Samsung Chromebook Could Redefine the Modern Laptop

The Gadget of the Day Series is supported by the Energizer® Inductive Charger, which brings you the straightway generation of charging with Qi research. Qi is the new universal standard for wireless charging … now that's positivenergy™.

Bottom Line: Samsung’s Chrome OS-running laptop with its 12.1-inch screen and adequate performance is refined from the get-go, quick to set up, hassle-free and easy to use. This slim and simple appliance could change the world of computing.

The minute I booted up this Samsung Chromebook for the first time, I right away become aware of its extraordinary appeal. Specifically 7 seconds afterwards I pressed its power button, I was ready to begin computing.

But wait a minute. This is not Windows, nor is it a Mac. It’s not even Linux. This slim laptop has Google’s new Chrome OS on it, a fast and lightweight operating system that’s tailor-made for the web, and ready to jump all over whatever you might want to do online. It’s really just a Google Chrome browser, where you use web-based apps for everything. The best part is, it all feels so seamless, it makes you wonder why you’d ever need one of the cumbersome conventional operating systems to get things done.

It’s easy to get started. Afterwards entering my Gmail username and password, I was without warning presented with the familiar Google Chrome browser I on the whole use with Windows 7, synced up from the cloud with all my Chrome browser preferences, bookmarks and extensions, and ready to go. I felt like I was home. Total setup time: about the time it takes in addition up a typical laptop.

Part of that setup is a friendly and quick tutorial about how to use the laptop’s touchpad. Just like with Windows and Macs, you can choose to tap to click, or you can click the touchpad, which functions as a button. I especially like the way you can adjust the sensitivity of the touchpad, where it felt such as responsive as the best touchpad I’ve ever used. I’m not a big touchpad fan, although, so I plugged a wireless USB mouse into one of the Chromebook’s two USB ports, and it was on the spur of the moment recognized and usable.

Getting down to some computing, all the Chrome apps that I’ve earlier downloaded into my Google account were sitting there waiting for me, including Pandora, Google Docs, instant messaging client Imo, and many others — some of which feel like glorified bookmarks, during others are more akin to actual applications on a Mac or PC.

Quick activation

After a quick activation, the Verizon 3G network became available, a handy feature if you find yourself in a coffee shop that doesn’t have Wi-Fi. Though the two years’ worth of 100MB-per-month data included with the purchase of this 3G model is too stingy, that might be enough for occasional forays into places where Wi-Fi isn’t available.

What do I think of it? I love it. It gives you just enough of specifically what you need. As the Chrome Web Store fills up with more software and people get more accustomed to doing all their computing in the cloud, the Samsung Series 5 3G Chromebook could change the world.

The Gadget of the Day Series is supported

The Gadget of the Day Series is supported by the Energizer® Inductive Charger, which brings you the then and there generation of charging with Qi research. Qi is the new universal standard for wireless charging. Energizer® has always been designed with performance and responsibility in mind … now that's positivenergy™.

Then why not by a Windows 7 laptop instead of a Chromebook. It browses the web too — and takes about 30 seconds longer should the contingency arise up.

The article recommended that this laptop is good for anything someone would want to do on a small laptop. I dunno about you guys, nevertheless I have NO desire to do any of my graphics, video, or even development work on a small laptop, regardless of it’s power and performance. This is geared towards people who like to do a lot of casual things like dick around on the internet or play games and socialize. Not for people doing real work. This looks like a great alternative for tablets for people who want a little more flexibility yet not the size /weight and price of a true laptop.

The boot time isn’t the only benefit to having a Chromebook, though it is a nice benefit. The main draw to a Chromebook for me is the fact that they’ll do everything I need for portable computing, and I’ll get about 3-4x better battery life than a standard notebook. I don’t plan on getting rid of my desktop PC, however I wouldn’t do that even if I bought a standard notebook. I’ll have access to the full PC experience from home, and I’ll get access to what I want and need in a portable form factor too. When I take my notebook with me to work, I rarely have a place to plug it in and recharge it. Considering a normal notebook will get about 2.5 hours of continuous use, an 8.5 hour Chromebook sounds like a dream. Yet like I said, these aren’t for everyone, and I truly can understand that.

The pricing on this makes no sense

The pricing on this makes no sense. Why buy a web-top for $500 when I can get a fully-functional Windows 7 laptop for the same price? And use all my Windows OS programs on it in addition? a 7-second, no-hassle boot-up is impressive, however not for $500. If they sold this for $200, at the time we might have something to talk about. Yet for $500, I’ll get myself a Windows 7 machine.

Okay, yes, it’s Linux underneath, nevertheless in this context it’s a new operating system, is what I meant. I mean, OS X is as well Unix, Windows 7 is Windows NT, etc etc.

They wish it will re-define it. Give me a break. How in the world do they think that they can compete with mainline manufacturers who can to tell the truth deliver decent power and specs that can do everything this little guy can and 10 times more, including media production/consumption. The specs for the price of this are garbage. Dell, Acer, HP have already invented this hardware- they’re called netbooks, they’ve been around for 3 years. The software is all from a single developer and absolutely dependent on it. I love android and think its a great platform, nevertheless these devices are built off of an in every way different premise, and I personally don’t like it. Too much control. People don’t want to be beholden to a giant corporation for all of their needs, it’s a failed model- don’t like it.

Apple doesn’t require people to use all software they develop and require that they sign a contract with them for their data.

The Google Chromebook sounds interesting

The Google Chromebook sounds interesting. I think, although, that Samsung should have incorporated tablet features. It nearly seems like a no-brainer. It would as well make it more marketable to business people who might use this in a client situation. I would buy this if the screen turned and became a tablet

Is it a joke…I can buy a much more functional and powerful Windows7 laptop for less than $500..and can enjoy not only web, however gazillion more applications..and at much higher efficiency and speed..I mean come on you can’t even play high profile games with it..Do they expect people to play Tetris in the world of XBox..

A Laptop at that price with features… I like to call it “It worth a try”. In addition if ur inclination is to loging to the internet as in the near future as you start your comp at that time this is the best thing money can buy. As well you never loose anything because of comp crash or virus. It all in the cloud…

The official endorsed hardware versions

Off course there needs to be the official endorsed hardware versions. Enterprise and those with deep pockets need those. Nevertheless for Chrome OS to actually take off they need to make a downloadable version. I want to install it as a dual boot option on all my computers. Want to just use the browser, simply boot into Chrome OS. Ten seconds later you'll be logged in and surfing. Need to do something in windows/linux, boot into your main OS. Simple. HP is already doing this with all new laptops and even my 2 year old HP now has their Splashtop OS installed. I don't use it all the time, yet it's handy when I need to get something done very quickly.

There are a lot of great comments listed above with so many different points of view about whether to use it or not… I am one of those individuals that has relied a lot of my computer usage to typically just the internet. I use Google Docs, Box.net, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Google Music, etc.

You guys are in fact closed-mind about this. I’m currently using the CR-48 and from my experiences, it’s fantastic. It’s not for everyone like some people have stated. It’s more for the casual users who only wants to experiment stuff in the web. In this statement, it’s made for businesses and students like me who only needs the web to do their work. It’s as well a complete challenge for Facebook. People ask, why release a netbook when they already have a tablet? So then, Google and Facebook has been going at it. How do you get to know someone? Through Facebook. How do you get to know someone even better? Through their HDD/Cloud. ;)

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