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[CES 2017] Samsung and google hits it out of the park with the Chromebook Plus/Pro

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D

Dunlop

Member
Kthulhu said:
Is it not on Samsung's site?
Click to expand...


If it is then it is wll hidden lol. The problem is there is no Chromebook presence at all here. Anything Bestbuy carries (very old stock) is online only, ect..

As mentioned I love the concept and have used a Chromebox (now converted to a Kodi box) and Chromebook (now used by my kid in high school) and wanted to get a higher quality one for myself, especially with Android integration

But my only way would be to order from the US and deal with duty and headaches should there be something wrong with the delivered product.

Google always drops everything last in Canada but after so many years of almost 0 effort on their part with Chromebooks I have to accept it and pick up a regular windows laptop.

bummer lol
 
C

Commanche Raisin Toast

Member
I'm waiting to see if the Pixel 7 rumors turn out to be true or not before contemplating one of these.

I love my Nexus 7 and have been waiting for them to take another stab at it. If they announce a Pixel 7 tablet and an official detachable keyboard I'll go with that instead.
 
V

Veritigo_X

Member
FrodoYolo said:
Why the hell would anyone buy a chrome book over a regular laptop?
Click to expand...

I bought one of these and it's a great tablet replacement. I pretty much just use it for web browsing at home and taking notes at work meetings. It's fast, thin, lightweight, has a good battery life and was only $500.
 
K

kaching

"GAF's biggest wanker"
I bought the plus version a couple of weeks and I'm very happy with it. Build is solid, screen is gorgeous and the hardware is up to everything I've thrown at it so far. Nothing particularly strenuous mind you but I've seen no significant performance problems with Android apps or having 10-12 chrome tabs opened simultaneously. There's definitely some lag with some apps using the stylus as some of the reviews point out but that seems to be a software issue with those particular apps, as has also been pointed out.

I haven't really touched Chrome OS since the beta years ago. Lots of great improvements have matured the OS so it has come into its own now. It seems to have better file management than Android and since it looks like the integration of Android apps itself is proceeding smoothly, I can see a time before long when there wouldn't really be any further need to support standalone Android devices.
 
P

PumpkinSpice

Banned
Dunlop said:
If it is then it is wll hidden lol. The problem is there is no Chromebook presence at all here. Anything Bestbuy carries (very old stock) is online only, ect..

As mentioned I love the concept and have used a Chromebox (now converted to a Kodi box) and Chromebook (now used by my kid in high school) and wanted to get a higher quality one for myself, especially with Android integration

But my only way would be to order from the US and deal with duty and headaches should there be something wrong with the delivered product.

Google always drops everything last in Canada but after so many years of almost 0 effort on their part with Chromebooks I have to accept it and pick up a regular windows laptop.

bummer lol
Click to expand...
Yeah I don't understand why it's not available in Canada.

I ordered a plus from Amazon.com though, it's on it's way now. It was pretty easy and they handle customs fees ahead of time in a sane way (they give you money back if it's less than they charge, never costs extra and it's still less than tax). Hopefully they ship with DHL like Amazon JP does.
 
V

Very Berry Sunday

Member
I'm thinking of getting a Chromebook for my cousin who's in high school. Should I get the Pro over the Plus or are there better options?

She already has a Acer Chromebook 14, but she likes to draw.
 
D

Dead Prince

Banned
is the whole HDCP thing a chrome os thing or do i have to contact someone? i can't play back HDX version of vudu. i wonder if this affects anything that deals with HD content as well.
 
D

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
KamenSenshi said:
Best Buy has a deal for basically $100 off the regular price if you trade in any working laptop. So even if its old as long as it is something they can manually put in it should work as it did for me. The deal is basically they will give you at least 50 for your trade plus a coupon for 50% off.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting. I wonder if they will take my old Chromebook 2.
 
