6 ms·

‘Tis the season for Chromebooks

29 points by Uncle_Sam 15y ago

podperson 15y ago
"We’ve heard from many of you that one of the things you enjoy most about the Chromebook is its hassle-free simplicity." I wonder what "many" in this context means.
recoiledsnake 15y ago
It looks like the simplicity is not enough of a selling point for this type of OS, which seems to be way ahead of it's time. Google needs to make them way cheaper to get over the limiting factor of no native apps.People may not use native apps so much, but they like the feeling that they can, if they need to.
- htilford 15y ago
  Netflix is a native app on the Chromebook, written in C.
- MatthewPhillips 15y ago
  They messed up by not making any killer apps specifically for the Chromebook. Unfortunately choosing Atom means they can't really make any killer apps even if they wanted.
MatthewPhillips 15y ago
They need to ditch the atom processors. They should be embarrassed that their new hotness flagship product, Google+, is unusably slow on the Chromebooks. Even an individual post, which only contains the header bar and some text, is unusably slow.
- generalk 15y ago
  I have one of the pilot Chromebooks they were sending out for free a year or so ago. It's not just Google+, it's nearly any of the cool things you'd want to do online. Watching any kind of video is unbearably laggy. Heavy sites like (new) Twitter or (as mentioned) Google+ are completely unusable due to scrolling/typing lag. I get the "release early" mantra but I use my Chromebook for light browsing only. It can't possibly replace a real notebook.
  - bsk26 15y ago
    The new Samsungs are much better than the original devices. Still not perfect, but fully functional.
    - ryanhuff 15y ago
      In a pinch, I handed over my Samsung to my son, who wanted to play Club Penguin. He rejected it after 30 seconds of frustration.
- htilford 15y ago
  I use Google+ at least 10 times each day on my Chromebook (series 5). It's a touch slow, but hardly unusable. It's the flash slowdowns that bother me occasionally, but even there it's rarely unusable.
  - MatthewPhillips 15y ago
    I also have a Series 5. Perhaps our tolerance for lag is simply different. For me scrolling an individual post is completely laggy. I avoid using Google+ for this reason.
- runningdogx 15y ago
  The Asus Transformer Prime might be disqualified because it's not chromeos and it doesn't have a built in hardware keyboard, but it's a quad-core tegra tablet running gingerbread and soon ICS (keyboard optional). http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/09/transformer-prime-detailed-10-inch-super-ips-display-12-hour/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/09/transformer-prime-detaile... I don't have a chromebook but I'm not sure what chromeos offers that android doesn't.
  - htilford 15y ago
    Chromeos isn't about offering more features. It's about offering less problems.
    - msh 15y ago
      But when a iPad offers better browsing speed it's a big problem for a web browser only OS....
- icefox 15y ago
  Anyone know of reviews of someone putting a recent chromebook build on a macbook air or some laptop with decent specs?
esutton 15y ago
Just want to throw it out there I'be been using a chromebook for the past three months and love it.
deleted 15y ago
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deleted 15y ago
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weekendlogic 15y ago
When do we get ARM chromebooks? They have been 'coming soon' since May.
- r00fus 15y ago
  This would be a killer feature for me. If a notebook can have a similar battery life as an iPad, that's a huge feature. If I have a keyboard/track(pad|point) combo, I don't need/want a touchscreen. Thus I'd prefer a halfway-decent ARM chromebook over, say, a Transformer Prime, or an iPad+bt-keyboard-case (otherwise you're spending half your time with your arm raised, messing with the touchscreen)
  - lucian1900 15y ago
    I've been waiting for that for a while, and even bought an Efika MX Smartbook. It's not worth it.Just buy an AMD fusion laptop. I got the Thinkpad E325 and it's much more powerful than either Atom or all current ARM chips and battery lasts for 7h+.
    - msh 15y ago
      Is it possible to get a small review of the smartbook? It appears that you don't like it but I am curious.
Yhippa 15y ago
So is the architecture killing this thing? My Galaxy Tab 10.1 has no problem with video, Google+, or 3D gaming. It sounds that by anchoring this product to cheap netbook architecture they're shooting themselves in the foot.
finisterre 15y ago
The price drop - from $500 to $300 - is the most significant new 'feature' here. These devices just aren't ready to replace a conventional laptop yet for most people. I've got a Samsung one and it struggles with complex websites and sometimes hangs, too. I wonder if even $300 is too much.
- esutton 15y ago
  the drop was from 350 to 300.
pixie_ 15y ago
These are way too expensive. For $350 you get a laptop that runs a web browser only. For the same price you can buy a laptop with better cpu, graphics, battery life, memory, and operating system. For instance, http://amzn.com/B0067U9VUC http://amzn.com/B0067U9VUC vs http://amzn.com/B004Q7LHVE http://amzn.com/B004Q7LHVE
kevinpet 15y ago
Isn't it a bit early to start your April Fool's shopping?
hyzl 15y ago
I have a Cr-48, which should be substantially slower than those with the Samsung Series 5's, and I have no real issue with laggy scrolling. Biggest tip I can give is to disable extensions, I do that and the Chromebook flies. Then just slowly add back in the most necessary ones. This might solve your video issues too, as video works perfectly smooth for me. If you doubt this, just hop into guest mode and see how ridiculously fast such meager hardware moves when your own bloat isn't slowing it down. On Google+ you should really scroll with the "j" and "k" keys, problem solved. :P

29 points by Uncle_Sam 15y ago

"We’ve heard from many of you that one of the things you enjoy most about the Chromebook is its hassle-free simplicity." I wonder what "many" in this context means.

recoiledsnake 15y ago

It looks like the simplicity is not enough of a selling point for this type of OS, which seems to be way ahead of it's time. Google needs to make them way cheaper to get over the limiting factor of no native apps.People may not use native apps so much, but they like the feeling that they can, if they need to.

htilford 15y ago
Netflix is a native app on the Chromebook, written in C.
MatthewPhillips 15y ago
They messed up by not making any killer apps specifically for the Chromebook. Unfortunately choosing Atom means they can't really make any killer apps even if they wanted.

