Chromebook -- Highly recommend (2 Viewers)

[pollardsvision]

Got the Asus C300 a few days ago, $199 Pretty awesome so far. Really fast, battery lasts all day, and I love the feel of it. Incredibly light, great keyboard and track pad, and it doesn't get hot at all. 13" screen is the perfect size for me. Screen isn't great, but t's plenty good enough for me watching Netflix. Though, I've never been a screen nerd (don't even have a DirecTV HD receiver).

Not sure how it compares to all the other CB's, and I'm sure it's step down from the Acer and Dell that everyone seems to love, but so far, I don't see the need to have spent the extra $50+.

Not sure why I didn't get one earlier, as everything I do is on Google Drive or otherwise Google or browser related. The only work I do offline is on a couple of various Google sheets and docs.

Frankly, I'm not very tech savvy and "dealing with" a PC and keeping it from becoming a virus laden slug isn't something I've ever enjoyed or been very good at. The ol' lady is even worse, and I'm about to get her a CB too.

Probably go with the Asus for her too. 2 Chromebooks for under $400 sounds like a plan to me.

 

[Jaysus]

Got the Asus C300 a few days ago, $199 Pretty awesome so far. Really fast, battery lasts all day, and I love the feel of it. Incredibly light, great keyboard and track pad, and it doesn't get hot at all. 13" screen is the perfect size for me. Screen isn't great, but t's plenty good enough for me watching Netflix. Though, I've never been a screen nerd (don't even have a DirecTV HD receiver).

Not sure how it compares to all the other CB's, and I'm sure it's step down from the Acer and Dell that everyone seems to love, but so far, I don't see the need to have spent the extra $50+.

Not sure why I didn't get one earlier, as everything I do is on Google Drive or otherwise Google or browser related. The only work I do offline is on a couple of various Google sheets and docs.

Frankly, I'm not very tech savvy and "dealing with" a PC and keeping it from becoming a virus laden slug isn't something I've ever enjoyed or been very good at. The ol' lady is even worse, and I'm about to get her a CB too.

Probably go with the Asus for her too. 2 Chromebooks for under $400 sounds like a plan to me.

I got that one at christmas time for $150, great value for the price... but the screen is awful. If it was for me I would have returned it. My 7 year old daughter is the primary user though, and it is perfect for her.

 

[pollardsvision]

Got the Asus C300 a few days ago, $199 Pretty awesome so far. Really fast, battery lasts all day, and I love the feel of it. Incredibly light, great keyboard and track pad, and it doesn't get hot at all. 13" screen is the perfect size for me. Screen isn't great, but t's plenty good enough for me watching Netflix. Though, I've never been a screen nerd (don't even have a DirecTV HD receiver).

Not sure how it compares to all the other CB's, and I'm sure it's step down from the Acer and Dell that everyone seems to love, but so far, I don't see the need to have spent the extra $50+.

Not sure why I didn't get one earlier, as everything I do is on Google Drive or otherwise Google or browser related. The only work I do offline is on a couple of various Google sheets and docs.

Frankly, I'm not very tech savvy and "dealing with" a PC and keeping it from becoming a virus laden slug isn't something I've ever enjoyed or been very good at. The ol' lady is even worse, and I'm about to get her a CB too.

Probably go with the Asus for her too. 2 Chromebooks for under $400 sounds like a plan to me.

I got that one at christmas time for $150, great value for the price... but the screen is awful. If it was for me I would have returned it. My 7 year old daughter is the primary user though, and it is perfect for her.

Yeah, it works for me, but as I said, I have low standards.

Ordered another. Thought about going with the Acer to compare, but the reviews make it seem clear that the while the Acer is a little faster, the Asus is probably better for the things I care more about (screen size, battery life, build quality, keyboard/trackpad). Plus it comes in pretty colors.

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

Had the Toshiba 2 now for almost two weeks and I am very happy with it. Beautiful screen, quick and responsive. The only thing I am not happy with and its very minor is that when you set your ZOOM settings it does not effect your bookmarks/bar. I had to change the aspect ratio just so that I could read them (already have glasses :( )

 

[Keerock]

Asus 13.3"

$199 (free shipping) - Use code MEGA3 for 10% off

Can get another 6% cash back from EBates, too...