K

kaching

"GAF's biggest wanker"
dskillzhtown said:
Thanks for posting. I wonder if they will take my old Chromebook 2.
Click to expand...
They took an AMD 11" Netbook I've had lying around for at least 3-4 yrs, so they don't seem to be too particular. But I thought that deal was only for a week though, which was already a couple of weeks ago.
 
D

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
kaching said:
They took an AMD 11" Netbook I've had lying around for at least 3-4 yrs, so they don't seem to be too particular. But I thought that deal was only for a week though, which was already a couple of weeks ago.
Click to expand...

Wow, they took an old Netbook? I have one of those laying around too.

It ends on the 11th.

Valid in store only 2/12/17–3/11/17.
Click to expand...
 
M

M3d10n

Member
The Albatross said:
I will never understand posts like this. Yes, you are correct, a Chromebook is not a C compiling development machine. It will also not run VMs. Thankfully, there are a billion computers in the world that will run Linux and you can probably build one for way cheaper than this. That said you could probably install a flavor of Linux onto this and get decent support... There are plenty of "Install Ubuntu on Chromebook" tutorials around. Somebody asks "But Why..." because you could install Linux on virtually anything and there's nothing stopping you from doing that.

A Chromebook is not going for your C compiler developer market. They're not targeting you with this computer. They're targeting somebody who will mostly be writing papers, browsing the internet, doing email, some light spreadsheets, and primarily running web apps or lightweight mobile apps. If you want real budget, you can get one for $250 or so and it'll be very capable at doing all of that, or you can double the price up to $500 and get this and be more capable of doing those things.

ChromeOS is an amazing operating system targeting a budget-friendly browser-first audience, which is why it has become so popular. It's simple to use, simple to understand, safe for people, and has features that most people want in most circumstances. But, no, a Chromebook and ChromeOS is not for doing serious development. It's not for running Logic Pro or Photoshop. It's not for installing VMs. It's (probably?) not for node development. It's not a professional grade computer.
Click to expand...

I believe the issue some people have isn't the existence of ChromeOS itself and its by design limitations, but "premium" ChromeOS devices which don't have the advantage of the low price point. ChromeOS is always lauded for being perfect for people who don't need to run the likes of PhotoShop, who's the target audience for a $500 Chromebook that could actually run PhotoShop but won't due to the OS? The iPad Pro went through similar criticism.
 
T

tokkun

Member
M3d10n said:
I believe the issue some people have isn't the existence of ChromeOS itself and its by design limitations, but "premium" ChromeOS devices which don't have the advantage of the low price point. ChromeOS is always lauded for being perfect for people who don't need to run the likes of PhotoShop, who's the target audience for a $500 Chromebook that could actually run PhotoShop but won't due to the OS? The iPad Pro went through similar criticism.
Click to expand...

It's not like the premium Chromebooks cost more because they have Xeon processors or 64 GB of RAM. These Chromebooks are more expensive because they have a nicer screen and chassis and support pen input. That's something a person can benefit from even if they are only using the device for light processing tasks.
 
S

Sai

Member
Man, I am seeing this way too late. I was really interested in this when it leaked last year, but with the Note 7 issues and that long period of silence, I thought they axed it.

Since then, I recently got a Samsung Galaxy Tab A with an S-Pen to get my stylus fix, and now I'm wondering if I should try selling it in order to get this...
 
K

Kthulhu

Member
Dunlop said:
If it is then it is wll hidden lol. The problem is there is no Chromebook presence at all here. Anything Bestbuy carries (very old stock) is online only, ect..

As mentioned I love the concept and have used a Chromebox (now converted to a Kodi box) and Chromebook (now used by my kid in high school) and wanted to get a higher quality one for myself, especially with Android integration

But my only way would be to order from the US and deal with duty and headaches should there be something wrong with the delivered product.

Google always drops everything last in Canada but after so many years of almost 0 effort on their part with Chromebooks I have to accept it and pick up a regular windows laptop.

bummer lol
Click to expand...

Just checked, the US site has it but the Canadian one doesn't. Is it possible for you to import one?
 
