

Review: The ARM-powered Samsung Chromebook - CrankyBear
http://www.zdnet.com/review-the-arm-powered-samsung-chromebook-7000006097/

======
unwind
Isn't this:

 _"It's a reasonably fast, go anywhere, do anything computer [...]"_

taking the praise a bit too far? I mean, it's based on an ARM core, and runs
Google's own operating system. That means it won't "do" much when it comes to
existing applications, at all.

I understand that it's strictly for using the web and maybe other net-based
services, but that sentense from the review really sounds as if it isn't.

~~~
rplnt
Can it do anything at all when Google bans your account?

~~~
thewordis
Google banned how many accounts, in total? Do we have any numbers or
statistics?

I can't put the threat in context without knowing its prevalence.

~~~
ANTSANTS
I'm not sure how you can tolerate even the possibility of being banned from a
computer that you own and payed for.

~~~
rbanffy
Relax. This is no Surface. You can create another account or flip the
developer switch and install your own OS on it. It should run Ubuntu (for ARM)
just fine.

------
jimbokun
"For ports, it comes with one USB 3.0 one USB 2.0 port, and an HDMI port."

I'm seriously considering getting this just to watch video on my TV. The key
question for me is whether it supports espn3/watchespn. I see Chrome support
listed, but not sure if it only works on x86.

~~~
lftl
That's an interesting question. To date the only way flash works on ARM is
through the Android port, and Adobe has abandoned any development on that.
It's interesting that the issue hasn't been addressed directly anywhere.

Even if it is supported I wouldn't buy this if consuming flash based content
is your major goal. Even on the more directly supported x86 Chromebook I've
used flash "works" but only marginally well. It's definitely not a pleasant
experience on lower end devices.

------
thekevan
I love my CR48 but the video is choppy at 480 and above and when dual booting
Ubuntu, I only have about 8gig on the SSD. I wonder it it would be possible to
upgrade the SSD to a 60gig or so. I have seen them for under $40.

~~~
mtgx
That one is using an Atom CPU and a very old (I believe Imagination) GPU. The
Mali T604 GPU inside this chip is brand new, and can easily play 1080p video.
It's actually the only mobile GPU in the market that can support a 2560x1600
resolution right now, which we'll see in the soon to be announced Nexus 10.

------
EwanToo
I've ordered one, at least part in curiousity, because I think the device
probably fits a lot better into my work life than a tablet, and I want to see
how it actually runs.

It'll probably be too slow, and the battery life won't be quite enough for a
full days work, but it's probably got around 30-40% of the functionality of a
Macbook air at 25% of the price (for the same weight).

I won't be using it all day every day, but it'll certainly be coming on the
next few trips with me.

~~~
crandles
I still have the CR-48 google shipped out for beta testers a few years back.
Its uprising what it can do, considering the low-end hardware its composed of.

For web browsing it is great. And if you do a lot of work from ssh, you'll be
fine. With the added RAM and beefed specs, this thing may even be OK at
playing video.

~~~
EwanToo
The reviews seem to suggest it does pretty well for video playback, the GPU
might well be more powerful than the atom one, which wouldn't be hard!

------
jfb
Can it run a useful OS? If so, it's probably worth the $250 flyer to play
around.

~~~
rmk2
This is indeed an interesting question and I would be interested in hearing
more about this, yet none of the articles I have seen so far said anything
about putting something else on it.

Looking at both the Raspberry Pi and my normal laptop, even the standard 16GB
SSD should offer more than enough space for a normal Linux install of one of
the ARM-compatible distributions. However, it would also be interesting to
know whether the SSD can be changed for a bigger one.

Is there any sort of locked bootloader involved in the factory Chromebook?

I'd be thankful for any article pointing me in an appropriate direction.

------
programminggeek
I've been working on a lot of my projects lately on a prgmr VPS and I just
tried out the Chrome SSH app and it's pretty good. I could see and ARM-powered
chromebook with 3g being a pretty good hack anywhere kind of laptop with good
battery life. Of course, the new iPad with 4g is a bit more with better
battery life and could work the same way. In either case, I like the direction
things are heading.

~~~
mtgx
The 3G price of this Chromebook ($330) is surprising. I don't think it costs
even $50 to add a 3G chip to a device these days, and for that $80 they
could've added an LTE chip.

This might surprise you, but this Chromebook uses a battery that is almost _3x
smaller_ than that of the new iPad - 4,000 mAh vs 11,500 mAh. The difference
in battery life between the two is not that large, though (6.5h vs 9h),
because the iPad has a much higher resolution, and that takes its toll on the
battery.