Comes out to $169...

 

[sho nuff]

Have an Acer...been using it for a couple months.

Have not done much searching in here or elsewhere yet...but WTF is up with the damn pop ups?

Chrome constantly opening another tab with some ad or something about virus software blah blah blah....

 

[Keerock]

Have an Acer...been using it for a couple months.

Have not done much searching in here or elsewhere yet...but WTF is up with the damn pop ups?

Chrome constantly opening another tab with some ad or something about virus software blah blah blah....

Can honestly say I have never once gotten a pop-up on my Chromebook in the almost 2 years I've had it...

 

[Chaos Commish]

Have an Acer...been using it for a couple months.

Have not done much searching in here or elsewhere yet...but WTF is up with the damn pop ups?

Chrome constantly opening another tab with some ad or something about virus software blah blah blah....

Can honestly say I have never once gotten a pop-up on my Chromebook in the almost 2 years I've had it...

Same. Sho nuff, do you adblocker installed? I've been online for hours and it's only blocked 3 ads, so that's probably not your problem, but it's good to have either way.

 

[sho nuff]

Have an Acer...been using it for a couple months.

Have not done much searching in here or elsewhere yet...but WTF is up with the damn pop ups?

Chrome constantly opening another tab with some ad or something about virus software blah blah blah....

Can honestly say I have never once gotten a pop-up on my Chromebook in the almost 2 years I've had it...

Same. Sho nuff, do you adblocker installed? I've been online for hours and it's only blocked 3 ads, so that's probably not your problem, but it's good to have either way.

Just added adblock plus to see how it works.

 

[Ted Mullins]

Have an Acer...been using it for a couple months.

Have not done much searching in here or elsewhere yet...but WTF is up with the damn pop ups?

Chrome constantly opening another tab with some ad or something about virus software blah blah blah....

Can honestly say I have never once gotten a pop-up on my Chromebook in the almost 2 years I've had it...

Have had mine for over a year and use it a lot, have also never noticed it. Do you not get these pop-ups when you go to the same sites on non-Chromebook devices?

 

[sho nuff]

Have an Acer...been using it for a couple months.

Have not done much searching in here or elsewhere yet...but WTF is up with the damn pop ups?

Chrome constantly opening another tab with some ad or something about virus software blah blah blah....

Can honestly say I have never once gotten a pop-up on my Chromebook in the almost 2 years I've had it...

Have had mine for over a year and use it a lot, have also never noticed it. Do you not get these pop-ups when you go to the same sites on non-Chromebook devices?

Nope

 

[Otis]

These new Chromebit dongles look awesome, as does the Chromebook Flip:

http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/31/8314907/asus-chromebook-flip-convertible-touchscreen

 

[skycriesmary]

Does anyone own a model that looks good in HD when using Chromecast? I don't mind spending another $100 or so if it means a much different viewing experience. Most of the models I've reviewed, people are #####ing about the screen resolution.

 

[glvsav37]

need to get my daughter a new 'puter. We are an apple family and she is using my hand me down macbook pro, but its getting too old and I'm not buying a new imac or mbp for a 9 year old to play web games and use Word.

Any recommendations?

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

Toshiba CB 2. Been using mine for a couple months and I love it. I would get a pixel 2 if the price dropped.

 

[skycriesmary]

I ended up with the Toshiba CB 2 with 4 GB memory. I like most aspects quite a bit. It does take some time getting used to putting everything on Google Drive. The fact that you can't hook up to a conventional printer is annoying though, as is the inability to post pictures on ebay.

 

[glvsav37]

I ended up with the Toshiba CB 2 with 4 GB memory. I like most aspects quite a bit. It does take some time getting used to putting everything on Google Drive. The fact that you can't hook up to a conventional printer is annoying though, as is the inability to post pictures on ebay.

really?? thats a deal breaker b/c my daughter is always printing stuff out....any reason why they do this?

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

I ended up with the Toshiba CB 2 with 4 GB memory. I like most aspects quite a bit. It does take some time getting used to putting everything on Google Drive. The fact that you can't hook up to a conventional printer is annoying though, as is the inability to post pictures on ebay.

