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Chromebooks - latest news and discussion

Long shot, but does anyone have a spare charger for the ASUS C100PA 10.1 inch Chromebook Flip?
 
I've thought that the voice recognition in google docs was pretty impressive and have been surprised that it wasn't baked into Gmail. At home at watching my Dad very slowly send an email, I had a look online and found a simple extension that adds it.

He's in his 70s and is currently talking to his Chromebook to send an email to a friend. :)
 
acer-chromebook-tab-10-1_575px.jpg


Just as Apple try to regain all their lost ground in the education market with a cheaper iPad, out comes a Chromebook tablet.

Acer Announces Chromebook Tab 10: A Tablet Running Google’s Chrome OS
 
chandlerp said:
Android is open source though so Google will be wanting this one for themselves.
Click to expand...

Can't anyone make a Chromebook then or do they pay Google for the privilege?

Read over of the register that it can be managed like a schools other chromebooks, whereas Android is a bit more a nightmare on mass, so makes a bit more sense.
 
UnderAnOpenSky said:
Screen looks lovely. Seems odd that Google would support two OSs on tablets.
Click to expand...
I would say that Android happens to be capable of running on tablets. I wouldn't call what Google does "supporting" it. They can't even bother to make all of their own apps tablet-aware, let alone provide decent hooks for third parties.
 
I believe its been rumoured for years that whilst Google dont plan to outright merge chromeOS and Android at this stage, they are interesting in exploiting the overlap and we've already seen things like android apps running on ChromeOS. In this context, the ChromeOS tablet is not surprising, especially as Google know that android tablets, despite successes at various moments, havent really delivered a huge platform with the sort of momentum and foothold that Google would have wanted.
 
Good piece here.

The company guarantees a Chromebook will receive updates for up to seven years after it's first released.

Even the CR-48, the first Chromebook that was shipped out only to invited testers, continued to get updates up until last May. That's a stark difference from millions of outdated devices that no longer receive needed security updates.

More than 90 percent of Chromebook users are using the latest versions of software, according to Google.

Liu said if there are any security flaws that need an urgent patch, Google is able to roll out the fix within 48 hours. The updates also happen in the background, thanks to a new process Chrome OS started in 2017.

Instead of asking users to install the updates, Drewry said, Chrome OS has two copies of what's running, a Version A and a Version B. Whenever a new update comes, it happens on Version B, and once everything is ready, the Chrome OS loads up the updated version at the next reboot.

"It's something that they don't ever have to think about," Liu said. "It just happens."
Click to expand...

How Google's Chromebooks became the go-to laptop for security experts
 
elbows said:
I believe its been rumoured for years that whilst Google dont plan to outright merge chromeOS and Android at this stage, they are interesting in exploiting the overlap and we've already seen things like android apps running on ChromeOS. In this context, the ChromeOS tablet is not surprising, especially as Google know that android tablets, despite successes at various moments, havent really delivered a huge platform with the sort of momentum and foothold that Google would have wanted.
Click to expand...

Edit: Too many tabs open and replied to wrong thread.
 
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Good piece here about the C302 which is now my main laptop and an absolute bargain for £400-ish.

nexus2cee_DSC01504.jpg


Are Chromebooks for everyone? Absolutely not, but they don't have to be. The ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 is a great laptop for people that can do without legacy desktop applications, or anyone looking for a secondary computer. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of more expensive laptops, but it's fast and has great battery life. It's also built to last - I should know, I've had it for a year.

While the Pixelbook is still unquestionably the best Chromebook money can buy, the C302 is perhaps the best value Chromebook. More than that, it might be one of the best value laptops period.
Click to expand...

ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 long-term review: The laptop that brought me back to Chrome OS
 
cybershot said:
I still think £400 for a Chromebook compared to a Windows laptop for around the same price is ludicrous.

I mean, this is same price from Currys! : HP 14-bp070sa 14" Laptop - White and there's Lenovo Yogas for around the same price, although without SSDs.
Click to expand...
Try spending some time using those machines and see which one you prefer using.

My Chromebook is miles faster than my high spec'ed Lenovo Thinkpad and a shitload less hassle to run/update/maintain/boot up etc.
 
cybershot said:
I still think £400 for a Chromebook compared to a Windows laptop for around the same price is ludicrous.

I mean, this is same price from Currys! : HP 14-bp070sa 14" Laptop - White and there's Lenovo Yogas for around the same price, although without SSDs.
Click to expand...

Cheap Windows laptops are shit though. If I had a proper budget I'd have stuck with Windows, but my Chromebook has totally exceed my expectations and gets used far more then I ever imagined. I'd still not like it as my only PC for many reasons, but it feels like lovely hardware on a budget..
 
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Yeah, but £400 Windows laptops aren't cheap. I bought the Mrs a Yoga for less than that. It boots in under 10 seconds, I've never seen it be slow at anything, and the joy of a proper branded machine is that the updates are actually tested on them before they go out in the wild. As opposed to one ChromeOS update that borked the boy's Chromebook until we figured out how to boot from the alternate image it very fortunately keeps. At £400, you've left the "HD Ready" nonsense and spinning disks behind and are getting a proper machine.

At that price level, it comes down to whether you prefer to work on ChromeOS or Windows. The other advantages that Chromebooks have at lower price points evaporate. I like Chromebooks, but I'd buy the cheaper Yoga again in a heartbeat over a £400 Chromebook. (Though a large part of that is just finding a 14" form factor easier to work on than a 12" one)

Editing to say that really I blame Toshiba abandoning the PC market for the broken ChromeOS update. But I do expect better from a closed ecosystem.
 
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That is tempting... Do you work for Satan or something, Ed? :)

That being said, the original price was a bit ludicrous for something with the same general specs as the Amazon Fire 10".
 
Chz said:
That is tempting... Do you work for Satan or something, Ed? :)

That being said, the original price was a bit ludicrous for something with the same general specs as the Amazon Fire 10".
Click to expand...
This is the new Flip and it's way more versatile and productive than the Fire.
 
editor said:
This is the new Flip and it's way more versatile and productive than the Fire.
Click to expand...
I don't disagree, but they were selling something with similar internals, with a worse screen in exchange for a keyboard, for 250% of the price. £300 was a bit of cheek. The ChromeOS tablet that's launching has the exact same internals, double the storage, and a vastly better screen in exchange for the keyboard and that's going for ~£280.
 
editor said:
Currys are selling the updated Asus Flip Chromebook for £199 - which is £100 off its regular price and an absolute bargain. It's a bloody brilliant travel/everyday laptop. I can't recommend it enough.

c101_02.jpg


c101_11.jpg

c101_04.jpg




ASUS C101 10.1" 2 in 1 Chromebook - Silver

ASUS Chromebook Flip C101PA | 2-in-1 PCs | ASUS United Kingdom
Click to expand...

For anyone who is tempted you can also claim 10% cash back from curry’s this weekend on quidco. Those that have used quidco thou will know it takes several weeks (sometimes months) to get that cash back.

Then you have to remember to log into quidco and tell them to pay you. :D

Also don’t forget you’re also selling your soul to google at the same time. So there’s that hidden price too.
 
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Chz said:
I don't disagree, but they were selling something with similar internals, with a worse screen in exchange for a keyboard, for 250% of the price. £300 was a bit of cheek. The ChromeOS tablet that's launching has the exact same internals, double the storage, and a vastly better screen in exchange for the keyboard and that's going for ~£280.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure that the Fire had an artificially low price to bolster Amazon's market reach. But the build on a Flip is superb.
 
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