But even then this Chromebook has a surprisingly small battery - as small as a
7" tablet basically. In fact the Nexus 7 has a 4,300 mAh battery. I understand
Google needed to push the price to $250, but I find it hard to believe they
couldn't at least push it to 10h with a slightly bigger battery. Are batteries
really that expensive?

~~~
ConstantineXVI
Keep in mind the 3G model comes with 100MB/mo data for 2 years; you're paying
for the service too. I'd theorize that not being LTE is a way of keeping that
bundled service as cheap as possible.

~~~
mtgx
That makes a bit of sense if they included the cost, but the whole idea
doesn't. Why would I pay an extra $80 on a $250 device, just to get 100 MB's
of data per month? If I was really looking for 100% Internet connectivity
wherever I am, and I'd need a 3G/4G chip inside, I'd probably want a 5 GB data
plan to go with it.

~~~
bryanlarsen
But 100MB of data is about perfect for emergency use. If you're like most
people, 99% of the time you are somewhere with WIFI, but it's the 1% that you
aren't when you really need it. Combine the 100MB a month with a very
occasional $10 day pass and most people would be covered.

------
mtgx
Considering this Chromebook only uses a dual core 1.7 Ghz Cortex A15 CPU, I
found this very interesting:

 _"On the other hand, its score makes it only a little slower than IE 9 on
Windows 7 SP1 on a Gateway DX4710. This PC is powered by a 2.5-GHz Intel Core
2 Quad processor and has 6GBs of RAM and an Intel GMA (Graphics Media
Accelerator) 3100. In short, the ARM Chromebook does a lot more with a lot
less hardware than a stock Windows PC does."_

~~~
JoelSutherland
The "newest" Core 2 Quad is nearly 5 years old. A quick google search reveals
that computer uses a Q6600 which is nearly 6 years old:

[http://www.techspot.com/review/36-intel-
core2-quad-q6600/pag...](http://www.techspot.com/review/36-intel-
core2-quad-q6600/page1.html)

That's a pretty irresponsible omission by the author. It's about as bad as his
claim that ChromeOS is based on "Ubuntu Linux".

~~~
w0utert
Even then, a 1.7 Ghz dual-core Cortex-A15 is not even close to be 'only a
little slower' than a five year old 2.5 Ghz Core 2 quad. With a bit of luck
it's going to be a little faster than a 1.6 Ghz dual-core Atom.

The whole 'review' reads like a paid advertisement, it's a shame crap like
this ends up on the HN front-page. The guy is basically saying you get a
Chrome browser for $249, as if that's a good thing. Because "it's the future,
it's going to revolutionize computing". He doesn't mention using the thing for
_any_ other kind of application except internet browsing, then concludes with
the following brilliant quote:

>> This Chromebook represents the true future of the PC. It's cheaper than any
device that's remotely comparable to it be it tablet, laptop or any of the
hybrids. It depends not on the local computer but on network services to get
things done. Today, that motto has been made reality in my hands by Google and
Samsung with the ARM Chromebook. This really does change everything.

Give me a break... :-/

~~~
watty
> The guy is basically saying you get a Chrome browser for $249, as if that's
> a good thing.

I think it's a good thing, and I bought one. I was lucky enough to receive a
CR-48 which completely changed my opinion on a chrome-only computer. I also
own an older iPad and HP Touchpad (running ICS) yet both of them are sitting
on my desk with drained batteries. For some reason I found myself reaching for
the CR48 when on the couch or traveling. Yes, tablets were fun for gaming on
planes but other than that I preferred the full browser experience w/ a
keyboard. I use it for browsing, email, and basic dev work using ShiftEdit and
occasionally Chrome Remote Desktop. I'm not saying it's superior - some people
prefer different devices.

~~~
w0utert
Just out of curiosity: how do you use it while traveling? Without network
connectivity the thing is basically unusable right?

Just looking at 2-year 3G plans with at least 1GB data limit and no bandwidth
restrictions, the value proposition of a Chromebook is not so great anymore.
For the price of the 3G plan alone I could almost buy a new MacBook Air.

~~~
watty
I can only think of one instance in two years I've owned it when I needed to
get online but didn't have internet access. I used offline gmail to respond to
a few emails so not a big deal.

The CR48 has built in 3G but I decided against buying the $330 one and paying
for a plan and will instead use my phone to tether when needed. I use FoxFi
for free tethering and it's worked surprisingly well. I don't travel often -
and wifi + occasional tethering is good enough for me.