D

Deleted member 22576

Unconfirmed Member
M3d10n said:
I believe the issue some people have isn't the existence of ChromeOS itself and its by design limitations, but "premium" ChromeOS devices which don't have the advantage of the low price point. ChromeOS is always lauded for being perfect for people who don't need to run the likes of PhotoShop, who's the target audience for a $500 Chromebook that could actually run PhotoShop but won't due to the OS? The iPad Pro went through similar criticism.
Click to expand...

Nah dude.
I'm typing on my girlfriends POS chromebook right now and I can tell you that even though it was affordable and runs fine (still after all this time) the screen is awful. The build is awful. The camera is awful. The feel is awful. Those things matter, and they're worth the extra 200$ you'll pay for one of these. No, it won't run photoshop. But its a better computer than a cheaper chromebook.

Laptops specifically are so interesting to me. Since there is barely any modularity to speak of in the present its the perfect lens to see what different individuals hierarchy of needs are.

I've never owned my own chromebook but I am 100% into my girlfriends that I've been using for the last year or so. But its a cheap computer. There are tons of people who will lay out an extra 30-40% for tangible worthwhile improvements to their experience.

Your post sounds you're responding to the original 1500$ pixel back in 2012. 550$ for this thing? SOLD.
 
D

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
KamenSenshi said:
No problem. They will probably take that one, but maybe just for the minimum? Hopefully it works out for you.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they took it for the minimum, so I got $100 off. I had not turned on that Chromebook 2 in a couple of years, due to it being a POS, IMO. It got good reviews at the time too, which still baffles my mind.

I also have an old HP Chromebook 14 from 2013 that I use daily. The main reasons I bought the Chromebook Plus were the apps, size, and the stylus. The HP is just too big to carry with me when on the go. I will keep it for home use because it has been pretty much bulletproof since I bought it.
 
D

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
After using the Chromebook Plus for a little over a week, I have to say I am impressed. It took a couple of days to get used to the keyboard (especially the small backspace), but now I am loving it. The quality of the screen is phenomenal and the stylus has come in handy on more than one occasion already. I did get it for $350 with the Best Buty trade-in deal, and that is what I think it is worth. $450 seems a bit too much. But I have no complaints at all.

The one thing I really have not used at all is the tablet configuration. I just haven't had the need. After not having a tablet in so long, I think I have gotten used to having a keyboard. I have put it in tent configuration to watch some of March Madness, but honestly I could have had the same view in laptop configuration as well. I give it a thumbs up for the price I paid.
 
E

EmiPrime

Member
Meanwhile in Europe...

The UK Google Store hasn't had any Chromebooks from several months, they've removed the section entirely from their store.
 
P

PumpkinSpice

Banned
Got my Chromebook Plus today. I cancelled the Amazon order cause they were taking suspiciously long to ship and reordered from B&H Photo. Was actually cheaper; they had a few bucks off, free shipping, just cover the customs charges (which was less than tax of buying something in Canada), and it arrived 2 business days after ordering.

It's pretty nice. I really like the Android app support even if it's still kinda wonky; I downloaded a PDF and wanted to use an Android app to view it and the right click menu in the file browser even had an action to open it directly in the app. Felt slick.

The pen is great, the screen looks really good, the 2:3 is nice for websites, the fold into tablet mode works well (heavy though) and at 12" was really great for magazines.

Downsides are the keyboard being cramped, the touchpad being not amazing (not bad but could be a lot better), and the performance still not quite being where I want it to be. In Chrome the "Save as" dialog takes way too long to open up, just like my old Acer Chromebook 11, and things can still bog down with a lot of tabs open. I've heard Chrome is going to get more aggressive very soon about background tab CPU time so maybe that would get better soon?

It's extremely impressive for ARM, and they seem to have done a better job with GPU acceleration than I'm used to from an Atom Chromebook, but noticeable slowness feels weird in 2017. But then because it's ARM the Android support is quite good and everything there feels pretty fast there so maybe the trade off is worth it if the app functionality gets better once it gets out of beta.

