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[lt519]

So nice I bought it twice (had to upgrade mine after using it). This isn't about what ChromeOS is and isn't capable of. It's been well debated it's a perfect fit for some and doesn't work for others. I just wanted to comment on the build quality increase lately and how Google's dream of the Pixel is now being realized in an affordable manner by many companies (HP, Acer, Toshiba).

Backstory; replaced my Lenovo and iPad Air with a Acer c720p (and a Kindle for my reading fix) two years ago and have loved the ChromeOS and Google ecosystem. I bought my Acer c720p for $269 (on sale) 2 years ago and it has 2GB of RAM, 32GB SSD, a meh dual core CPU, 11 inch 720p screen, and is alllllll plastic.

Now my girlfriend was looking to replace her 2010 Macbook and decided a Chromebook would be the way to go for her after using mine for two years. The Acer Chromebook 14 just came out so we went for that. Aluminum, 1080p, 14 inch, 4GB RAM, 32GB SSD, Quad Core and 12 hours of battery life. $293 on Amazon. The only downside is no SD Card support on the new one ):

They've come a long way in two years.

Acer c720p (over 2 years old), 11":

Acer Chromebook 14, 14":

Comparison:

 

[Kthulhu]

Glad that Chromebooks and ChromeOS are getting better. If I what I needed a computer for could be done by ChomeOS then I'd buy a Chromebook in a heartbeat.

 

[NoblesseOblige]

We've been buying them for students at one school and 100% of them have black lines across their screens from where they rub against the keyboard when shut. My best guess is it's caused by being shoved into small bags full of books. Otherwise decent devices for their extremely affordable cost. I believe we get them as part of a state discount bid for $179 a piece. Nearly 100,000 were purchased across the state.

 

[DJ_Lae]

I have a c720p as well and enjoy it, but you're right in that the build quality is kind of shit. Where the lid and touchscreen fit together on the top is particularly flimsy.

Would replace it with that one, although I'd prefer another 11" Chromebook I think. Give me that in aluminum at a similar price and I'm in.

 

[lt519]

I have a c720p as well and enjoy it, but you're right in that the build quality is kind of shit. Where the lid and touchscreen fit together on the top is particularly flimsy.

Would replace it with that one, although I'd prefer another 11" Chromebook I think. Give me that in aluminum at a similar price and I'm in.

I know, I think I'm willing to sacrifice my 11" for 14". Not only is the aluminum great, but the track pad build is just so much more superior. Power brick is about half the size as well.

Bonus pics, vs Macbook 2010:

 

[SURGEdude]

The build quality has certainly gone up since I got my HP Chromebook a few years back. The problem is and always has been in the functionality. It's a hard pitch against a Windows 10 machine in a similar price bracket.

But for people it works for it's much improved. Though shitty trackpads continue to be the bane of any portable without an Apple on it.

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Looks real nice, but that lack of SD card support is rough with 32gb internal.

 

[btrboyev]

Looks real nice, but that lack of SD card support is rough with 32gb internal.

Is it though? I mean there is always USB.

 

[n0razi]

Every tech illiterate mom/dad/aunt/grandpa/grandma needs a chromebook and nothing else... no drivers, no viruses, no nothing but web and a webcam

 

[my6765490]

I hate to say this, but there's a damn good chance that your old Chromebook's processor is faster than your new Chromebook, Haswell>>>Silvermont, and this is coming from someone who upgraded from an Acer C720 to a Chromebook 15...

 

[coopolon]

I have a c720, it was great at first, but that screen is hard to go back to.

 

[Eaten By A Grue]

I was looking on Amazon and I cannot believe this thing has a 720p webcam and the MacBook has 480p still. I am seriously considering a Chromebook when my MacBook Pro gets long in the tooth. I think this does what I need it to do.

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

I have an Acer C201 and it's glorious. Does everything I need, is lightning quick and has amazing battery life. Paid just over 200 for it after taxes.

 

[lt519]

I hate to say this, but there's a damn good chance that your old Chromebook's processor is faster than your new Chromebook, Haswell>>>Silvermont, and this is coming from someone who upgraded from an Acer C720 to a Chromebook 15...

Processing power is hardly the main concern of a Chromebook user. The RAM becomes more of an issue the more tabs you have open. But yeah, they may be similar, but I'll also take the 6W TDP vs 15W TDP for a Chromebook. The new ones battery life is hours better than the c720p and has a 14" 1080p screen on top of that. Taking a holistic approach, it's a significant improvement all around.

 

[outunderthestars]

HP and Dell both make great Chromebooks as well. I love Chrome OS and don't miss Windows at all.

 

[fritolay]

They are dominating high schools in US.

 

[thenexus6]

I use my chromebook every single day, have done for about two years.

I want to upgrade and give my C720 to my Mum because she has one of the early Samsung series 3 ones which is so slow.

