Is it possible to go without Windows and fulfil all your computing needs using a Chromebook or Chromebase machine? The answer might surprise you! Read the full article here.
Secondly, both Intel and Google have announced USB stick computers - complete computers contained in the equivalent of a USB memory stick or thumb drive. You have to provide a screen, keyboard and mouse of course, and to this end the sticks features HDMI, wireless and Bluetooth connectivity. The Intel device runs Windows 8.1 and should sell around the $150 mark. The Google device - initially manufactured by Asus - runs Chrome OS and should sell for $100 or less. Whilst the specification of both devices is modest, it is sufficient for browsing and basic document creation, with files stored on the cloud.
Such low-cost computers open up a number of possibilities. They are expected to sell well in the education market and in developing countries, as well as to individuals who simply want something cheap and cheerful they can carry around with them. Another possibility, given the HDMI connection, is to plus one into a television to make it even 'smarter'. Laptop prices have taken a tumble in recent weeks, with entry level models from big names (Dell, HP, Toshiba, Lenovo) now available from as little as £200. A typical example would be the Dell Inspiron 15; this has a 15.6" screen with 1366x768 resolution, a dual core Intel Celeron processor, 4GB RAM and a 500GB hard drive. It is priced at just £199. There are some compromises in these low-cost laptops; for instance, the Dell does not have a DVD drive and has the older USB 2.0 rather than USB 3.0 ports, whilst other brands may have relatively modest (slower) processors. However, for someone who primarily needs to check email, browse the internet and work on the odd document or spreadsheet (rather than, say, edit video or play the latest games) these are not issues.
There are several factors in this development. Firstly, it can be considered as a pre-emptive move from Microsoft to head off the Chromebook challenge. Whilst Chromebooks are very limited in comparison to Windows laptops, they are not without their attractions and typically sell for the £200 mark. Sales of Chromebooks are encouraging but still modest, but this move may help prevent further growth. To achieve this, Microsoft have reduced the licensing cost to manufacturers for Windows 8.1. As a condition of this, Internet Explorer is pre-configured to use Microsoft's Bing as its home page and search engine, thus driving advertising traffic. Of course, this can easily be undone with a couple of minutes effort. Secondly, many of these laptops use low-cost processors. These processors are often of the SoC ("System on a Chip") variety, in which the processor, graphics and other functionality are combined into a single chip - less components means less cost. Finally, the exchange rate of the pound against the dollar has improved, which helps reduce the cost of imports such as computers. Not withstanding the comments in the opening paragraph, some people may be concerned that the processors in these laptops are just too slow. The Dell model cited has a respectable dual core Celeron clocked at 1.8 GHz, but other models may have AMD chips running at just 1GHz. The key thing to remember with consumer computers is that the main bottleneck on performance is not the components - it's the 'bloatware' (junk software) that comes pre-loaded on them. For instance, many come with trial versions of anti-virus software and these can run at 90% CPU utilisation for long periods of time. Removing it and switching back to the perfectly adequate built-in anti-virus program in Windows 8 that is absolutely free can transform the performance and perception of the computer. LG have announced (well, pre-announced - the real announcement is not until the CES show in January) the Chromebase. This is an all-in-one device that combines a computer with a screen, similar in format to the Apple iMac. The big difference is that it is based around the Chrome OS. The specification is relatively modest: a low-end Intel processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB of SSD storage. Although this would be largely unusable in a Windows environment, the Chrome OS is simpler and more efficient and here it is fine. The intention is that documents are stored on the Google cloud, so only a small amount of local storage is provided. The price at this stage is currently unknown. Chromebook laptops with a similar specification are priced around £200. Screens - the Chromebase has a 21.5" one with 1920x1080 resolution - sell for £100. There are some savings to be made - only one power supply is required for instance - but clearly some effort has gone into the styling and presentation. Perhaps a price in the range £299-£349 would be appropriate, but we shall have to wait and see! Dell have become the latest vendor to throw their hat in the ring with the launch of their first Chromebook, called the Dell Chromebook 11 (thinking up these names must really tax the marketing departments). It is very much a "me too" type of machine, with an 11.6" screen, 2GB RAM and a 16GB SSD, hence similar to what HP, Acer and Samsung do. Dell are aiming this at the educational market, although there doesn't appear to be anything about it that makes it especially suited or different from any other small Chromebook. The headline price is £159; however, this does not include VAT and once this is factored in the real price is £190.80, which still makes it the cheapest Chromebook to date. Meanwhile, long term player Acer has released their C720 Chromebook. This is the successor to the original C7, but now has a SSD rather than the unusual (for a Chromebook) 320GB hard drive in the original C7. The battery life has been significantly improved, too, but the reduxed machine still comes in at under £200. HP's latest Chromebook - the HP Chromebook 11 (as announced here) is hot. No, really it is. So much so that HP have been forced to withdraw it from sale. Apparently the charger overheats, so much so that HP are also advising existing customers not to use it. Fortunately, a unique selling proposition of the HP Chromebook is (was?) that it uses a standard micro-USB connection of the sort also used by mobile phones and tablets, so there is a good chance that customers might already have a suitable alternative charger for now.