Anyway overall I'd really recommend it it. It's like Chrome OS++; most of the drawbacks you'd have from "no native apps" are gone cause you can fill in pretty much any gap with Android stuff.
 
T

ty_hot

Member
For those that have it and another QHD / 4K device, how does the screen compare? I just read that it actually renders at half the resolution and upscales to the display resolution... they say its very good scaling but I'd like to know if the difference is noticeable.

EmiPrime said:
Meanwhile in Europe...

The UK Google Store hasn't had any Chromebooks from several months, they've removed the section entirely from their store.
Click to expand...

There are very few options for Chromeboks around here and Samsung doesnt even have laptops for sale anymore. This one will be hard to find... only solution is import.
 
P

PumpkinSpice

Banned
ty_hot said:
For those that have it and another QHD / 4K device, how does the screen compare? I just read that it actually renders at half the resolution and upscales to the display resolution... they say its very good scaling but I'd like to know if the difference is noticeable.
Click to expand...

It's definitely running at native res, works the same way as an Apple retina screen where 200dpi is treated as 100dpi for sizing purposes.
 
S

snoopeasystreet

Member
Looks nice.

Are Chromebooks any use for developing websites on? I have a desktop that i primarily use and an oldish laptop which I'm looking to upgrade.
 
T

tokkun

Member
snoopeasystreet said:
Looks nice.

Are Chromebooks any use for developing websites on? I have a desktop that i primarily use and an oldish laptop which I'm looking to upgrade.
Click to expand...

I have a Linux workstation at work that I use for development. When I am away from my desk (in a meeting, at home, etc.), I use the Chrome Remote Desktop extension to connect to it. I think this is a pretty good solution. You still get to take advantage of the heavy-weight CPU and RAM in the desktop for compiling, and your laptop does not get hot or drain battery. The downside is that you need a decent Internet connection to work. This tends not to be much of an issue for me, as I just tether to my cellphone if I am somewhere without Wifi, but there are still some situations where it doesn't work well, like on an airplane.
 
O

OmegaTreeFish

Banned
snoopeasystreet said:
Looks nice.

Are Chromebooks any use for developing websites on? I have a desktop that i primarily use and an oldish laptop which I'm looking to upgrade.
Click to expand...

I bought a chromebook flip last year (not the new model) just to see what they are like and have come to the conclusion that at somepoint I want the more premium version rather than buy another windows machine down the line.

I have to do web coding for my job (HTML, CSS and JS) and I have full adobe cloud support. I also have this all installed in my windows laptop (which is kinda huge lol). However If I had to do something away from work I would prob just do it on my chrome book as it actually has half decent tools to work with.

For coding there is a chrome extension called Caret which is a perfectly functional HTML editor. There are also apps you can download for this but I found Caret works the best.

There is also one called pixlr which gives you some photoshop functionality.

I can also use mine for photo editing using an app called polar which has a bunch of lightrooms functionality as well (although for most basic editing I can just use snapseed on my phone as its pretty damn good now and super convenient to use).

So Its possible to do stuff like web developement on it but depending on what your exact needs are im not sure it is ideal.

However since getting mine I basically never use my laptop. Maybe once a year when I need to use indesign or something. I use my chromebook flip for:
Web
Video watching (youtube, netflix etc)
Google apps (docs, spreadsheets etc)
Photo editing
Coding now and then (pretty rarly to be honest as 99% of the time I do that at work)
Maybe the odd game from the play store.

They can do most things your average user will want to do. However if you want to heavily use a machine for things like graphic design, video editing or coding a windows machine or Mac are prob better options.

I do know that at somepoint I want a slightly more premium version of this thing. The upgraded flip or this samsung seem about right and I would pay up to £500 for one I think. Having Chrome OS on a solid build with higher resolution touch screen than my current flip has and slightly larger screen would about perfect. I love how it stays cool and is fanless plus is super thin and has great battery life. Also you dont have to worry about viruses and if you are onboard with cloud based apps and storage it does those things really damn well.
 