MatthewPhillips 15y ago

They need to ditch the atom processors. They should be embarrassed that their new hotness flagship product, Google+, is unusably slow on the Chromebooks. Even an individual post, which only contains the header bar and some text, is unusably slow.

generalk 15y ago
I have one of the pilot Chromebooks they were sending out for free a year or so ago. It's not just Google+, it's nearly any of the cool things you'd want to do online. Watching any kind of video is unbearably laggy. Heavy sites like (new) Twitter or (as mentioned) Google+ are completely unusable due to scrolling/typing lag. I get the "release early" mantra but I use my Chromebook for light browsing only. It can't possibly replace a real notebook.
- bsk26 15y ago
  The new Samsungs are much better than the original devices. Still not perfect, but fully functional.
  - ryanhuff 15y ago
    In a pinch, I handed over my Samsung to my son, who wanted to play Club Penguin. He rejected it after 30 seconds of frustration.
htilford 15y ago
I use Google+ at least 10 times each day on my Chromebook (series 5). It's a touch slow, but hardly unusable. It's the flash slowdowns that bother me occasionally, but even there it's rarely unusable.
- MatthewPhillips 15y ago
  I also have a Series 5. Perhaps our tolerance for lag is simply different. For me scrolling an individual post is completely laggy. I avoid using Google+ for this reason.
runningdogx 15y ago
The Asus Transformer Prime might be disqualified because it's not chromeos and it doesn't have a built in hardware keyboard, but it's a quad-core tegra tablet running gingerbread and soon ICS (keyboard optional). http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/09/transformer-prime-detailed-10-inch-super-ips-display-12-hour/ http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/09/transformer-prime-detaile... I don't have a chromebook but I'm not sure what chromeos offers that android doesn't.
- htilford 15y ago
  Chromeos isn't about offering more features. It's about offering less problems.
  - msh 15y ago
    But when a iPad offers better browsing speed it's a big problem for a web browser only OS....
icefox 15y ago
Anyone know of reviews of someone putting a recent chromebook build on a macbook air or some laptop with decent specs?

esutton 15y ago

Just want to throw it out there I'be been using a chromebook for the past three months and love it.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

weekendlogic 15y ago

When do we get ARM chromebooks? They have been 'coming soon' since May.

r00fus 15y ago
This would be a killer feature for me. If a notebook can have a similar battery life as an iPad, that's a huge feature. If I have a keyboard/track(pad|point) combo, I don't need/want a touchscreen. Thus I'd prefer a halfway-decent ARM chromebook over, say, a Transformer Prime, or an iPad+bt-keyboard-case (otherwise you're spending half your time with your arm raised, messing with the touchscreen)
- lucian1900 15y ago
  I've been waiting for that for a while, and even bought an Efika MX Smartbook. It's not worth it.Just buy an AMD fusion laptop. I got the Thinkpad E325 and it's much more powerful than either Atom or all current ARM chips and battery lasts for 7h+.
  - msh 15y ago
    Is it possible to get a small review of the smartbook? It appears that you don't like it but I am curious.

Yhippa 15y ago

So is the architecture killing this thing? My Galaxy Tab 10.1 has no problem with video, Google+, or 3D gaming. It sounds that by anchoring this product to cheap netbook architecture they're shooting themselves in the foot.

finisterre 15y ago

The price drop - from $500 to $300 - is the most significant new 'feature' here. These devices just aren't ready to replace a conventional laptop yet for most people. I've got a Samsung one and it struggles with complex websites and sometimes hangs, too. I wonder if even $300 is too much.

esutton 15y ago
the drop was from 350 to 300.

pixie_ 15y ago

These are way too expensive. For $350 you get a laptop that runs a web browser only. For the same price you can buy a laptop with better cpu, graphics, battery life, memory, and operating system. For instance, http://amzn.com/B0067U9VUC http://amzn.com/B0067U9VUC vs http://amzn.com/B004Q7LHVE http://amzn.com/B004Q7LHVE

kevinpet 15y ago

Isn't it a bit early to start your April Fool's shopping?

hyzl 15y ago

I have a Cr-48, which should be substantially slower than those with the Samsung Series 5's, and I have no real issue with laggy scrolling. Biggest tip I can give is to disable extensions, I do that and the Chromebook flies. Then just slowly add back in the most necessary ones. This might solve your video issues too, as video works perfectly smooth for me. If you doubt this, just hop into guest mode and see how ridiculously fast such meager hardware moves when your own bloat isn't slowing it down. On Google+ you should really scroll with the "j" and "k" keys, problem solved. :P