The Cornerplay: Price is the only weapon Chromebooks have against Windows

[Guest]

Sounds like netbooks all over again...just with touchscreens. Maybe Windows 8+ will fix that issue on cheap hardware this time around.

Look at it this way, how many people have one knife in their kitchen? How many people you see writing articles about how a meat cleaver is far superior over a fillet knife? You don't because even though they are similar (they both cut) you don't compare them because one is more specific than the other for what you're doing. If you a butcher you're probably going to use a meat cleaver more. If you're a fishmonger than hey you might get away with that fillet knife most of the time.

 

[at0mic_Mike]

I bought a refurbished chromebook (samsung) and had the same shtty attitude going into it like the author of this little story had. only my experience was completely opposite. my really cheap chromebook is getting all the use while the over hyped windows surface with the dead battery, gathers dust.

 

[ChromeShine]

Most everything is simply wrong here. The review of the Acer is wrong -- there are no other 2.8# laptops I can think of with Windows of OS X. For $799 you could get a Macbook Air, which is the only thing close to being so light and fast. I own a Toshiba Chromebook with a 13.3" screen, a decent keyboard and trackpad - both work fine. It boots in seconds. No, it is not the quality of a Macbook Air, but is just as good, lighter in weight, and has all the ports needed of which a Windows machine would not begin to compare with. Well maybe if you got into something four times more costly, the Windows laptop compares. The ASUS T-100 is a good deal for a Windows 8.1 starter. It is a tablet with a keyboard -- Netbook. With Win 8.1 you will have the full load of virus concerns, lengthy updates / failed updates and well the whole nine yards. I have USB 3.0 ports and HDMI port on the Toshiba -- absent on the ASUS t-100. The ASUS is just not a real laptop. Windows laptops have 5400 spin slow HD and not so great CPUs. Once again, as a price is not object, I would say the Macbook Air with OS X is the best. What they are trying to claim is that Windows has a LIKE product for around the same price -- so far, it is not the case.

So then what is left? The new WinRT machines to come. Oh wait, now we are talking IE browser, with few add-ons / extensions, no AdBlocker extension, and well you are stuck with IE, unless Chrome for Metro works well -- don't really know.

 

[ChromeShine]

I'll just leave this here...



I'd also like to add that just because the other Top selling laptops on Amazon are Windows based means very little when there are very few models of Chromebook to pick from... Meaning sure the Chromebook is the number 1 selling and below are a bunch of windows based laptops, doesn't mean they've even sold combined the amount the Chromebook has alone...

And may I add with no help from salespeople / stores. You go into a retailer, and the kids try to talk you out of a Chromebook, and the machine is not even hooked up to a decent Internet for people to try it out.
If Chrome OS was on Apple -- sold in Apple Stores where they have sales people and decent displaying of items for sale, I think more people would be inclined to try a Chromebook or box. I always have several computers with various OS, so I am not willing to say I could promote Chrome OS as an only device, but if you had a limited budget, OR need simple and reliable Internet access -- it could be an only machine.

 

[ChromeShine]

I see where the author is coming from, Windows laptops have reached all-time low prices akin to netbooks of yesteryear but on much better hardware, leaving less room for Chromebooks to make sense.

However expectations for Chromebooks are low because that's by design. If all you need is a dumb terminal, access to a (really good) browser and cloud storage on cheap hardware, then a Chromebook sounds perfect... until you want to do more, then you are either screwed or have to look for a limited workaround. But that doesn't mean the laptops are not ideal for niche uses or grandma checking her email.

The reason I didn't go with a Windows machine is because Windows is so much more resource intensive than the Chrome OS (again haven't used it myself yet) and at this low price point I know I'll get more performance for the hardware. I just hate when Windows starts to slow down and I reformat my main rig every couple of months. I also hate Windows 8 and I don't want to spend another $100 for a real OS (ie win7). I've got it in my head that the light OS and the inherent security in the Chrome OS will require less maintenance and remain zippy much longer, but again time will tell.

I wish you the best of luck with your new Chromebook, however I felt compelled to say that it's been years since Windows behaved liked that. I've had productive Windows 7 machines running smoothly for years with no need for reinstalls. That's so XP.

You too, best of luck with Windows updates. Be careful and prepared to uninstall as required, or it may kill your device.

 

[Guest]

Also would like to point out that tablets are not in the same class as Chromebooks either. Chromebooks are good portable internet devices that run full web browsers. (ARM) tablets have stripped web browsers that can't run extensions. They make up for this with "apps" that are nothing more than bookmark-ed extensions that are typical altered for touch centric devices.

Why doesn't Windows offer a boot to browser feature or just sell a device with just Windows Explorer on it. Then we can all compare.

 

[ChromeShine]

Price is no longer a issue. HP has a W8.1 laptop coming out at $200

True, it is not the price. It is the performance. Let's see how people like the AMD chip, overall performance of Win 8.1 on this when compared to using Chrome OS on a Chromebook or Box.

As for fitting the needs of the individual, it all depends on many factors. Price is NOT an only factor. Now should you give me a Macbook Air for the same price as a cheap laptop of any sort, of course I would say thank you.

