What should I know about Chromebooks? Know nothing about them but a respected source states that he uses his all the time for virtually everything. He writes blogs, does research and says it is so easy to carry around.
At present have a Nexus 7" tablet, an i7 Win10 laptop and Win7 desktop, but the laptop is really too heavy to carry around comfortably.
Best model/price combination?
Best model/price combination?
r/chromeos Summer 2016 Chrome OS Buying Guide
It also depends on how much budget you have and what do you intend to do. I have two low-end Chromebooks — Acer C720 and ASUS C100 Flip. Flip is a wonderful machine which I pretty much bring it everywhere — 10", under 1kg, IPS touch screen, 4GB RAM, etc. Moreover the next ChromeOS update (M53) is going to bring Google Play Store to stable channel so you can run Android apps.
Thanks. Just what I was after. Best retailers online or instore?
I'm an Asus fan and will be checking them out. Can't tell though if current C100 Flip will receive Play Store in next upgrade. My Asus Nexus 7 is brilliant but want something just a bit bigger + keyboard.
Can these run any Windows software? I have a simple genealogy database program I'd love to incorporate.
Best retailers online or instore
Amazon. You can hardly buy Chromebook in retail in Australia, but hopefully that will change soon.
if current C100 Flip will receive Play Store in next upgrade
Most definitely. It already has Android support if you are on beta or dev channel. M53 going to stable channel should be soon.
Can these run any Windows software
Not likely. Maybe on an Intel Chromebook where you can install crouton and then Wine to run Windows applications, but definitely not ASUS Flip as it's not using an x86 chip.
I recently bought a SAMSUNG CHROMEBOOK XE550C22 4GB/16GB and this morning a SAMSUNG CHROMEBOOK XE303C12 2GB/16GB arrived by post .
both to have a play around with.
the XE550C22 has the potential to be hackintoshed (maybe). which would be nice - ~2kgs in weight.
they are really light. battery life is great.
List of android compatible chromebooks here…
https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/chrome-os-systems-suppo…
All YouTube and online reviews highlight chromebooks with 1080 touch displays are the best (future proofing for android apps as well). Hopefully Australia gets stock of these eventually, but unlikely. Best bet is to import from Amazon.com or take a punt on eBay USA.
If you currently do a large percentage of your computer work in browser then the chromebook will likely suit you. The best test is to spend a typical day in google chrome and never leave the application. If you can handle that then buy a chromebook.
Secondhand Toshiba chromebooks rate well especially the CB35 series. Look for the B3340 model (1080 display) but most in Australia are B3330 (768 display). They have a 13" display (i.e. Not too small) and great battery life.
I'll be looking into these. Thanks.
Google Chromebook