Samsung releases two searies of Chromebook and Chromebox (< Desktop). Prices? $329 for Series 3 Chromebox and $449 for Series 5 550 Chromebook. It is best to get Google services Gmail, Gdrive, YouTube, Google Docs and Google Play and more.
“With this generation, we’re addressing speed seriously,”
said Sundar Pichai, the SVP in charge of Chrome and Google Apps.
People who use iTunes, Skype, Adobe’s Software, Spotify, Portal 2 and more that runs locally on Win or OS X; Chrome OS hasn’t that level of compatibly yet and its not depend on how fast the hardware are there! But don’t take Chrome OS lightly because Web is spreading and loading everyday with new apps; Apps are taking more advantages on internet and Google Chrome OS gives them a broad platform. Though Google has mentality to dump any projects if it is not seemed to be going well, here in case of Chrome OS Google is investing for long race. So it may gonna improve series by series.
“Last year, we seeded the market and didn’t put marketing behind it,” Pichai said. Now, though, “we will be louder. We want more people to be aware of it.”
“We are deeply incorporating touch so if people want to ship something with a touch screen, we can do that as well,” Pichai said. “If you’re an Android phone or tablet user, a Chromebook will work much better than a Windows or Mac-machine for you.”
Opening big files like with 18K words in Google Docs was such painful in previous-generation Samsung Chromebook but now they open faster and synchronized with typing. Chromebooks have been developed with the vision toward mobile computing but it could be useful for Schools, Libraries, Call center and other corporate environments where there is no need of full-featured systems. And for those customers there is Google’s special subscription package which costs retail price + $150 which gets its their customers The Administration tools, Hardware Warranty and Lifetime support + 24hrs phone support.
Chrome OS 19.x and its changes has been implemented in this new Chromebooks. Interface with windows those are re-sizable and hardware-accelerated graphics in situations like scrolling, zooming in or out etc.
The first version of Chrome OS was just like a browser which couldn’t be minimized and its environment is like personal computer. Chromebook and Chromebox is different. Main difference is screen size. Chromeboxes have to plug into big monitor. In addition Google decided to write its own trackpad software driver and it has very good output.
Missing Things
Bad thing about Chrome 20.x which is currently in developing mode is “Incomplete GDrive Integration”. In two ways you can synchronize with GDrive files one is through browser and drive.google.com and another way is by accessing Chrome OS File Manager with shortcut Ctrl+M.
On How updates will be done Pichai said
“With Windows Vista and Windows 7 and Windows 8, there are year-and-a-half changes,” Pichai said. WIth Chromebooks, “all the improvements are there with you. It’s not like you have to use a coupon or upgrade. It’s a continual improvement model.”
and one more thing
“I think people are underestimating where we can be a year from now,” Pichai said.
There is a good feature of silent and continual update process but we can not deny the use of offline apps. Yes, there is a version of 3G enabled Chromebook costs $549 (+ data transfer fees) though you’ll lose your connection with virtual world on trains and planes. So it is better to have offline fun.
“We’ve taken our time to get there, but that was a big goal: making sure people can be productive offline,” he said. “It’s really, really fast. It has a local store, syncs data in the background, and works really well.”
And for those who still needs to access their PC software is the Chrome Remote Desktop Extension which allows users to get into the authorized computer over a network. It seems promising but beta is not reliable enough though. It has strong support of Google Drive and that shows potential, because you can use Photoshop remotely to manipulate photo stored in Google Drive and it will be there automatically on your Chrome OS machine after synchronization.
Google says it has 6 hours of battery life. It warns battery of your machine goes down and if you keep using it, it goes blank. But magical thing is that since work is likely taking place in the cloud, you can get the point where you left it just by reloading tab after restarting system.
New systems start up very quickly upto the logon screen. Though reloading tabs, if you have dozens of them take some time.
At the end, conclusion is Chrome OS machines have few limits but as it works on concept of cloud computing and Google is seemed to be firm on their development, there are chances to get success with Chrome OS devices.