H

HigXx

Member
Still no news on the Pro

Thinking about just biting the bullet on the Plus, apparently Android apps will run better on it

Anyone using this?
 
T

tokkun

Member
HigXx said:
Still no news on the Pro

Thinking about just biting the bullet on the Plus, apparently Android apps will run better on it

Anyone using this?
Click to expand...

Google IO is in 3 weeks. Figure I might as well just wait until then in case there are any announcements that might sway my decision.
 
D

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
HigXx said:
Still no news on the Pro

Thinking about just biting the bullet on the Plus, apparently Android apps will run better on it

Anyone using this?
Click to expand...

Hate to be so late on the response, but...I have a Chromecast Plus. Have had it since shortly after launch. I really love it. The touchscreen/stylus combo has come in handy a few times when I needed to send screenshots or save info off of a screen. I also use it to take down notes. I love it, but there are so many rumors of improved models coming later this year. Lit keyboards, fingerprint sign-ins, better cameras, etc. I would wait for I/O to see announcements of future devices to see if the Plus ends up obsolete.

As far as Android apps running on it. It's kind of a mixed bag. Unless the app was created by Google (Play, Gmail, Newsstand, etc.) you can really tell you are just using a mobile app on a laptop. That means you may get some questionable results. For instance, I had to sign a pdf and return it. I figured the stylus would be perfect! So I downloaded an adobe app, but it was made for phones. I would let me sign the doc, but it wouldn't actually save. I ended up doing it on my phone with the same app and it saved perfectly, though signing with my fingertip instead of the stylus looked terrible! So while apps do work on the chromebook plus, it is definitely a work in progress at the moment. Overall I am really happy with it.
 
S

sun-drop

Member
picked one up yesterday - so far i am loving it.

had to do a powerwash to get the 100GB drive space offer to register though ..oddly
 
T

ty_hot

Member
Hey guys, I am thinkign about getting a new computer. Mine doesnt have a good battery life (less than 4 hours) and is heavy and bulky, so at first I was thinking about betting a XPS13 or a HP Spectre... but I see no point in paying 1300-1500 in a notebook when mine can do everything I need (I dont game on PC).

I am probably better off having both computers and spending 1000 less. The only thing I really wish was better in my computer is the screen resolution, so having the Chromebook Plus would already made browsing much better.

I just wanted to know, is it possible to, via the Chromebook Plus, access my computer at a higher resolution? My notebook has a 720p screen, could I access it via remote desktop and, lets say, have a 1080p resolution? Any way to do it?
 
Jaguar Victory

Jaguar Victory

Member
ty_hot said:
Hey guys, I am thinkign about getting a new computer. Mine doesnt have a good battery life (less than 4 hours) and is heavy and bulky, so at first I was thinking about betting a XPS13 or a HP Spectre... but I see no point in paying 1300-1500 in a notebook when mine can do everything I need (I dont game on PC).

I am probably better off having both computers and spending 1000 less. The only thing I really wish was better in my computer is the screen resolution, so having the Chromebook Plus would already made browsing much better.

I just wanted to know, is it possible to, via the Chromebook Plus, access my computer at a higher resolution? My notebook has a 720p screen, could I access it via remote desktop and, lets say, have a 1080p resolution? Any way to do it?
Click to expand...

Wait, you want to buy a Chromebook to access your laptop at a higher resolution? Seems a little convoluted to me man. I'd assume output would be at the origins native resolution when mirroring.
 
