About Me/Expectations
I purchased this chromebook after having a wonderful experience with the Samsung Chromebook 3. I was very excited about the prospect of an updated version of the chromebook and when I saw that it had 6 GB of ram—I had high hopes of this being the perfect compromise between its shortcomings (aesthetics and screen size) to gain the advantages that I wanted (speed and weight). I am a college professor who uses the chromebook as a secondary machine to browse the web, manage emails, and watch videos on Youtube. While I do these things I also use a small combination of android productivity apps, either Pandora or Spotify playing in the background, and 8-12 tabs open at once. In the spectrum of chrome users, I believe I am representative of the basic or moderate level consumer. I am familiar with the operating system and have fair expectations of what a chromebook can and can’t do, but I am not a power user and do not push the system with external monitors, complicated apps, or use linux.
Pros
1. Speed: This chromebook utilizes the Celeron N4000 processor and 6 gb of ram. I really think that anyone who hasn’t had a chromebook or hasn’t updated in a while will be happy if they find a machine that uses the N4000 processor. Although it is only a dual-core Celeron processor that doesn’t wow you with its base speed, it has a 4 mb cache. Most of the processors in budget machines in the past generations had 1-2 mb caches at most. This change is one that you actually feel when using the chromebook because this will increase the pace of things I believe most users like such as: switching between tabs, quickly loading pages, and multitasking. The 6 gb of ram is a unique selling point and a really excellent choice by Samsung. Chromebooks usually come in two ram options 4 gb vs. 8 gb with the 8 gb units typically much rarer and unavailable as an upgrade on many units. While they run perfectly well on 4 gb, the 6 gb is a comfortable upgrade. It is impossible for me to isolate how much of the buttery smooth speed of the machine is due to the processor or due to the extra 2 gb of ram from the norm, but the combination makes for a wonderful user experience.
2. Size: The weight of the machine and the form factor are very satisfying. This device adds very little weight to your bag while traveling and for walks across campus, that lighter frame is much appreciated. I enjoy the fact that despite being so light that it does not feel overly cheap; it’s far sturdier than one would expect for a cheap and light device. Overall, for anyone who enjoys the lightweight portability provided by an 11.6 inch machine—this one fits the bill while feeling substantial enough that it avoids feeling flimsy.
Con:
Screen: This is the first time that I can say that on a machine that I otherwise enjoyed that there was a single feature that could be a deal-breaker, but the screen is genuinely that bad. It isn’t because of the resolution because most chromebooks, especially in the budget range and at 11.6 inch screen size, all have the same resolution. It also isn’t because it is a TN panel because the Samsung Chromebook 3 had a manageable TN panel that didn’t break its usability. This panel is just wretched. It has ridiculously specific viewing angles. If you don’t hit it spot on with your eyes then colors wash out and text gets blurry at the top or bottom of the screen. It’s so grainy, washed out, and pixelated that it unfits the device for almost all of my primary needs. The brightness even seems less than the Samsung Chromebook 3. I am just flabbergasted that they selected such a bad panel that feels like a step back from their best-selling previous model. The screen was literally so bad I wondered if I had a defective model, but my experience seems consistent with the limited reviews available for this machine.
Conclusion
This machine was one that I wanted to love and everything that I saw on paper that I believed I would like—I did. The speed is there and the 6 gb of ram cannot be undersold as an excellent choice by Samsung, so I was happy about that. The keyboard was serviceable, which I expected and would have been satisfied with if it hadn’t been for the screen. The screen is just unacceptable at any price point. The speed and smooth operation cannot offset the quality of the panel being used here. You look at the screen for everything you do unless you are using an external monitor and this one is almost guaranteed to give you eyestrain and become an irritating chore to constantly rework the angle of your eyes to the screen and the angle of the screen on the hinge. In my opinion it just isn’t worth it. This might sound like I am overly critical or I am knocking the machine too much for one issue, but an otherwise spectacular experience can, indeed, be ruined if one of the key components used is as bad as this screen. Showroom this model against alternative 11.6 inch chromebooks and you will see what I mean. Don’t select nicer models, IPS screens, or more expensive models; put it side-by-side with other budget TN options and you will see that at the same resolution and same size that the numbers lie and this screen is simply worse than the alternatives. Despite my desire to love it and the excellent choices made my Samsung for the processor and ram combo, the screen panel choice outweighs those good choices and destroys the quality of the final product.
| Standing screen display size | 11.6 Inches |
|---|---|
| Max Screen Resolution | 1366 x 768 Pixels |
| Memory Speed | 2133 GHz |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel Celeron Processor N4000 |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 4 GB |
| Wireless Type | 801.11ac |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 2 |
| National Stock Number | XE310XBA-K01US |
