my Macbook Pro." 3 out of 5 stars for being nicer than anything else in the price range? There are two general ways you can rate a product: Give it a rating based on all of the possible things it can do, or give it a rating based on its intended expectation. The reviewer seems to be of the first kind. For many products, like cars and computers, the first kind seems to me a pretty silly way to do things. Almost all of the listed minuses, such as not-impeccable speakers, are givens before the product is purchased. Its like taking points off of a sports car review because there isn't a lot of trunk space.
- rakkhi 15y ago
  Buy a mini and complain when it can't do a 0-60 in 4 seconds like a F60
- Steko 15y ago
  "3 out of 5 stars for being nicer than anything else in the price range?" No he said it was better at two things then the ipad. And traditional netbooks do not comprise "everything else in the price range". I thought overall this was one of the more balanced and positive chromebook reviews I've seen. Even if it is only a first reaction there were a number of good comments about the nuances of the hardware design. Whether positive or negative it seems Chromebook reviews often circle back to the following question: why not just run Chrome on a $500 laptop?
abest 15y ago
The Chromebook and MacBook Pro are in completely different price ranges. If you compare a Honda Civic to a Lamborghini it's obvious you won't be satisfied...
peregrine 15y ago
I really really wish google would package up a slightly more powerful cr-48 everything about but the processor is perfect. Including the packaging, startup and hardware.
- resnamen 15y ago
  While we're at it, let's get a better trackpad. :) But the rest of it is full of solid, albeit vanilla, laptop goodness.
malkia 15y ago
He should try also the Efika MX SmartBook - I really love their keyboard, one problem is right clicking on the trackpad. For price $199 it's very good (and new HW update is coming in the next few months)
mingramjr 15y ago
"Maybe I’m being unfair by comparing the Series 5 to a high end laptop running an OS that has had 10 years to mature, but that’s its competition." I saw too many comparisons to a laptop that is far superior than a Chromebook. Right now they are not in competition.
chimeracoder 15y ago
"The packaging was fine. It wasn’t Apple quality, but few companies put the effort into packaging that Apple does." All I needed to read. Really, reviewing a laptop on the box? Talk about judging a book by its cover. As long as it gets there in one piece, isn't the computer itself more important?
- iaskwhy 15y ago
  The details do matter. I know it's a cheap product so you can skip that but for more expensive products I don't think judging a book by its cover is wrong. If an expensive product can't have a really good cover than I wonder how lazy that company is with what I can't see.
- abhishekpathak 15y ago
  Er,aren't you doing the exact same thing?Judging the entire review by this one line?
resnamen 15y ago
This review would have been much better if it was "60 minutes with my ChromeBook". He's complaining about 20 second boot time - on the first boot, when it's busy initializing profiles and whatnot. Had he timed the system after restarting, he likely would have measured a boot time around 5-10 seconds. My Cr-48 takes somewhere around five seconds. A rushed, nonchalant review is hardly better than no review.
- savramescu 15y ago
  Actually it's called "20 minutes with my ChromeBook" and I haven't seen anything that suggests a full review. But it was interesting to read through someones first impressions.
xxpor 15y ago
I think the thing to remember is MacBook Pro: $2000 Chromebook: $500?
- epochwolf 15y ago
  Netbook: $400 iPad with 3G: $629
- sorbus 15y ago
  But a netbook is $250 on the low end, and a full laptop (low-end, but not horribly slow) is $400. A modern laptop (with an i3) can be had for between $470 and $500. Based on the selection available on Amazon, chromebooks seem to have three price points: $350, $430, and $500. Admittedly, I'm focusing on the fact that chromebooks don't seem to compare well within your price range, while you're focusing on the fact that it doesn't make sense to compare a chromebook to a macbook pro.
  - anigbrowl 15y ago
    It's a lot better than a netbook, something short of a full laptop like an MBP. The SSD makes a big difference; the main shortcoming of my CR-48 was the poor GPU integration. I think it is priced at bit high, though. The problem of the Chromebooks is that the market for them is being cannibalized by tablet devices, not least the Android ones, several of which are excellent. The Asus Eee pad comes with a rather nifty dock that provides the usual keyboard+hub functionality and has extra battery built in as well. a more general problem that no reviewer seems to have commented on: netbooks where you browse the internet most of the time derive little from their horizontal aspect ratio, because so many web designers insist on formatting for 800-pixel widths or the like, so that your netbook has 30-40% of the screen devoted to whitespace. A vertical format is considerably more useful for anything except spreadsheet work.
