Number 4
I have got to stop buying Chromebooks. I've said that before, then I go and buy a new one when it comes out and find myself impressed all over again. That's where I am find myself again.Quick Background
After my Cr48 I picked up a Samsung Series 5 in October 2011. That is when my daily driver became Chrome OS. I've been very satisfied with it, although admittedly the Cr48 and Series 5 seemed a bit under powered. Significant performance improvements were made with the Series 3. As a result (and the sweet $250 price tag) they were sold out just about everywhere when they launched. I finally made the Series 3 my daily driver in January 2013 when a hot tip from +Louis Gray helped me find one while it was in stock. h/t to +Melissa Daniels for the emotional support while I searched for it ;)
That brings us back to now. I've been very pleased with the Series 3. It's fast and reliable with good battery life and a nice light weight. Occasionally it will bog on me if I get a bit tab happy, video especially, and it struggles with the Google+ Photos Chrome app (known issue). All in all solid device, meets my needs marvelously. ... but that new Chromebook #toosexy
Why Did I buy
Things that made me think an upgrade was in order:
- screen
- keyboard
- charging port
- modest spec differential
- green
- speaker position
- low cost
All in all not super big deals, heck one of them is simply a color... but, it has a sweet low price tag and they announced it on my birthday (seriously Google quit making me buy my own birthday presents)... so why not? Ordered on launch day. Arrived 1 week later.
Thoughts So Far
A full week in and I'm very glad I went ahead and picked up the Chromebook 11. For me, the speed improvements between it and my Series 3 are noticeable. The OS has a very fluid feel that I did not always get on the Series 3. Speakers under the keyboard are great for video and music. I can pull up a video to share with people and everyone can hear it easily, but maybe most importantly, everyone can SEE it too. The screen's wide viewing angle is clutch. If Chromebooks are "for everyone" then a screen like this is the way to go. Easily seen from multiple angles.
The track pad feels like an upgrade too. Multi-tap and scroll interactions seem to be more easily detected on this new hardware. Video playback will sometimes start with a chop or two when playing back HD content, but it appears to hold all the frames well after it buffers up. I am really enjoying the charging port too, being able to use one charger on all my devices is something many of us have only ever dreamed about. With my current use I'm getting just about 6 hours of continual use out of the battery.
Tests with the webcam show it being about average for a Chromebook at this price point. Good for Hangouts or other some inferior video chatting service, but not much else. I do miss having an SD card slot, but luckily I have a handful of Eye-Fi USB adapters. Still a bit annoying to have to carry that too, but I find I usually just plug my camera in via its USB cable. Which brings me to the Google+ Photos app... it runs smoothly on the Chromebook 11.
Overall I feel like it is a worthy upgrade from a Series 3. It sports a better keyboard, display, speakers, and track pad... and the mini USB charging port is very win.
Questions? Shoot 'em off below!
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