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Pros and Cons of the Acer Chromebook

11K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  Droymac 
#1 ·
The Acer Wi-Fi Chromebook shares the distinction of being the first commercial Chromebook with another model by Samsung. The Acer Wi-Fi Chromebook will sell for $349 while the Samsung model will sell for $429 (Wi-Fi) and $499 (Wi-Fi and 3G capable). I have been testing the CR-48 Chromebook for the last five months. During this time I have come to see the positives and the negatives of this device. The Acer Wi-Fi Chromebook will feature an updated Intel Atom processor which should function quite nicely.

I do think that most people will be happy with this device as long as they understand a couple of things:

1. This will not replace your Windows or Mac machine completely. If you use any programs like Photoshop, then you will still have the need for your PC or Mac.

2. You are probably better off buying the Wi-Fi version and using your smart phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot or buying a Wi-Fi Hotspot from a provider like Verizon or Sprint. That way you can use the web on multiple devices instead of just paying for 3G access on your Chromebook.

Here are some Pros and Cons to consider:

Pros

1. Lightweight

2. Extremely long battery life (I typically charge mine every other day)

3. Pretty fast. On the web I find that the Chromebook loads up really fast.

4. Angry Birds - Yeah, they have added an Angry Birds Chrome web app that lets you play Angry Birds.

5. Sandboxing - You can Google this, but just think of it as a added level of web security.

6. Saving on the Cloud - All your files, etc. are linked to the cloud so you are not having to back up your laptop regularly.

7. Regular updates. Google releases updates to Chrome OS about every 2-3 weeks keeping it stable and secure.

8. HDMI output. This is a nice addition for those who will use this on the road or at a friend's house.

9. Netflix, Hulu, and other video streaming sites are supported finally (they were not in the beta test of the CR-48).

10. Supports music streaming from Amazon Cloud service, Google Music, Pandora, etc.

Cons (or possibly just some Considerations)

1. It runs on Chrome OS only. You can't load Windows or Mac based programs. For a lot of people this means they still need their Mac or PC. This is especially true if you run programs like Photoshop. I use Photoshop and Lightroom often. However, I use my Chromebook for just about everything else. This could be an issue for some, but I still wouldn't give up my Chromebook.

2. Cost might be a little high for some. Since this doesn't replace your PC or Mac completely, this price point is near what a tablet might cost (iPad or Xoom?). Personally, I love the form factor and the fact that I have a full keyboard for working rather than a touch screen on a tablet and would chose this over an equally priced tablet. But I figured I would point this out.

3. Early adopting. There is always a chance that the kinks are still being worked out. With Google, I'm pretty sure this won't be the case. My experience with the CR-48 has been great, with regular revisions every few weeks from Google even in the beta phase. Probably not going to be an issue, but again, worth pointing out.

4. No optical drive. You cannot play CDs or DVDs on this device. You must use the USB port or SD card slot. With Netflix, Hulu, and many other options, this is quickly becoming a non-issue. Additionally with being able to store so much to the cloud and USB/SDHC storage, optical storage is not really necessary as much as it used to be. That said, it is a change you have to get used to.

Well, I hope this helps you make your decision. I can easily say that after trying this out for the last few months, I will definitely be buying another when the time comes.

Cheers!
 
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#2 ·
Honestly I think Google is trying to push us to where our terminals should be, just a way to access and manipulate data that is available anywhere, all the time. For that reason the chromebook really appeals to me, I think Google is on the right track.

That said a couple of these drawbacks are valid, the optical drive is still a useful option and the tablet market is more flashy than this offering, so it may not attract the masses the way I think it should.
 
#4 ·
here's some more chromebook pros and cons i found:

Pros:
Requires Less Resources - Unlike the computers with Windows installed, Chromebook would be demanding less on system resource. Speed is going to be very important feature of the Chromebook. For example the booting time from a cold start to the browser is less than 10 sec. That means users can get to their favorite websites quicker. The Chromebooks are designed to be light and work smoothly.

Web Apps - Every Chromebook can run thousands of web apps, from games to spreadsheets to photo editors - probably everything that you need is out there. Because HTML 5, many apps do not even need constant internet connectivity. The beauty of web apps in Chromebook is that you can get all your apps regardless of whether you are using your old Chromebook or using a new one.

Security - All data on a Chromebook is encrypted by default, so you don't need to worry about the security aspect. Chromebooks are designed to defend against the threats of malware and viruses. All the apps, document, settings are stored safely in the clouds. Multiple layer of protection including sandboxing, data encryption and verified booting are present as security measure. The verified boot is particularly interesting - it does a system recovery if it detects unexpected changes in the non-volatile memory or filesystem changes related the the boot files.

Self Update - Chromebooks are built and optimized for the web. Whenever it is turned on, it automatically updates itself. Users are never prompted for updates. The updates will happen on their own in the background. The automatic updates make sure that the Chromebooks are always fresh.

Cons:
Complexity
- Many small and general tasks can be troublesome. For example, printing any document, though will use Google Cloud Print, is far complex compared to printing through a computer by a printer.

Connectivity - Although, HTML5 can provide offline apps, many apps for Chrome OS still require an internet connection. This can be troublesome in areas where constant internet connections are not available.

Privacy - Cloud Computing itself suffers from privacy issues. Since the data in not in your computer, users have to sacrifice a great deal of privacy.

Price - The Chromebooks are price between $400-$500. This seems quite unreasonable. Some existing netbooks with Windows 7, similar hardware and similar battery-life of 8.5 hours are available for less price than this. Price is a serious issue here. If it were, less that $300, it might be ok but $400-500 seems too costly.
 
#9 ·
I was thinking about this today as well. I have a Samsung S 4G, it'd be pretty cool if I could somehow tether my 4G connection to my Chromebook. I used PDAnet with my last laptop, but that required client software.

I agree completely. I can't even remember when I used my CD drive. I only really use SD cards and USB cards. Chromebooks have got it right, I think.
Right-o. The last time I used my CD-ROM drive was to rip some rare/local CD's that I couldn't find via Soulseek or elsewhere online.
 
#11 ·
In normal people language, "Sandboxing" means that even if malicious software manages to penetrate your laptop, it has no way of escaping (to send information back to the person who created the malicious software). This is where Chrome OS steps in and terminates the malicious software entirely, thus eliminating any threat to your computer/personal information.

Hope that helps!
 
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