July 12, 2013
Now I've had the Chromebook for a couple of weeks, and I have a few more observations about it. I've gone ahead and given it another star, up to five stars, because, well, it has still been a joy to own.
When last you read me, my MacBook Pro was in the shop because I had worn out the space bar. I lived with the Chromebook exclusively for just one weekend, while house sitting and traveling around, and it did not fail me. Not one bit. I have to admit, it was great to get the Mac back, but I am still using the Chromebook every day in addition to the Mac. They overlap in purpose some of the time, but the ability to multitask with *two* computers has been truly fun for this geeky gal. I was finally able to "let go" of my old HP netbook, too, and give it to another good home. The Chromebook is a VAST improvement over that machine, to the point that I would tell people to consider it over any other type of netbook on the market.
With its lighter weight, the Chromebook is very much easier to haul around with me in my messenger bag. In fact, I have taken it exclusively on a couple of short road trips recently, preferring it for travel to the much heavier Mac. It takes less space for carrying and for setting up, so it's become my top "travel" computer.
Though the specs say it does not have a fan and it stays cool, I can tell you now from experience that the center bottom of the machine, under the numbers and top row of letters, does get warm when watching movies online. However, it has never gotten uncomfortably or dangerously warm, even with hours and hours of streaming Netflix or Amazon Instant Video. Usually, when I feel I am abusing it a bit too much (e.g. I have it sitting on a pillow, tsk tsk!) I will move it to a laptop desk or to a surface that is less heat-reflective. So far, the machine hasn't tried to get back at me for this abuse.
I am loving the convenience of Google Drive. Gone are the days of digging out the thumb drive to transfer files. I just save them to the Drive on either machine and voila, I have files accessible on both. Yay, The Google.
In environments without wireless internet, I have tethered the Chromebook via my very old Android phone and the resident tethering capabilities under Wireless & Network Settings with no problem. When you do open the machine and there's no wireless readily available, it will tell you that apps are not available (including Chrome). I have yet to explore any of the "offline" apps for writing emails etc. that Google provides for the Chromebook. Maybe that'll be this week's exploration.
I do wish the keyboard was backlit. I am a touch typer almost 100% of the time, but often have to look at the keyboard to enter numbers or passwords, so if I am trying to do that in a darker environment, I have to lean the screen toward the keyboard to light it up. That's a hassle I got used to on my old netbook. When I just have to see the keys to write, I simply switch back to the Mac, with its backlit keyboard.
All in all if I only had to have ONE computer, I would prefer the Mac, but like I said, I am using both machines every day at this point, and use them both equally for writing, email, and web browsing. There is a marked difference in certain small things between machines, but overall, the differences are not jarring.
I stand by my original last sentence in my previous version of the review. As a consumer-level user of computers, the Chromebook is still a seamless and user-friendly machine that I would recommend to anyone who is already tied to The Google and doesn't need a CD/DVD drive.
*****
June 29th, 2013
I've only had the Chromebook for less than one day, so I am not quite ready to rate it five stars. I don't know it well enough yet. I ordered it yesterday and it was here within 24 hours with the little bit extra I paid for fast shipping (less than $10). That meant that for me, it's already a lifesaver, as I write a LOT in any given day. My MacBook Pro had to go to the shop yesterday for a broken space bar (at seven months young).
First impressions: It's very light, and it's plastic, so it feels very different from my Mac. The keyboard, however, is a delight, especially compared to a netbook. The layout is big enough to type without feeling cramped, and though the keys feel stiff, they are responsive and easy to touch-type on. There is no back lighting, but as I said, I mostly touch type.
One very funny thing I noticed -- all the letters are lower case. Go ahead. Look at the keyboard you're on right now. Upper case letters, right? Having typed on typewriter and computer keyboards with only upper case letters for over 30 years, I am still getting used to seeing them on my keyboard in lower case. It kinda throws me.
I was able to customize the machine pretty quickly and get apps that I am used to running onto it, including some third-party apps that I use frequently. In the past, I have not used Google Docs or other Cloud services; I look forward to trying what Google has to offer with this machine and potentially synchronizing across both laptops.
Not sure when I will use the twelve free logons with Gogo, as I don't fly often, but the 100GB of Cloud storage for two years seemed like it might come in handy. Thanks, The Google!
I also look forward to carrying this machine around as my "going out" machine in the future. The Mac, while awesome, is a bit of a workout for the shoulder if I have to walk any distance, and is a bit much for general coffee shop type work. It's also going to be nice not flashing the Mac around the college town I live in.
I have tried both Netflix streaming and tethering the machine via my Android phone. Both seemed to work well. I didn't tether for long, but the capability is there via the native wireless settings on my phone (rather than via the third-party Android app I use to tether the Mac). I will experiment with tethering when I am out and about next time -- and then check my bill to see if my provider noticed!
I noticed that the speakers on this machine actually sound way better than the Mac, too. If you use it on your lap (which I know is a no-no) there is a potential of muffling them, as they are up front under the case.
I will try to come back and update if I get anything more specific/technical to say about this machine, or if any of the things I like so far get better or get worse. I'd say all in all, if you really don't need a CD/DVD drive, and spend most of your time online and can stand to write either online or in Google Docs, this could turn your portable world around. Your shoulder will thank you, too!
| Standing screen display size | 11.6 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1366 x 768 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1366x768 |
| Processor | 1.7 GHz Exynos_5000_Series |
| RAM | 2 GB DDR3L SDRAM |
| Memory Speed | 1333.00 |
| Hard Drive | 16 GB SSD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel Integrated Graphics |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 2 GB |
| Wireless Type | 802.11a/b/g/n |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 1 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 6.3 Hours |
