DaemonPremium
join:2003-06-29
San Francisco, CA Reviews:
 ·webpass.net
 ·AT&T U-Verse
 ·Comcast
| reply to haroldo
Re: The $199 iPad killer? Yes, but they use the standard desktop PC metaphor, so a grandparent would already have to be familiar with how to use a web browser, meaning they'd already have a computer. If I had to help someone entirely new to computers use one, I'd go with an iPad because the icons and app names make it so easy to know which app does what. My grandparents would choose a chromebook because they find iPads frivolous, but they've been using computers for decades.
I admit, I don't really understand chromebooks. My impression is that google thinks many people are buying iPads because they actually want a very small very easy to use laptop. Microsoft has this same idea, which is why they made Surface. I'm not sure people bought iPads because the computer they really wanted doesn't exist.
Surface, though the ads are hip and colorful, is really targeted toward a business traveler who travels a lot and needs to get real work done while mobile. That's kind of a niche and it's not clear to me that Windows 8 is really fully baked and ready to go for that kind of usage, but at least Microsoft's target market is obvious to me. (Note: the hardcore Apple evangelists will tell you that you can get real work done on an iPad--creative work yes, but corporate work requires a keyboard, a number pad, and all of the advanced functions in Word and Excel. Pages and Numbers just don't cut it)
If cheap is really what you are after, and you really do want a keyboard, then a chromebook makes sense I guess. I don't know anyone who really just wants an exceptionally cheap laptop, though.
For new computer users or little kids, a tablet makes more sense to me and you can get Android tables for $199 these days.
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-Ryan
I use Linux, OS X, iOS and Windows. Let the OS wars die. |
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 haroldo
join:2004-01-16
united state
kudos:1 | OT...spoke to a woman (Apple user) who played with the Surface...and loved it |
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Reviews:
 ·AT&T Southwest
| reply to Daemon
I have not had a chance to play with one but, over the years, I long suspected this was coming. Chromebook will tie you into the internet, "the cloud" if you have to, making it easier to connect and find your data and information without needing to be tied down by a desktop. Google products allow all this since Chromebook will be what is called a "thin client" and Google's servers become your desktop. Essentially, this is what Unix and mainframe computers have been doing since forever.
Using Chromebook means using Google products and services which helps Google sell ads and products, not unlike Apple or Microsoft at all but, unlike those, you can snap your Chromebook in half, buy a new one, and continue where you left off in mid-sentence. Brilliant!
But I have no idea how well Chromebooks do all that because, as I said, I haven't handled one yet. I do know that all my settings and bookmarks are on all my Chrome devices, as are my docs. |
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 rjackalPremium
join:2002-07-09
Plymouth, MI | reply to haroldo
Sure, but would she buy one and use it everyday as the 'daily driver', so to speak? |
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 DrModemPremium
join:2006-10-19
USA
kudos:1 | Chromebooks are not an ipad killer. They are way too limited even for a light user. They are also not a pricing advantage, as you can get a nexus 7 for the same price, and have a greatly more capable device. |
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haroldo
join:2004-01-16
united state
kudos:1 Reviews:
·Comcast
| reply to rjackal
said by rjackal:Sure, but would she buy one and use it everyday as the 'daily driver', so to speak?
Nope! |
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DaemonPremium
join:2003-06-29
San Francisco, CA Reviews:
·webpass.net
·AT&T U-Verse
·Comcast
| reply to DrModem
said by DrModem:Chromebooks are not an ipad killer. They are way too limited even for a light user. They are also not a pricing advantage, as you can get a nexus 7 for the same price, and have a greatly more capable device.
This is basically my thinking. The chromebook is a broken laptop with most of the functionality removed. I'd rather have a full-featured tablet at the same price.
--
-Ryan
I use Linux, OS X, iOS and Windows. Let the OS wars die. |
|
Reviews:
·AT&T Southwest
| said by Daemon:The chromebook is a broken laptop with most of the functionality removed.
What functionality was removed? |
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