Microsoft is said to be going Cloud first, then criticized the Chromebook as being a brick without the Internet -- which is it. Different day - different Microsoft; perhaps it is.

 

[tonylukac]

I always have used a windows toshiba laptop and this one is 10 years old. Upgraded the hard disk, the memory, and the os to xp pro then vista and even ubuntu for a while like you do with a desktop. Like windows best. Lots of businesses use chromebooks because the genius ballmer wanted everything web based, so who needs windows, even for games? And, you should stand in line at grainger with their 3 second response time web based pos terminals. Microsoft's present genius is to finish off business with a phone os on windows 9 running the payroll and accounting software, let alone cad/cam or video editing.

 

[ChromeShine]

Researchers discover 10% of Chrome extensions could be malicious

Whoops!

You may also someday be struck by lightning, or a meteorite. All things are possible. Get your apps from the Google Store, then pay attention to what permissions are given -- if leery, back away from adding the app.

 

[ChromeShine]

People are buying cheap Windows laptops....... So this is news? The story here is how people buying cheap laptops could instead have bought the inexpensive Chromebook and have a better daily experience with the machine. If you buy a laptop with a 5400 spinner, it is a guarantee of slow performance. The HD becomes the weakest point, and a weak point it is. In the future, and Windows machine with an SSD drive and hopefully updates which don't spoil the experience, may be a possible, " just as good " laptop. It may even be better in some ways, while not as good in others -- the Chrome OS experience is different, with many good points, and some not so hot items indeed. It DOES do what it is suppose to do, and with little effort and at good speed. The Chromebook just works. Get a Chrome OS device with an Intel Haswell based processor, and you will, more than likely be happy -- if you get what it is designed for and how it works. I am pretty sure people just do not understand how it works, the plus and minuses, and how good it is at doing just what it is suppose to do. I have OS X to do what can not be done as well on a Chrome OS, but this doesn't mean, if I was trying hard to just save a buck, I could not get by using only a Chromebook. It is possible to live with a Chromebook and a smartphone as only tools -- it is NOT the best experience however

For something inexpensive, or an additional device, or for grade school, I think the Chrome OS devices will work just fine. Cost is no object, then go with the Macbook Air -- super fast and all day battery, with best in class trackpad and aluminum body. By saying only price matters, I assume they mean within a couple hundred bucks. Othewise we are comparing Pintos to BMWs

 

[peas]

My hunch is that Techspot published this article because they knew it was controversial and would generate clicks. To that end they're successful, at least in my case

The author can try all day long to compare Windows & ChromeOS laptops based on specs, but it's a futile effort. The truth is that Windows is a fat, bloated OS. Anyone who's had experience with operating systems over the past decades understands why. While a fresh Windows install may be snappy, it can quickly deteriorate and turn into a hard drive thrashing mess. ChromeOS is fast *and* consistently fast, a big deal for the average non-techy user. My wife, who is notoriously impatient with technology, has used the Chromebook exclusively ever since we got it. The heavy, clunky Windows laptop sadly gathers dust in the corner.

Speaking of HD's, at the low end price points, no Windows laptop has an SSD. Thus Windows laptops are more prone to HD damage, since laptops are mobile and all. All the ChromeOS laptops I've seen have SSDs (small, but still SSDs). I never have to worry about bumping it too hard.

The nail in the coffin for Windows was an announcement at Google I/O that ChromeOS will be able to run Android apps. Once that feature rolls out, Chromebooks sales will shoot through the roof.

On the price front, the author didn't say whether the prices he used were retail or street prices. No sane consumer buys based on retail price. People and their money are separated when they see the street price. While a low end Windows laptop might approach the price of a Chromebook, the Windows rig is more fragile (spinning HD), is heavier (or has less battery life, pick one), quickly bogs down after a short while, and is plagued by malware or endless Windows updates (or both). This is reality, not cherry-picked data points.

 

[Guest]

Kinda shot yourself in your own foot.

"You go into a retailer, and the kids try to talk you out of a Chromebook, and the machine is not even hooked up to a decent Internet for people to try it out."

 

[ChromeShine]

Isn't it the opposite though in a certain sense? Google tracks everything you do, to sell ads and also so the government can build a big brother database on you. I wouldnt feel safe if big brother knew where I was at all times, what I searched, read my emails, etc

How do you know Big Brother is not in your attic or basement. Maybe that monitor on your desktop is viewing you. Yes, Google is tracking your visits to my paranoid friends . com site.

 

[ChromeShine]

Kinda shot yourself in your own foot.

"You go into a retailer, and the kids try to talk you out of a Chromebook, and the machine is not even hooked up to a decent Internet for people to try it out."

How so? If Chrome OS devices were presented as good as Apple products in an Apple store, they would be selling many more units.

 

[Guest]

Did anyone notice they are comparing the 350$ Acer c720 intel i3 version vs the the asus t100?
The cpu, ram and gpu alone outmatches the t100.
They should be comparing it to the original Acer c720, you know the one being sold for 200$?
This is bogus...