Advise on getting Chromebook

[maayub15]

Hi all,

I'm looking to get a chromebook for my sister as part of her school curriculum (she's doing sec 2 btw), within the range of $200 to $400. It will mainly be used for her school assignments and project work.

Anyone with experience with chromebooks can provide your inputs as well as suggest good place to get them.

Thank you

 

[Intrinion]

Hello! Would like to suggest a hybrid windows tablet instead

HardwareZone Forums app

 

[watzup_ken]

Personally, I feel Chromebooks are no longer good for value. If you look around, you can easily get a low end laptop running Windows 10 for a low price, which kind of negate the benefit of cheap Chromebooks.

Also, I feel Chrome OS is pretty limited in terms of functionality as compared to Windows. You can try it out first before you jump onto the idea of a Chromebook. Even though a Chromebook is cheap, if you try and don't like it, good chance its a waste of you money.

 

[Intrinion]

adding on to what watzup_ken has said, when it comes to probably school projects and such, using web-based office suites for projects - such as google docs & slides does screw up alignment and layouts when exported to docx and pptx formats.

 

[maayub15]

adding on to what watzup_ken has said, when it comes to probably school projects and such, using web-based office suites for projects - such as google docs & slides does screw up alignment and layouts when exported to docx and pptx formats.

Agree with your points... the school is mainly utilising the google apps in place of the office suites, and everything is stored in the cloud.

Another point to bring out is the battery life.... the school is needing at least 6 hours of continuous battery life for usage and also to ensure that the system bootup is quick... perhaps you could advise of a good windows based system with a good battery life and also affordable..i came across the lenovo ideapad 100s... Any thoughts on it vs the chromebook?

 

[Intrinion]

Agree with your points... the school is mainly utilising the google apps in place of the office suites, and everything is stored in the cloud.

Another point to bring out is the battery life.... the school is needing at least 6 hours of continuous battery life for usage and also to ensure that the system bootup is quick... perhaps you could advise of a good windows based system with a good battery life and also affordable..i came across the lenovo ideapad 100s... Any thoughts on it vs the chromebook?

IT show's coming right up - 10 to 13 March, Suntec City Convention Center.

I'm sure that they would have certain deals in stored for your price range - tip: Reject all freebies and ask for best price.

Personally I have an Asus Hybrid Tablet / Netbook - a T100CHI variant. Got it at $399 during the recent SITEX show in Nov-Dec. It performs adequately well - Core Atom Z3735, FHD display, Active Stylus for writing notes on, pretty good battery life (not to 6 hours worth, but 4 hours?) -however it does lag when battery level gets low.

Hybrids are pretty hot on the market right now, and from how I see it, prices would be competititve with different OEMs trying to catch a slice of the market. What this means for the consumer like you and me, would be better specifications and prices..

Cheers.

 

[denilson]

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-CB35-B3340-Chromebook-Celeron-HD-Screen/dp/B00N99FXIS

 

[maayub15]

Thanks for the advice and suggestion, Intrinion.....I'll have a look.

 

[watzup_ken]

Yeah, I think considering that the IT show is quite close, it may be worthwhile to check it out before making a decision to purchase. I believe at around 500 bucks, you should be able to get a laptop with good specs. Battery life is not something I can guarantee you though. Those Bay trail/ Cherry Trail laptops should last quite awhile for light usage, i.e. school work, surfing net, etc. Though the limitation is with the 2gb ram which is usually not upgradeable.