After watching I/O and having some friends attend, and being near market for a new laptop, I figured this was a great time to try something new and expand my horizons trying to stay near that cutting edge. I got the invite for the Gilt presale and jumped on it. Glad I did. No tax or shipping, plus I've been playing with it now for over a week. Friends who attended I/O still waiting ;-) The rickshaw sleeve also was a nice bonus to help me get over the $499 impulsive purchase.
I use android and the chrome browser on my windows machines.
I've been playing with an ipad for a few weeks also.
Boots Quick as per all other reviews.
Seems to me like it's a tablet with a keyboard and without the touch screen.
I've been able to fly around online and do my google docs, gmail, yahoo mail, flickr, watch youtube. Right now I'm listening to music on a thumbdrive while the device is offline (I didn't think that could be done yet). Dropbox working great also.
I've had some trouble getting MS Office items into the cloud from email.
But I haven't tried all that hard.
Really what's most lacking for me, and what will convince me that I made the solid purchase (already convinced I guess, I just need the functionality to be able to solely rely on this device for work and travel etc.), is to get the Remote Desktop enabled. As I understand now, I need IT to install something to our server to allow me access from this device. I'd love to be able to take advantage of some "offline" programs I need for work through the web over the Remote Desktop ala windows.
My wife, of less technical experience and patience than I, has shared some frustration with the chromebook, but I think she's resisting change and will come around. It's different. Different can be challenging but rewarding
Anyway, I was streaming Bonnaroo last weekend through the chromebook - the video/audio was a bit off, but for a live stream it came through well (only I noticed the lag)...was able to plug into my bose doc with the headphone out jack - bonus.
That's my knee-jerk - let me know if you have any questions - sorry I strayed from the top 5 thing - that would have been an easier reply to scan, but........