Yet another Chromebook from HP. The previous new model was called the HP Chromebook 14 on account of it being a Chromebook from HP and having a 14 inch screen. This one has an 11 inch screen, so guess what it is called? Correct - the HP Chromebook 11. Actually the screen is 11.6", but we can give or take an inch. The Chromebook 11 is a direct competitor for the very popular Samsung Series 3 Chromebook and remarkably similar: both have 11.6" screens; both have 2GB RAM; both have 16GB solid state storage; both are based on ARM processors rather than Intel chips (in fact, the HP processor is made by Samsung); both are priced at £229. However, there are some differences. Firstly, the HP comes in variety of different colours. Secondly, Google has played a more active roll in its design. Thirdly, build quality is reported as being very good for the price. The case is still plastic, but the internal frame is made from lightweight Magnesium. A particularly unusual feature is the charger. Rather than use a conventional laptop charger, HP use a micro-USB one, the same sort of device used for charging many mobile phones and tablets. This gives the benefit of potentially being able to use a single charger for all your portable devices when travelling. Chromebooks are not yet good enough to meet all your computing needs, but make a great second device or alternative to an iPad for people who prefer to use a keyboard. But with quick startup times, freedom from viruses and cloud-based storage for documents they give a tantalising view of where personal computing is headed. If you enjoyed this, you might also like: http://ctacs.weebly.com/1/category/chromebook/1.html It might only be 4 or 5 months since HP released their Chromebook, but already a new model has been announced. The first one was called the HP Chromebook 14 on account of it (a) being made by HP, (b) being a Chromebook and (c) having a 14" screen. The new one shares these characteristics so it too is called the, er, HP Chromebook 14. However, there are some differences. When the original one was released we said it looked like a regular HP Windows laptop, but just happened to be running Chrome OS (see http://ctacs.weebly.com/1/post/2013/05/chromebook-gets-further-backing-as-hp-joins-in.html). The new one doesn't use an existing case; rather, it has been designed from the ground-up as a Chromebook. The processor is slightly better and so is the battery life, but otherwise the specification is the same: 14" screen, 2GB RAM, 16GB SSD storage. But, it now comes in a choice of colours: Coral peach, Snow white and Ocean turquoise. Or red, white and blue to you and me. It is not yet in the shops, but should be available for the Holiday Season (that's American for 'Christmas'). Meanwhile, the existing model in shiny black has been reduced in price and can be found for £199.99 at the likes of Currys and John Lewis. John Lewis are one of the few retailers that sell Chromebooks. In the opinion of many, they are also a good place to shop at as they offer a 2 year guarantee on computers. But this isn't so impressive... At the bottom of the price tag it says "Don't forget to buy (Microsoft) Office and Norton (anti-virus). Two small problems: firstly, Microsoft Office does not run on Chrome. Secondly, neither does Norton, plus in any case Chromebooks do not need anti-virus protection as they are inherently secure. So, it's either 0/10 on the accuracy stakes or 10/10 on the initiative stakes. P.S. If you buy this Samsung Chromebook before September 3rd (from any retailer) then you can claim a free Samung Galaxy Mini smartphone. Or, buy the 3G version and get the phone AND a year's connectivity AND £50 cashback. P.P.S. Samsung have now extended this offer until September 30th. Google's Chromebook represents a new approach to computing. In years gone by, it was necessary to install numerous applications onto a computer to make it useful.This approach remains valid, but it is also the case that many things can now be done online within a browser. A good example is email; typically, a decade ago many people would use a program called Outlook Express to access their email, whereas these days most people will use webmail to do so. With Outlook Express you could only use your email on a single computer, whereas webmail means you can use any computer in the world as long as it is connected to the internet. Chromebook takes this to the next level. It starts with the principle that most things can be done within a browser, so basically that's all it has. Instead of a relatively large, complicated and resource hungry operating system such as Windows or Mac OS X, it is based around a minimalist operating system that simply runs Chrome, the popular browser from Google. Because it is so minimalist, it easily fits into flash memory and boots up quickly - a matter of seconds. Everything is stored on the internet - the cloud - so there is no need for a local hard disc. And because it's all on the cloud, it is instantly available from any Chromebook. This really is impressive; suppose you've lost or broken your Chromebook, you simply obtain another one, login and there is your entire "world" waiting for you in a matter of seconds. There are other advantages, too. Chromebooks are immune to viruses, do not need updating, and do not slow down or deteriorate with age in the way that Windows PCs do. Of course, there are some disadvantages with Chromebooks. Online applications such as Google Docs are not as sophisticated as offline equivalents such as Microsoft Office. Some activities - video editing for example, are not really practical. Plus you need to be permanently connected to the internet to use the Chromebook (in theory you don't but in practice you do). In many ways the jury is still out on the validity of this approach to computing, but it is a clear indication of the way things are headed. As evidence of this HP - the world's largest computer company - have just introduced their first Chromebook and it is noteworthy on several fronts. To date, Chromebooks have been designed to be small and highly portable and most have 11.6" screens similar to the old netbooks (a good example is the popular Samsung Series 3 Chromebook). But the HP Chromebook is standard size; it looks like a regular HP laptop, has a 14" screen and a full-size keyboard. The innards are different from a regular laptop; it only has 16GB of SSD storage and a lowly 1.1 GHz Celeron-type processor, but this is all that a Chromebook needs. The significance of this is that to date Chromebooks have been perceived as secondary computers, intended for people who are travelling and moving about. However, the HP Chromebook (whilst still relatively small and light) gives the impression of being designed as a primary or only computer for some people. It will be interesting to see how successful it is. |
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