What's your Chromebook experience?

Those who have bought this new laptop, what are the pros and cons in your opinion? are you satisfied or disappointed?

 

They're cheap but are really only good for general web browsing and document composition. Even Youtube videos can stutter on a low-end chromebook.

 

AS jynbr said its good for web browsing but the its also good for presenting, making documents, watching SD videos and the battery life is long.

 

Just to add my two-cents to this discussion I recently purchased an acer c720 and so far it works surprisingly well for my routine! Found out that Sapling and Webassign work on it fine so far. It plays YT videos fine even with a couple of tabs open. It is light in weight, runs cool, and the battery life is quite satisfactory. While it is not perfect there is the opportunity to increase storage capacity and replace the battery if needed (will void the warranty however so YMMV) that balances out some expected tradeoffs for a thin and portable laptop. There are complaints of the keyboard and screen. I agree that the keyboard is shallow however I have adapted and find it manageable for stints on campus and in classes. The screen (matte) is pretty much to be expected of a low-costing chromebook (no eye-popping colors, non-IPS) however I find the screen surpasses a couple of TN panel ThinkPads I have owned in terms of viewing angles. The resolution of 1366X768 on an 11.6 inch screen also works out well for me. One fear I had was how badly I might have a hard time sans trackpoint but the c720 touchpad is easy to use (two-finger scrolling, two-finger side swiping for forward/backward history tabs, and three-finger side swiping for moving amongst open Chrome tabs). So far one accessory I have purchased for it is a hard purple shell covering. Pretty content with it at this point

 

I have the samsung chromebook 1 and really enjoy it. For web browsing and editing google drive documents, its great. Not fast but super light weight and great battery life.

 

I just got a Toshiba Chromebook 2 (the 1080p, 4 gb RAM model) purchased on a Black Friday sale for $280 (normal price $330). I've seen no performance hiccups at all, and the screen quality rivals or exceeds both my $1000+ VAIOs. The keyboard is serviceable (the keys feel like they're made out of hard textured plastic from kids' toys, but their action and travel is acceptable), the trackpad is better than most, and the speakers are excellent for a laptop. I haven't had any performance problems streaming high-res video or anything like that, but the Toshiba Chromebook 2 has a lot better specs than some of the early Chromebooks.

It's better for watching media in bed than a tablet because the keyboard holds the screen up (you don't have to hold it for the entire show) and there's no fingerprints on the screen. And while some Chromebooks have had very poor-quality screens and speakers, this particular model has good multimedia hardware.

I wouldn't recommend it as an only PC to a power user. But as a secondary PC for a power user--something to do email and web stuff on while hardcore stuff is reserved for your desktop or DTR--it does a great job at a price no decent Windows laptop could touch. And it's a great only-PC solution for your tech-illiterate relatives who just want to do facebook and email--the interface is remarkably simple, and you can't screw it up by downloading a bunch of browser toolbars and the like.

 

My stance with chromebooks is this:

Chrome OS blows huge chunks. Install linux on them or bust.

But the laptops themselves are decent for the price. But since i enjoy windows, the Firefox browser and having 1TB+ of local storage on the go, they are out of the option for me.

But hey, chrome OS is great for computer illiterate people.

 

I've been enjoying my Toshiba Chromebook 2. I got mine for $265, and the 2 years of 1TB storage offer from Google will save me $100 in cloud storage. For this amazing low price I paid, I have a beautiful screen, great keyboard, and decent battery life, etc. I switched to Chrome browser on my desktop and smartphone, and love how easily everything stays in sync. At some point, I'll pick up a good sized SDXC card so I can more easily carry movies and docs with me, but while at home, I've had no need for that.

My primary computer, a desktop PC, is where I do most of my work. There have been a few times when I would've liked some Windows/Office functionality in my laptop, but most of the time, the Chromebook has been perfect. I don't there is a Windows laptop out there with this nice a screen, light weight, and low cost.

I do wish the screen opened more. Right now, I'm laying on the couch and doing a lot of reading with my Chromebook. It would be a bit better if I could open it more, but again, it's okay.

 

I have a Acer 11 and it's a great computer to travel with or keep around the house. For the price of basically nothing on the PC market I have a computer that can work as a productivity substitute and then brows around and youtube to my hearts content. Just wish they had SmartCard support in chrome OS.

 

There's always Chrome Remote Desktop if you only occasionally need to use windows-based software.