- justinschuh 15y ago
  $320 at the low end. $500 at the top end for the currently shipping devices.
- malkia 15y ago
JoelJ 15y ago
"OS X and Windows give you a nice sound to show you how loud you’ve just made it, but ChromeOS just gives you a little volume bar." Windows actually doesn't.
- xelfer 15y ago
  Default Windows 7 install here and I hear a ding noise every time I change the volume.
- thornkin 15y ago
  Except that it does. Try left clicking on the volume icon in the tray and changing the volume.
  - darklajid 15y ago
    You, like me, probably set the sound theme to 'none' to get rid of all these annoying startup/error/whatever noises. In that case, you are right: No sound is played when you set the volume. Probably (I couldn't be bothered to test it) you usually hear one of the sound theme entries, at the new volume.
dumbphone 15y ago
Beats me how anyone would use a computer where both the OS, browser, and major applications are made by the same company - a company whose living depends on making huge databases about its users' personal data - a company that is based in the US where the authorities have easy access to your data. The privacy implications to using Chromebook are huge, in my opinion.
- Tichy 15y ago
  I hope you are not using an iOS device then... Given Apple's success, few people seem to mind.
  - dumbphone 15y ago
    Apple doesn't make money by mining my personal data - that's the difference.
    - Tichy 15y ago
      I am sure they are mining your data, too. They sell stuff.
      - dumbphone 15y ago
        Their business model isn't dependant on it. This makes it not worth the risk to sell personal data (the risk being bad publicity).
        Tichy 15y ago
        Where does Google sell personal data?
        dumbphone 15y ago
        I didn't say they sell our data (although I honestly can't say for sure, since there are a number of things Google employees aren't allowed to talk about). I'm talking about the fact that Google builds huge databases about its users, and the fact that Google is in the US where the authorities have easy access to said databases.
BasDirks 15y ago
One thing that makes reviews like this obsolete quite quickly: ChromeOS is a living creature, give it some time to grow fangs and muscle.
buro9 15y ago
I'm thinking of getting a Chromebook for my father, and this is a man whose only been online via a library and who has no internet connection at home (or even a TV for that matter). The things I'm curious about are: 1) How is the 3g? Is it invisibly always connected like a mobile phone is, or is it more like a laptop where you have to connect and disconnect? 2) How is the Camera? And how easy is it to upload a photo to flickr (or Picasa if it's easier) having taking a photo? My father also doesn't have a digital camera, but is selling a camper van... I want him to be able to take a photo using the Chromebook and to be able to figure out how to upload it to somewhere useful... would this be effortless for someone not deeply familiar with computers? 3) How is the battery life? In real usage, of occasionally accessing the internet, opening and closing it, etc... how does it fare? Also... can you buy spare batteries? Especially batteries that are chargeable off a car socket? i.e. Could he charge the battery whilst driving along, and without needing the laptop to all be wired up which he might consider weird. 4) How are the prompts? So it asked for an update... but did it do that in language that even my father would not find confusing or intimidating? Are the alerts and prompts too numerous so as to dumb him down, or are they are few and far between and phrased in such clear English that anyone could really grasp them even without knowing why or how software updates happen? 5) How are the native apps such as Maps? I realise that the Chromebook is designed to be online all the time, but one of his use-cases will be searching for a place, driving to it, and then referring to the previous search to do the last bit of navigation (he's too old school even for sat-nav). So... is there caching for when signal fails? Is it adequate and useful enough to be helpful? Basically... the Chromebook for me, is going to help get the last few people in my family and network online. In a way that even the iPad hasn't. I cannot tell you the number of times my father has walked into a computer shop intending to get online, and walked out as soon as what he regards as techno-babble starts. The Chromebook really could be the thing that works for him... he hated the iPad (couldn't grasp modality of being in apps and not in apps, and was frustrated that things he felt should work together - apps - didn't). So I'd love it if someone who has a Chromebook does a review either watching someone who has virtually never used a computer use one, or who sits there and really is able to consider how a new user might find one. That or someone here in the know just answer the questions above ;)
- bockris 15y ago
viisanan 15y ago
20 minuets and 3/5 stars. Apple fans, please...
jgroome 15y ago
I like how almost every paragraph includes a reference to Apple products.