If your printer is hooked up to your home network you should not have an issue. I have chromebooks at home and work printing to non-cloud based printers and have zero issue printing. Why can't you post pictures to ebay?

 

[Keerock]

I ended up with the Toshiba CB 2 with 4 GB memory. I like most aspects quite a bit. It does take some time getting used to putting everything on Google Drive. The fact that you can't hook up to a conventional printer is annoying though, as is the inability to post pictures on ebay.

If your printer is hooked up to your home network you should not have an issue. I have chromebooks at home and work printing to non-cloud based printers and have zero issue printing. Why can't you post pictures to ebay?

 

[pollardsvision]

I'm sure there are smarter, better ways to do it, but I can print to the dumb printer as long as the windows PC is connected with chrome open.

 

[flapgreen]

I ended up with the Toshiba CB 2 with 4 GB memory. I like most aspects quite a bit. It does take some time getting used to putting everything on Google Drive. The fact that you can't hook up to a conventional printer is annoying though, as is the inability to post pictures on ebay.

really?? thats a deal breaker b/c my daughter is always printing stuff out....any reason why they do this?

It sucks

 

[the moops]

as is the inability to post pictures on ebay.

There is no chance this is true

 

[Keerock]

as is the inability to post pictures on ebay.

There is no chance this is true

Confirmed true.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Sorry if these have been posted but I just saw them today. Pretty sure I'll have one in 48 hours, just deciding on the processor/price but...

15.6" screen

1980x1080 HD resolution

Intel CPU and graphics (celeron, i3 or i5)

4gb ram

9 hour battery

For me this is about the display so I guess the celeron with 16gb ssd is the way to go at $279, but I have been struggling with photo storage and editing so maybe the 32gb bumped to $349 and which at that point why not get the i3 for $420?

 

[Otis]

I'm digging this 10.1" touchscreen flip from ASUS:

http://www.amazon.com/Chromebook-C100PA-DB01-Touch-aluminum-chassis/dp/B00YY3X678/ref=sr_1_9?

Love the idea of something in the 9-10" size range.

 

[ClownCausedChaos2]

Love the idea of something in the 9-10" size range.

 

[NutterButter]

Sorry if these have been posted but I just saw them today. Pretty sure I'll have one in 48 hours, just deciding on the processor/price but...

15.6" screen

1980x1080 HD resolution

Intel CPU and graphics (celeron, i3 or i5)

4gb ram

9 hour battery

For me this is about the display so I guess the celeron with 16gb ssd is the way to go at $279, but I have been struggling with photo storage and editing so maybe the 32gb bumped to $349 and which at that point why not get the i3 for $420?

Jesus, that looks awesome. I paid 200 for the 11 incher 6 months ago and I love it. I'd be all over that if I actually needed it.

 

[Johnny Rock]

I paid 200 for the 11 incher 6 months ago and I love it. I'd be all over that if I actually needed it.

Decent sophomoric sig if anyone wants to claim it.

 

[Dentist]

I'm digging this 10.1" touchscreen flip from ASUS:

http://www.amazon.com/Chromebook-C100PA-DB01-Touch-aluminum-chassis/dp/B00YY3X678/ref=sr_1_9?

Love the idea of something in the 9-10" size range.

Asus can eat me, always great specs and lousy execution. Screw them, except their exceptional routers

 

[Peak]

My daughter starts 7th grade in 3 weeks and I received an email that her class will be the guinea pigs to use a chromebook for their classwork instead of text books. Her school will be trying out everything online with her class, and they are renting/selling chromebooks to the students/families. I'm debating buying one vs renting it, especially as this seems to be the popular approach. Two years ago her class tested out using kindles instead of books, and that seemed to do well enough. Talking to a teacher who is my son's baseball coach, the administration really like the chromebooks flexibility and low maintenance for the middle school kids (7th & 8th grade). Looking at the Amazon deal above for $200. Once I see what the school is offering at open house next week, I'll most likely make my move.

 

[JShare87]

Thinking about grabbing one. Anyone try out the flip touchscreen one, yet? Assuming cost isn't an issue what is the best Chromebook to buy?

 

[Chaos Commish]

Thinking about grabbing one. Anyone try out the flip touchscreen one, yet? Assuming cost isn't an issue what is the best Chromebook to buy?