The problem is here in the UK we don't get all the cool Chromebooks that the US gets. Like the new highly praised Dell 13, nothing with i3 CPUs etc.

I hope this summer there is a conference and some new computers are announced.

 

[Jimrpg]

I've been looking at this exact model.

Can you tell me how it was going from OSX (or Win 10) to Chrome OS? I suppose Steam is not on there, that would be a bit of a bummer for me. I've found I don't really use anything else besides the browser these days, so I think it would be fine in general. What about playing media like photos and videos? Can I install VLC and play mkv or mp4 files?

 

[thenexus6]

I've been looking at this exact model.

Can you tell me how it was going from OSX (or Win 10) to Chrome OS? I suppose Steam is not on there, that would be a bit of a bummer for me. I've found I don't really use anything else besides the browser these days, so I think it would be fine in general. What about playing media like photos and videos? Can I install VLC and play mkv or mp4 files?

You can plug in a USB drive and play videos / music off it. But there is no media management app. So you'll just click a song and it'll play.

There is a VLC app, but it just doesn't work for me. Plus it only has like 2 star rating on the chrome web store.

 

[Shogmaster]

I might consider a Chromebook to play around with when they finally allow Play Store and Android apps on it. But does that defeat the purpose of a Chromebook? Whether it does or not, I need offline media consumption as one of the bare minimum functionalities.

When's the Play Store incorporation into Chrome OS slated for again?

 

[CyclopsRock]

I thought the build quality of my old HP14 (the first Haswell one) was really decent - it's my favourite touchpad and keyboard to use, including compared to Macbooks. But the screen is utter dog shit. For what I use it for it's not a big deal, but I'm glad to hear they're getting better in the affordable space.

I might consider a Chromebook to play around with when they finally allow Play Store and Android apps on it. But does that defeat the purpose of a Chromebook? Whether it does or not, I need offline media consumption as one of the bare minimum functionalities.

If you just want to play around, I think (you'll need to check) you can install Chromium on your PC dual boot if you have a spare (small) partition. You can see how hamstrung you feel. Tbh if you do want local offline media, it's probably not the OS for your needs.

 

[Spring Drive]

Can you do Photoshop and web development with a Chromebook?

 

[Shogmaster]

If you just want to play around, I think (you'll need to check) you can install Chromium on your PC dual boot if you have a spare (small) partition. You can see how hamstrung you feel. Tbh if you do want local offline media, it's probably not the OS for your needs.

From what I have gathered off hand, Chromium OS is like an unofficial open source version. How close is it to the real thing? I might try it with my Miix 700 when I get a bigger SSD for it. I'm right now dual booting Win 10 and Remix OS (Android) on it. Remix is decent on it. The UI shell is too mouse centric for my taste, but it's fine.

On second thought, I can't see what Chromium would get me that Remix already isn't. I lost all interest, lol.

 

[Apt101]

Glad that Chromebooks and ChromeOS are getting better. If I what I needed a computer for could be done by ChomeOS then I'd buy a Chromebook in a heartbeat.

I have a 15.6" laptop with plenty of power for work and play, but I also keep a little 11" Chromebook for simple browsing and checking e-mail, sometimes watching TV shows in the kitchen or in bed. They're so cheap, and better for many tasks than a tablet. Though I do still have a nvidia Shield tablet because I buy tech stuff like a child with no impulse control.

 

[Langdon Alger]

Looks real nice, but that lack of SD card support is rough with 32gb internal.

It's kind of meant to just be an internet only device though.

 

[SmellyHoundRedux]

I have an Acer chromebook 15..? I think. 4 gigs of ram and the Intel processor. Bought it refurbished for 185 dollars. Near flawless minus a tiny little black dot on the underside of the base. I love it, I use it for everything.

Acer makes a good product. I bougt a great refurbished 23in monitor from them (80 bucks), they were a little slow with the shippping and when I got it, they forgot the base and power unit. I emailed them, they sent it to me and included a free tablet for their mistake!

 

[Kthulhu]

I use my chromebook every single day, have done for about two years.

I want to upgrade and give my C720 to my Mum because she has one of the early Samsung series 3 ones which is so slow.

The problem is here in the UK we don't get all the cool Chromebooks that the US gets. Like the new highly praised Dell 13, nothing with i3 CPUs etc.

I hope this summer there is a conference and some new computers are announced.

Obligatory:

 

[lt519]

Didn't necessarily want to go here in this thread but since people are interested...

Can you do Photoshop and web development with a Chromebook?

Everything is browser/app based unless you install Linux as a dual boot. Pixlr Editor is free and is a pretty easy to use poor mans Photoshop that is good enough for simple editing. I made my wedding Save the Dates in there. Not too sure on web development, you aren't running Dreamweaver, but web based web development apps work fine.

I've been looking at this exact model.

