Anybody familiar with both? Thinking about getting my 11-year-old a Chromebook since his school uses Google docs but not sure which one to pick. Leaning towards the Samsung but only because it is a Samsung and more expensive, that’s got to mean its better, right?
The Samsung one is basically a tablet in laptop form, minus a touchscreen. It’s running an ARM processor, which means it’s cool and light and lasts for a long time on a charge – but not the fastest thing in the world. The Acer one is running an Intel processor that’s going to be noticeably faster, but it’s hot and heavy and battery-draining, and is basically a cheap-ass Windows laptop running ChromeOS.
One is arguably more practical; the other more sexy.
Cool, light and long lasting is the practical one or the sexy one?
Sexy. But yeah, those are pretty big desiderata in themselves, and the Samsung is the one I’d get, if I were getting one.
That said, I know wumpus was really down on the performance of the thing. I haven’t used one myself, but I think a big thing to keep in mind is that performance-wise, the ARM Chromebook is like a fast tablet, which puts it firmly into netbook performance territory.
I can’t in good conscience recommend either one, but mkozlows has summed up the relevant differences well
So for Christmas my wife got the Samsung one as a gift. We each already have a laptop, so we didn’t really need it… but we love it. Like mkozlows says, it’s super light, super fast to boot, and very good at doing what it’s made for. The trackpad is really nice. The only thing I don’t like as much as the rest of it is the keypad, the keys have a bit of a bulbous feeling, but it’s a super minor quibble. We routinely use the chromebook over her old powerful 17" just because it’s so damn quick to use and light, and unlike our tablet, you can actually type things.
Samsung actually makes more than one Chromebook, their Series 5 is x86 based and is the high-end of the Chromebook family.
The one being discussed here by most is the ARM version with the dual core Exynos 5 chip. I’ve got one of those (the ARM version) and use it daily for doing Go programming (I’ve got a full Linux distro installed alongside ChromeOS) and it is an absolutely fantastic device. Highly recommended.
I haven’t used the Acer version but I’d expect the Samsung ARM version to be superior for basic Google Docs using because of the built in SSD (neither is going to be taxed on the CPU, so it comes down to how fast does it boot and such. The SSD-based Chromebooks boot up in like 8 seconds, and while I haven’t used one I’ve heard the Acer ones (which use an old timey harddrive) boot up in more like 30 seconds (of course, 30 seconds is not exactly the end of the world.).
Not even for an 11-year-old just doing homework?
oh yeah, and I was pleasantly surprised our logitech USB mice work just fine in the chrome book. I assumed the lack of windows would mean lack of driver support, but it was plug and play.
The basic HID-modes of USB mice and keyboards should be supported on just about anything these days.
Slightly more impressively, my ARM Chromebook works with my Microsoft Wedge Touch mouse, which is Bluetooth wireless. Syncing the mouse to the device was simple and Just Worked.
They’re fine for kids, because at $200 to $250 they’re the cheapest notebooks you can buy. When she breaks or loses it, you won’t feel much pain, so you can let her take it to school, to friends’ houses, etc.
Google docs is fine for homework, the browser is chrome, and it can’t get viruses.
You might want to consider taking a screwdriver to the webcam. I know I would, if I had a daughter.
That’s because you’re a perv, Stusser. It never would have occurred to me, and even after it you bring it up, I still don’t see it as much of a risk. Anyway, he’s a son, so I guess we can all rest easy.
I wonder why I assumed that. Could have sworn I saw “her”. Anyway, nobody goes after boys?
Of course it’s your call, and I apologize if I gave offense somehow.
Don’t try that passive-aggressive bullshit on me, Stusser, I invented that crap. You know I’m not offended, I’m just baffled. Are you afraid of someone hacking the webcam so they can see an 11-year-old in their pajamas?
I dunno, people get really defensive when it comes to their parenting and I didn’t want to go down that hole.
I wouldn’t be concerned about hacking or even grooming by an adult so much as going on cam and doing something embarrassing and screencaps getting out and passed around school. You read about that stuff happening all the time.
Actually I wouldn’t use a screwdriver because that would look like shit. I’d paint over it with nail polish or something.
You crack me up, Stusser. You’re so earnest all of a sudden. You hear about that kind of stuff on the news but I never hear about from friends or neighbors with kids.
I did a crapton of embarrassing shit when I was a kid. Thank god there was no internet or cameraphones back then to create a permanent record. Shudder.
Well, just to be clear, I saw WILDLY erratic performance on some common websites I visit. It felt a lot like video driver / OS / browser optimization issues more than a fault of the hardware per se… but it doesn’t really matter who’s at fault when I can barely scroll down on a website due to hideous input lag on a device designed to… browse… the… web.
Believe me, I wanted to like it. Maybe they’ll patch it up with software updates, but Jesus, how long have they had to perfect the ChromeOS hardware stack by now, something they have full and total control over?
Jesus man o.O
Leave the webcam; if nothing else, it’ll be fun knowing that stusser goes to bed each night a little more uneasily than he would otherwise, fearful that your son is running a successful underground porn empire from his bedroom.
Anyway, I treat my PCs like I treat my cookware: Alton Brown style. which is to say, no uni-taskers. Chromebooks, with tiny HDs, a browser-based OS, and their looming irrelevance (it looks strongly like Google’s going to push Android more and more at the expense of ChromeOS), just don’t strike me as a computer so much as an unwieldy Blackberry tablet (you know, the one without any apps on it, haha).
Don’t get me wrong; I realize that you don’t really foresee an 11-year-old needing anything more than what a web browser provides, and if the goal’s purely “homework-then-shut-it-down-till-next-time” and the work is only available on GDocs, I suppose it’s the most cost effective option, but it’s just so limiting that you’re essentially locking a lot of potential doors down the road.
If you’ve got the disposable income and mindset to say “I’ll get this for my kid now to use in this class and maybe the next one, and then we’ll get him a real PC or tablet as desire/needs dictate next year,” then sure, I guess go for it. I just can’t necessarily say that I see that as a wise use of money, but it might make sense in a Parenting perspective. Dunno. I’m a vehement non-expert in that field :)
So here’s the thing: The Samsung Chromebook is really just the Nexus 10 with a shittier screen (1366x768 TN instead of 2560x1600 IPS), less flash storage, no touch screen, a keyboard that you can’t remove, no ability to run apps other than Chrome, and heavier to boot.
Not really compelling, right? Well, except that the Nexus 10 plus keyboard is like $450-$500, and the Chromebook is $250. If you look at that and think, “pfft, who cares, it’s only $250,” then yeah, the Chromebook is silly to you. But if you look at that and go, “Man, that other one is TWICE THE PRICE,” well, that’s where the Chromebook has a point.
(I actually am surprised that nobody’s made a pure Android laptop – really, they could take that Chromebook, put in just a bit more storage (which is cheap), put on a touch screen (which I don’t think is that expensive) and leave it otherwise intact, right down to the low-res TN screen – since it’d be fixed in a laptop orientation, you can get away with worse screens than tablets demand.)