Yep, messed with the Asus flip (#4 on list below) long enough to like it but a couple issues stopped me. There's plenty of reviews online, but the processor worried me and the 1200x800 screen sucks enough to be a deal breaker. Love the portable size, the metal construction, the flip feature and the touchscreen. With an intel processor and graphics, a better screen and 4gb memory, I would have paid $300+. Only the display was a deal breaker though.

If cost is no issue the Google Pixel is tops for over a grand. It seems goofy not to buy a mac or windows machine at that point though. Chromebooks have lots of quirks and limitations that I'm happy with for the high speed, low cost and simplicity, but not for the Pixel price. The next best Chromebook is under $500, and it's overkill for the product, imo. I ordered that with the celeron yesterday for 279.

Pretty current top ten chromebooks. That's just their opinion, but I think it's a solid list. After using many these for a couple years and converting several others to them, I've become a resolution snob. Which is a flip from my first posts in this thread. Anything that isn't 1920x1080 or greater isn't for me. I watch too much video for crappy pictures.

I had the HD Toshiba with the Nvidia Tegra processor and got rid of it for the Toshiba with the celeron (#6 on that list). I'm sticking with Intel processors if I can. The Tegra was slow and buggy for a Chromebook my old HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook (handed down to my kid) smoked it. It's being power washed and retired. She gets the Toshiba when the Acer arrives tomorrow.

Peak, if you made it this far her school district and this thread are the reasons I got into Chromebooks. Every class she's in uses google drive or some other website and it's been that way for three years. She completed two summer school classes on the chromebook in two and a half weeks in June. She went to the campus one time. Buy don't rent. These are nice to have around.

 

[Chaos Commish]

116.98 for a very solid celeron at target if you jump through a couple hoops, use the target cartwheel app or sign in with facebook.

http://www.target.com/p/acer-chromebook-cb3-111/-/A-17078785#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=chromebook?clkid=WYH1Ov2lm3Oo01txTyQHUXulUkXzeHR-Nx5GWE0&lnm=79373&afid=Slickdeals+LLC&ref=tgt_adv_xasd0002

 

[Chaos Commish]

116.98 for a very solid celeron at target if you jump through a couple hoops, use the target cartwheel app or sign in with facebook.

http://www.target.com/p/acer-chromebook-cb3-111/-/A-17078785#prodSlot=medium_1_1&term=chromebook?clkid=WYH1Ov2lm3Oo01txTyQHUXulUkXzeHR-Nx5GWE0&lnm=79373&afid=Slickdeals+LLC&ref=tgt_adv_xasd0002

I was getting that for my 90 year old uncle and his 70 year old wife, cradle robber that he is. But I missed the deal, in store only. He uh accidentally put an Ipad in the dishwasher losing a favoriet form of communication with their children in many states. So digging around I found this 4gb touch screen Acer for $127. That deal is dead now but it arrived a few days ago and I set it up for them. Yesterday I delivered and taught the whole famdamily to GoogleHangout. I think everybody happy and I think a few of them will be picking up Chromebooks here. Sort that by price if it isn't already. Solid deals. This is my favorite today, intel, 4gb, 9 hour battery, $128. There's really no excuse not to have one of these.

 

[pollardsvision]

Thinking about grabbing one. Anyone try out the flip touchscreen one, yet? Assuming cost isn't an issue what is the best Chromebook to buy?

The Asus flip looks pretty good. I haven't used that one (don't have much interest a flip screen), but I do like the ASUS C300 quite a bit. It does seem like others have a little better performance and certainly better screens for about the same price (at the time, it was the best deal for a 13" CB).

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

New Dell Premium Chromebook looks rather nice

 

[pollardsvision]

New Dell Premium Chromebook looks rather nice

Not bad. A really nice laptop for the same price as a week's worth of dog food is a steal.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Amazon deal of the day a bunch of intel devices including a few of the more coveted chromebooks.

The i3 Acer 15 with 32gb ssd is $20 less than I just paid for the Celeron with 16gb. Yup, Amazon did the swap and credited me $20. The Celeron was by far the best Chromebook I've used.

