Samsung Series 5 ChromeBook Review Discussion

[Jerry Jackson]

The Samsung Series 5 ChromeBook is the first netbook alternative on the market to use the Google Chrome operating system rather than a more traditional OS like Windows. Based in no small part on the Google Cr-48 prototype notebook that we previously reviewed, this 12-inch thin and light laptop offers two years of free Verizon 3G access for the one-time purchase price of $500. Is this a good deal or is the ChromeBook just "a web browser in a box?"

Read the full content of this Article: Samsung Series 5 ChromeBook Review

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[TSE]

Is there a remote desktop browser-based client?

I could see these being a hit if there is a reliable one. The build quality and battery life seems pretty good, but I don't see it taking away a lot of iPad sales because the iPad offers perhaps the best "lounge internet" surfer at the moment, and this seems to be what Google is aiming for until they add more productivity apps.

[Steven]

Hopefully there will be an Acer Chromebook review shortly as well.

[MGS2392]

Hopefully there will be an Acer Chromebook review shortly as well.

Well, I can see it being fairly predictable, having ChromeOS being criticized for being almost totally Internet dependent, as it is in this review.

And I can't fault such review for mentioning it. I've had my Cr-48 for nearly half a year, and when there's no cell reception and no wifi, it's a paperweight. But when I do have the Internet, it does its job well. No replacement for my 8730w, but for taking notes during class and browsing the Internet, it does its job well.

[Jerry Jackson]

Honestly, there are only three things stopping me from loving the ChromeBook:

1) Google Chrome OS needs to develop the "OS" side to the same level that they've done with the browser side. In other words, there needs to be better offline functionality so you can be more productive with it even when you don't have internet access. Also, it needs to work better with USB storage devices and "play nice" with whatever files you're trying to access on the ChromeBook. It's unacceptable to be in a situation where I have to say, "Oh, I'm sorry. I can't open that file because I'm using a ChromeBook."

2) We need better wireless infrastructure here within the US if you're going to have a device like this be successful when it relies so heavily on the cloud. If you can't reliably stay connected EVERYWHERE then don't make the OS so dependent on being connected.

3) STOP using Intel Atom and Intel GMA graphics. As much as I used to love Atom for being cheap and "relatively" powerful when it came out, it just cannot handle modern HD video content ... at least not consistently and not without help. Welcome to the MODERN DAY where access to HD VIDEO is an ESSENTIAL part of a web browsing experience!!! If your hardware can't handle streaming full HD video without stutter/dropped frames/or worse, then it's not a worthwhile device for web browsing.

If those three issues are solved then I would fully support and recommend a product like the ChromeBook.

[invisible]

$499 for an atom-based netbook with chrome? Hmm, tough choice there...

[Sphinx]

With all the tablets on the market and laptops not far ahead in price why on Gods green earth would I buy a "browser in a box"??? If I need the features of the chrome OS Ill use my smartphone or Asus tablet...

[linuxwanabe]

The Google+ account deletion scandal hasn't helped the limited prospects of the Chromebook market. After all, if the devices are dependent on a Google account, and your Google accound gets deleted or locked due to the Google+ fiasco, what good is your Chromebook. In just a week, Google has obliterated years or goodwill and made the most convincing argument to date for non-Google cloud services and social networks.

Not that the situation was any better before. The one lesson Google should have learned from the Cr-48 project was that even the most tech savvy users have very little use for a cloud only netbook, even when its free. Of course, the Cr-48 had a lot going for it. It looked like a Macbook netbook with a rubbery ThinkPad finish.....and it didn't have a "Caps Lock" key. Brilliant. Did I forget to mention it was free?

Now we have Samsung diving into the frey with a far less hip device, and they actually have the audacity to charge money for it! Shocking. Well, at least it doesn't look like a Macbook, which is just as well, due to the Apple lawsuit, not that the original 7" Galaxy Tab looked especially like an iPad, either. Oh, and on the topic of iPads, you could buy one for the price of the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook, and although the iPad isn't a PC, and isn't a multitasking device, it sure is more capable offline than a Chromebook.

Hey, the Chromebook concept isn't dead yet, although the first generation Atom based models probably are. Heck, even Google TV might find a new life and we might finally find an Android tablet that isn't a commercial flop. By all accounts, "Ice Cream Sandwich" will combine the Chrome OS, Google TV and Android into a delicious success for Google. Eventually.

[HedRat]

So the problems are 1) the OS is useless offline and 2) Google supply your browser?

Wipe it, install Android (Download - Android-x86 - Porting Android to x86) and get Firefox.

Job done. (shame about the price)

[invisible]

Now we have Samsung diving into the frey with a far less hip device, and they actually have the audacity to charge money for it!

$499 for an atom-based browser in a box is pretty rediculous though. $499 for any atom-based netbook is rediculous.