62 points by RandallBrown 15y ago

I'm hesitant to complain about a review because it is the author's opinion and they are fully entitled to feel however they want about the product, but if I may make one little yammer... This is the kind of review methodology I dislike: "I’ll give this 3/5 stars. I really believe in the spirit of the laptop. It beats out traditional netbooks like my girlfriend’s EeePC and it is going to be a lot better for typing/video watching than my iPad. Unfortunately, it’s still a long way from replacing my Macbook Pro." 3 out of 5 stars for being nicer than anything else in the price range? There are two general ways you can rate a product: Give it a rating based on all of the possible things it can do, or give it a rating based on its intended expectation. The reviewer seems to be of the first kind. For many products, like cars and computers, the first kind seems to me a pretty silly way to do things. Almost all of the listed minuses, such as not-impeccable speakers, are givens before the product is purchased. Its like taking points off of a sports car review because there isn't a lot of trunk space.

rakkhi 15y ago
Buy a mini and complain when it can't do a 0-60 in 4 seconds like a F60
Steko 15y ago
"3 out of 5 stars for being nicer than anything else in the price range?" No he said it was better at two things then the ipad. And traditional netbooks do not comprise "everything else in the price range". I thought overall this was one of the more balanced and positive chromebook reviews I've seen. Even if it is only a first reaction there were a number of good comments about the nuances of the hardware design. Whether positive or negative it seems Chromebook reviews often circle back to the following question: why not just run Chrome on a $500 laptop?

abest 15y ago

The Chromebook and MacBook Pro are in completely different price ranges. If you compare a Honda Civic to a Lamborghini it's obvious you won't be satisfied...

peregrine 15y ago

I really really wish google would package up a slightly more powerful cr-48 everything about but the processor is perfect. Including the packaging, startup and hardware.

resnamen 15y ago
While we're at it, let's get a better trackpad. :) But the rest of it is full of solid, albeit vanilla, laptop goodness.

malkia 15y ago

He should try also the Efika MX SmartBook - I really love their keyboard, one problem is right clicking on the trackpad. For price $199 it's very good (and new HW update is coming in the next few months)

mingramjr 15y ago

"Maybe I’m being unfair by comparing the Series 5 to a high end laptop running an OS that has had 10 years to mature, but that’s its competition." I saw too many comparisons to a laptop that is far superior than a Chromebook. Right now they are not in competition.

chimeracoder 15y ago

"The packaging was fine. It wasn’t Apple quality, but few companies put the effort into packaging that Apple does." All I needed to read. Really, reviewing a laptop on the box? Talk about judging a book by its cover. As long as it gets there in one piece, isn't the computer itself more important?

iaskwhy 15y ago
The details do matter. I know it's a cheap product so you can skip that but for more expensive products I don't think judging a book by its cover is wrong. If an expensive product can't have a really good cover than I wonder how lazy that company is with what I can't see.
abhishekpathak 15y ago
Er,aren't you doing the exact same thing?Judging the entire review by this one line?

resnamen 15y ago

This review would have been much better if it was "60 minutes with my ChromeBook". He's complaining about 20 second boot time - on the first boot, when it's busy initializing profiles and whatnot. Had he timed the system after restarting, he likely would have measured a boot time around 5-10 seconds. My Cr-48 takes somewhere around five seconds. A rushed, nonchalant review is hardly better than no review.

savramescu 15y ago
Actually it's called "20 minutes with my ChromeBook" and I haven't seen anything that suggests a full review. But it was interesting to read through someones first impressions.

xxpor 15y ago

I think the thing to remember is MacBook Pro: $2000 Chromebook: $500?

epochwolf 15y ago
Netbook: $400 iPad with 3G: $629
sorbus 15y ago
But a netbook is $250 on the low end, and a full laptop (low-end, but not horribly slow) is $400. A modern laptop (with an i3) can be had for between $470 and $500. Based on the selection available on Amazon, chromebooks seem to have three price points: $350, $430, and $500. Admittedly, I'm focusing on the fact that chromebooks don't seem to compare well within your price range, while you're focusing on the fact that it doesn't make sense to compare a chromebook to a macbook pro.
- anigbrowl 15y ago
  It's a lot better than a netbook, something short of a full laptop like an MBP. The SSD makes a big difference; the main shortcoming of my CR-48 was the poor GPU integration. I think it is priced at bit high, though. The problem of the Chromebooks is that the market for them is being cannibalized by tablet devices, not least the Android ones, several of which are excellent. The Asus Eee pad comes with a rather nifty dock that provides the usual keyboard+hub functionality and has extra battery built in as well. a more general problem that no reviewer seems to have commented on: netbooks where you browse the internet most of the time derive little from their horizontal aspect ratio, because so many web designers insist on formatting for 800-pixel widths or the like, so that your netbook has 30-40% of the screen devoted to whitespace. A vertical format is considerably more useful for anything except spreadsheet work.
justinschuh 15y ago
$320 at the low end. $500 at the top end for the currently shipping devices.
malkia 15y ago