Can you tell me how it was going from OSX (or Win 10) to Chrome OS? I suppose Steam is not on there, that would be a bit of a bummer for me. I've found I don't really use anything else besides the browser these days, so I think it would be fine in general. What about playing media like photos and videos? Can I install VLC and play mkv or mp4 files?

You have to give up on a few things. You can always install Linux on a dual boot to cover most of your needs (I've played Rogue Legacy that way on my c720p). If you stay with native ChromeOS you'll be missing out on wired printing and some media playback (it's native media player doesn't handle all file formats, which is fairly rare). MKV files specifically sometimes use an audio format that isn't supported. Photo viewing/editng is fine on ChromeOS. The odds and ends things won't work sometimes. Websites that don't support Chrome (shocking) like eBay's picture uploader can be a roadblock but the community is pretty impressive with their extensions and finding ways around things like that.

ChromeOS just strips away all the unnecessary things from Windows 10 and OSX. It's simple and easy to use but the trade off is that you can't do everything. With Office 365, Pixlr Editor, and Google Docs I've had all my needs covered since I'm not really trying to game with it or use it for media playback other than Play Store bought items or streaming web based content.

 

[Armadilo]

Is browsing the internet, fast ? Is Video editing possible ?

 

[outunderthestars]

Is browsing the internet, fast ? Is Video editing possible ?

I find the web browsing on Chrome OS to be I credibly fast and fluid.

 

[NoblesseOblige]

They are dominating high schools in US.

And I'm so thankful for that. Chromebooks are very simple devices to manage from an administrative standpoint thanks to GAFE. I can enroll an entire classroom of them in under an hour. Prior to them schools were using iPads which are an absolute nightmare to configure, taking 15-45 minutes per device to enroll and get setup.

 

[outunderthestars]

And I'm so thankful for that. Chromebooks are very simple devices to manage from an administrative standpoint thanks to GAFE. I can enroll an entire classroom of them in under an hour. Prior to them schools were using iPads which are an absolute nightmare to configure, taking 15-45 minutes per device to enroll and get setup.

And at a fraction of the cost.

 

[CHC]

Is browsing the internet, fast ? Is Video editing possible ?

Browsing is very fast, it basically bottlnecks with connection speed. I have a Toshiba Chromebook 2 and I usually keep 6 or 7 tabs open with either large PDFs or Google Docs. It's no different than my desktop in that regard.

No video editing though. That's best done elsewhere. If you can't do it in a browser, you can't do it on a Chromebook (rule of thumb, but basically true).

 

[NoblesseOblige]

And at a fraction of the cost.

Yeah the cost is a huge benefit too, though with grant funding it's generally "spend it or lose it" so schools were all about blowing their load with iPads. Despite every IT department loathing them. I'm still stuck supporting 275 iPads and want to swallow a bullet every time one is returned to be redeployed because of how inefficient it is.

 

[teiresias]

I've absolutely loved my Acer C720 (no P) that I got refurbished from groupon for all of like $120. It's my couch computer and is great for looking up wikis and stuff when playing through a game and the like. I can't say I use it for anything productive, but if my work computer could be as light and portable it would be great (granted, my work computer needs to run actual design tools so that's a bit out of the question unfortunately).

 

[fatigues_gasolini]

I have the current Toshiba Chromebook and it's fantastic. 1080p IPS screen, new celeron processor and 4 gigs of ram. It runs everything great outside of 4k YouTube.

 

[Spinluck]

Chromebooks are underrated as fuck.

Bought one after one of my Sony laptops went to complete shit and it held me over till I was able to afford a MBPro and this new Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga 14 I have on the way.

I have the current Toshiba Chromebook and it's fantastic. 1080p IPS screen, new celeron processor and 4 gigs of ram. It runs everything great outside of 4k YouTube.

This is the one I have. Was completely blown away by the screens quality. The model I have also has a backlit keyboard. Love it.

 

[CHC]

I have the current Toshiba Chromebook and it's fantastic. 1080p IPS screen, new celeron processor and 4 gigs of ram. It runs everything great outside of 4k YouTube.

Yeah just an all around great computer. I always urge people to consider whether they REALLY need to spend 1000+ on a Macbook when the reality is that most users spend 99.9% of their time in an internet browser, connected to Wifi.

I've been so pleased with mine - great quality, great screen, simple UI, everything just works all the time.

And it's $299! 2. 9. 9. Cheaper than most tablets.

 

[Enter Here]

What can you do with Chromebooks nowadays? It has been 5 years since they were publicly released. Is it a good "laptop" for a high schooler from age 14-18? What if the student wants to do digital art work, or programming.

I'm thinking of buying the new Acer 14" Chromebook

 

[SMattera]

What can you do with Chromebooks nowadays? It has been 5 years since they were publicly released. Is it a good "laptop" for a high schooler from age 14-18? What if the student wants to do digital art work?

I'm thinking of buying the new Acer 14" Chromebook

I believe you can stream Photoshop over the Internet if you have an educational Creative Cloud account.