K

Koren

Member
Shogmaster said:
You really don't want to run Windows on eMMC though.
Click to expand...
Why? I have a budget Lenovo "laptop" running Windows 10 on eMMC, it's fine. True, there's plently of things I wouldn't do on it, but it'ds doing his job perfectly well (and a sub-1kg computer with a >10h battery life and a really good keyboard, is not that common)
 
T

ty_hot

Member
Jaguar Victory said:
Wait, you want to buy a Chromebook to access your laptop at a higher resolution? Seems a little convoluted to me man. I'd assume output would be at the origins native resolution when mirroring.
Click to expand...

Yes. I searched a little and I've seen some mixed answers. Some people were able to mirror up to 1600x1200, even though the source computer was a 720p one. Some say they can't. I dont know. It's not a deal breaker for me, I just wanted to know in advance if possible. I saw that at first Windows could only remote desktop up to that 1600x1200 but and update raised that to 4k some years ago. I am confused.

Heck, my raspberry pi can mirror a 1080p screen, I dont see why my computer shouldnt be able of doing that.

edit. I tried accessing my computer from my phone (1080p screen), but there is no 'screen resolution' option aywhere.
 
A

Ashhong

Member
ty_hot said:
Hey guys, I am thinkign about getting a new computer. Mine doesnt have a good battery life (less than 4 hours) and is heavy and bulky, so at first I was thinking about betting a XPS13 or a HP Spectre... but I see no point in paying 1300-1500 in a notebook when mine can do everything I need (I dont game on PC).

I am probably better off having both computers and spending 1000 less. The only thing I really wish was better in my computer is the screen resolution, so having the Chromebook Plus would already made browsing much better.

I just wanted to know, is it possible to, via the Chromebook Plus, access my computer at a higher resolution? My notebook has a 720p screen, could I access it via remote desktop and, lets say, have a 1080p resolution? Any way to do it?
Click to expand...

I think you can only display what is on your source, so 720p would be the highest. Why not get just the Chromebook instead of a laptop? Are there programs you need?
 
T

ty_hot

Member
Ashhong said:
I think you can only display what is on your source, so 720p would be the highest. Why not get just the Chromebook instead of a laptop? Are there programs you need?
Click to expand...

Well, lately I've been working 90% of the time programming on R, on Windows, so yes I need it. But it's about to change as I finished a project, so I will go back to reading/annotating (those would be great on the Chromebook!) - I am a phd student. But every now and then, the R would be needed. Its fine if it will be 720p only though.

Anyway, I just ordered it, I loved my first Chromebook (the first from samsung) and I really want to have a thin, lightweight device with a great screen resolution (its surreal that my phone has a higher res than my computer). Android apps and stylus are 2 great extras as well. I am importing one from Amazon as they have a small discount now (405 usd, down from 450), with shipping and taxes it will de 450 euros for me, which I think is a little bit more than I would want to spend normally on a Chromebook, but we have almost zero chromebooks selling in Europe so... ok, I will pay for it.

I will have it in the first week of August :D
 
T

ty_hot

Member
Got my Chromebook Plus today. A week earlier than expected, only 3 days between shipping from the USA and arriving here at my home in Spain. The display is gorgeous, vivid and cristal clear. Still getting used to the keyboard ofc. Stylus work fine enough for me (Im not an artist). Love it. Seems to be well built too.

Havent tried tablet mode yet... I actually need to head to the market for an USA-EU adapter lol I am running it with my Nexus 6P charger for now (it doesnt charge, only holds the battery at the same level).

Gonna try some Android apps later.

For now I just dont know which internal resolution I should use. With the default 1200x800 it seems that I have less screen space than on my 720p computer. Changing it to the native 2400x1600 makes everything too small. I know I can make the font bigger (which I did), but the buttons and tabs are still small.... Gonna need to find a good middleground.
 
S

SporeCrawler

Member
looks a lot like a macbook

i like the touchscreen. i often touch my screen on my macbook (due to the habit i got from my surface) and realize it doesnt have a touchscreen.
 
S

sun-drop

Member
Went and put my plus into Dev mode finally, pretty painless .

And sideloaded the MS office apps, kinda funny how MS haven't made these available via the Google play store yet for CB
 
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