The Toshiba 13.3 is sort of legendary for it's beautiful display if you can get past the tiny icons (there's a work around). I just handed mine down to my kid and she loves it. They were $350 when I got it. $184 today is a no brainer comparing it to anything in that price range.

The i3 Chromebox was $189, another no brainer for me and my second Cbox. It sold out very fast. Set up kodi and you have an awesome streaming htpc cheap. I'm adding 8gb ram for $50 so it will have 12. They're normally over $300, I can add 128gb ssd and still be under the usual asking price. Sweet.

eta sorry Oat, no flip, and I was looking for it...

 

[JShare87]

Is there a PC thread? Looking to get a good PC for cheap. I like the Chromebooks, but I enjoy using Microsoft Office offline. It seems there are some pretty knowledgeable CPU people in here. Looking for a fast, efficient, cheap CPU, around $400.

 

[Chaos Commish]

Is there a PC thread? Looking to get a good PC for cheap. I like the Chromebooks, but I enjoy using Microsoft Office offline. It seems there are some pretty knowledgeable CPU people in here. Looking for a fast, efficient, cheap CPU, around $400.

MS Office online apps have been available for Chrome OS for a year.

You want a desktop or laptop? If lap the Core i5 in my link is $422 and that's a very fast cpu for the money.

 

[JShare87]

Is there a PC thread? Looking to get a good PC for cheap. I like the Chromebooks, but I enjoy using Microsoft Office offline. It seems there are some pretty knowledgeable CPU people in here. Looking for a fast, efficient, cheap CPU, around $400.

MS Office online apps have been available for Chrome OS for a year.

You want a desktop or laptop? If lap the Core i5 in my link is $422 and that's a very fast cpu for the money.

Thank you!

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Is there a PC thread? Looking to get a good PC for cheap. I like the Chromebooks, but I enjoy using Microsoft Office offline. It seems there are some pretty knowledgeable CPU people in here. Looking for a fast, efficient, cheap CPU, around $400.

MS Office online apps have been available for Chrome OS for a year.

You want a desktop or laptop? If lap the Core i5 in my link is $422 and that's a very fast cpu for the money.

I just looked at MS Office Online. It's free in any web browser (you don't need the Chrome OS), and it actually looks like a good alternative to Google Docs. (I find the Google Docs word processor to be okay, but the spreadsheet is really clunky and frustrating. Without testing it out too much, MS Excel Online looks better, especially for people who are familiar with the look and feel of Excel.)

I still can't consider a Chromebook because I really need the full version of Office, including all the VBA stuff. But for people who don't need anything fancy, the online version looks pretty decent.

 

[nirad3]

Welp, it was bound to happen. My "disposable" Chromebook has met its demise, thanks to a sack-of-potatoes (AKA my almost-3-year old) likely stepping on it, cracking the LCD screen. I knew that putting it in the little crevasse between the recliner and couch was a bad idea. :(

Definitely want/need a new one. Has anyone had success with the el cheapos like this?

Or should I pony up and spend $200+ on a better brand name.

I had a Samsung (I think I got it for around 2 bills) and it was perfect for what I need.... but do like neat shiny things with all the bells & whistles.

Thoughts? TIA

 

[the moops]

New Dell Premium Chromebook looks rather nice

Not bad. A really nice laptop for the same price as a week's worth of dog food is a steal.

How many dogs you feeding?

 

[Chaos Commish]

Welp, it was bound to happen. My "disposable" Chromebook has met its demise, thanks to a sack-of-potatoes (AKA my almost-3-year old) likely stepping on it, cracking the LCD screen. I knew that putting it in the little crevasse between the recliner and couch was a bad idea. :(

Definitely want/need a new one. Has anyone had success with the el cheapos like this?

Or should I pony up and spend $200+ on a better brand name.

I had a Samsung (I think I got it for around 2 bills) and it was perfect for what I need.... but do like neat shiny things with all the bells & whistles.

Thoughts? TIA

"I" probably wouldn't, but they may be fine. This is a good read at my favorite related site. The comments are worth skimming too. My concern is Intel processors seem to be so trouble free compared to others and the graphics are less shaky when pushed. Maybe not as important, but I open tons of tabs and need 4gb ram. I have added ram to several devices, but some don't allow it. I have no idea about this one.