JoelJ 15y ago

"OS X and Windows give you a nice sound to show you how loud you’ve just made it, but ChromeOS just gives you a little volume bar." Windows actually doesn't.

xelfer 15y ago
Default Windows 7 install here and I hear a ding noise every time I change the volume.
thornkin 15y ago
Except that it does. Try left clicking on the volume icon in the tray and changing the volume.
- darklajid 15y ago
  You, like me, probably set the sound theme to 'none' to get rid of all these annoying startup/error/whatever noises. In that case, you are right: No sound is played when you set the volume. Probably (I couldn't be bothered to test it) you usually hear one of the sound theme entries, at the new volume.

dumbphone 15y ago

Beats me how anyone would use a computer where both the OS, browser, and major applications are made by the same company - a company whose living depends on making huge databases about its users' personal data - a company that is based in the US where the authorities have easy access to your data. The privacy implications to using Chromebook are huge, in my opinion.

Tichy 15y ago
I hope you are not using an iOS device then... Given Apple's success, few people seem to mind.
- dumbphone 15y ago
  Apple doesn't make money by mining my personal data - that's the difference.
  - Tichy 15y ago
    I am sure they are mining your data, too. They sell stuff.
    - dumbphone 15y ago
      Their business model isn't dependant on it. This makes it not worth the risk to sell personal data (the risk being bad publicity).
      - Tichy 15y ago
        Where does Google sell personal data?
        dumbphone 15y ago
        I didn't say they sell our data (although I honestly can't say for sure, since there are a number of things Google employees aren't allowed to talk about). I'm talking about the fact that Google builds huge databases about its users, and the fact that Google is in the US where the authorities have easy access to said databases.

BasDirks 15y ago

One thing that makes reviews like this obsolete quite quickly: ChromeOS is a living creature, give it some time to grow fangs and muscle.

buro9 15y ago

I'm thinking of getting a Chromebook for my father, and this is a man whose only been online via a library and who has no internet connection at home (or even a TV for that matter). The things I'm curious about are: 1) How is the 3g? Is it invisibly always connected like a mobile phone is, or is it more like a laptop where you have to connect and disconnect? 2) How is the Camera? And how easy is it to upload a photo to flickr (or Picasa if it's easier) having taking a photo? My father also doesn't have a digital camera, but is selling a camper van... I want him to be able to take a photo using the Chromebook and to be able to figure out how to upload it to somewhere useful... would this be effortless for someone not deeply familiar with computers? 3) How is the battery life? In real usage, of occasionally accessing the internet, opening and closing it, etc... how does it fare? Also... can you buy spare batteries? Especially batteries that are chargeable off a car socket? i.e. Could he charge the battery whilst driving along, and without needing the laptop to all be wired up which he might consider weird. 4) How are the prompts? So it asked for an update... but did it do that in language that even my father would not find confusing or intimidating? Are the alerts and prompts too numerous so as to dumb him down, or are they are few and far between and phrased in such clear English that anyone could really grasp them even without knowing why or how software updates happen? 5) How are the native apps such as Maps? I realise that the Chromebook is designed to be online all the time, but one of his use-cases will be searching for a place, driving to it, and then referring to the previous search to do the last bit of navigation (he's too old school even for sat-nav). So... is there caching for when signal fails? Is it adequate and useful enough to be helpful? Basically... the Chromebook for me, is going to help get the last few people in my family and network online. In a way that even the iPad hasn't. I cannot tell you the number of times my father has walked into a computer shop intending to get online, and walked out as soon as what he regards as techno-babble starts. The Chromebook really could be the thing that works for him... he hated the iPad (couldn't grasp modality of being in apps and not in apps, and was frustrated that things he felt should work together - apps - didn't). So I'd love it if someone who has a Chromebook does a review either watching someone who has virtually never used a computer use one, or who sits there and really is able to consider how a new user might find one. That or someone here in the know just answer the questions above ;)

bockris 15y ago

viisanan 15y ago

20 minuets and 3/5 stars. Apple fans, please...

jgroome 15y ago

I like how almost every paragraph includes a reference to Apple products.