I gifted a couple $129 Acer refurbs and both owners not only love them, they practically live on them. Both going strong since Christmas. Both 2gb machines.

Wait! Same price brand new with Intel inside.

This one has an even better processor, 4gb ram, refurbished from CDW is almost always like new open box return, it'll come with $20 shipping, but still less than eather of the above. It would be my choice for the money. A lot of chromebooks get returned because buyers don't understand what they're getting, expecting windows and on board storage.

 

[Ted Mullins]

I have the C720 (the very last one Chaos Commish linked) and love it - processor seems to be plenty for what I do, music, some video, bunch of tabs open at same time. Quite snappy and very little lag. If you aren't picky about screen quality I think it's great, it's all I use anymore at home.

 

[nirad3]

Welp, it was bound to happen. My "disposable" Chromebook has met its demise, thanks to a sack-of-potatoes (AKA my almost-3-year old) likely stepping on it, cracking the LCD screen. I knew that putting it in the little crevasse between the recliner and couch was a bad idea. :(

Definitely want/need a new one. Has anyone had success with the el cheapos like this?

Or should I pony up and spend $200+ on a better brand name.

I had a Samsung (I think I got it for around 2 bills) and it was perfect for what I need.... but do like neat shiny things with all the bells & whistles.

Thoughts? TIA

"I" probably wouldn't, but they may be fine. This is a good read at my favorite related site. The comments are worth skimming too. My concern is Intel processors seem to be so trouble free compared to others and the graphics are less shaky when pushed. Maybe not as important, but I open tons of tabs and need 4gb ram. I have added ram to several devices, but some don't allow it. I have no idea about this one.

I gifted a couple $129 Acer refurbs and both owners not only love them, they practically live on them. Both going strong since Christmas. Both 2gb machines.

Wait! Same price brand new with Intel inside.

This one has an even better processor, 4gb ram, refurbished from CDW is almost always like new open box return, it'll come with $20 shipping, but still less than eather of the above. It would be my choice for the money. A lot of chromebooks get returned because buyers don't understand what they're getting, expecting windows and on board storage.

thx... went ahead and grabbed the refurb'ed Acer. Only $10 for shipping, actually. Out the door for under $150. Now to find some kind of case for this sucker. Or maybe I just find a better place to store it.

 

[BoltBacker]

Is there a PC thread? Looking to get a good PC for cheap. I like the Chromebooks, but I enjoy using Microsoft Office offline. It seems there are some pretty knowledgeable CPU people in here. Looking for a fast, efficient, cheap CPU, around $400.

MS Office online apps have been available for Chrome OS for a year.

You want a desktop or laptop? If lap the Core i5 in my link is $422 and that's a very fast cpu for the money.

I just looked at MS Office Online. It's free in any web browser (you don't need the Chrome OS), and it actually looks like a good alternative to Google Docs. (I find the Google Docs word processor to be okay, but the spreadsheet is really clunky and frustrating. Without testing it out too much, MS Excel Online looks better, especially for people who are familiar with the look and feel of Excel.)

I still can't consider a Chromebook because I really need the full version of Office, including all the VBA stuff. But for people who don't need anything fancy, the online version looks pretty decent.

I second this.

Was planning on switching to Google docs but I just don't think they are as good as Office online. The Google docs files are more convenient to access on my phone but creating files is a worse experience. I am hoping google docs step up their game.

It's odd to me how few people use Office online.

 

[AnonymousBob]

Any further thoughts on the HP stream vs Chromebook vs other?

 

[chauncey]

Any further thoughts on the HP stream vs Chromebook vs other?

I've never owned a Chromebook so I can't compare. I will say the HP Stream I bought in January because I needed Windows to operate a work app has exceeded my expectations. The storage is minimal but I keep most stuff in the cloud anyways. The free use of Word and Excel for a year has come in handy. The screen is not as good as my old Samsung laptop but it is fine for streaming movies and tv shows when I am on the road. For $200 I think it was a great deal.

Only complaint is when I have more than 10 tabs open at once while looking at porn it will crash. For browsing normal websites i can usually have 10-20 tabs going at once with no problem.

When this thing dies or my Office subscription runs out I will probably by a Chromebook just to try one out.