The newest entry in Google’s family of low-priced devices running their own home-grown software has appeared in their Google Play online store – enter the Samsung Chromebook (series 3) for just $249. We have our own Samsung Series 3 Chromebook review for you to take a peek at with full details on how this little beast is about to take the student world by storm. By the looks of it though, it’s not just students that Google hopes to be swallowing up here with the price-floor-busting Chromebook: it’s “FOR EVERYONE.”
This device works with an extremely lightweight body and a display that’s by no means perfect, but certainly gets the job done for the average user. You’ve got this version which is wi-fi only for $249, another coming soon with 3G connectivity availability via its SIM-card slot in the back, and a whole massive barrel of Chromebooks out there on the market from the past two years. This is the newest though, and perhaps the most important.
It’s the price point first, then the high-quality build that makes this notebook – excuse me, this Chromebook – so important to the tech world. Though you wont be able to play any high-powered games, nor will you be working with processor-busting video rendering (for now), you will be getting a web-centric machine for $249 USD. That’s a price so low that it makes the masses consider it, even if they don’t need it.
This unit in its wi-fi-only iteration is available now from Google Play. If you want any other version, you’ll have to head elsewhere for now. Chromebooks are not yet heavily available in stores around the world (or around your neighborhood, for that matter), but they are a big enough deal at this point to be ready for delivery at larger electronics stores in all cities – have a peek!
Samsung’s brand new ARM A15-based Chromebook is now available direct from Google at the Play store. The $249 WiFi only laptop was already available to pre-order through Amazon, but now you can go straight to the source, and Mountain View promises to have one of the light-weight machines in your hands within 3-5 business days. If you’re more interested in the 3G-equipped version of the 11.6-incher, you’ll still have to take your business to Amazon for now. Though, there’s still no word on when the $329 laptop will be released. To order this affordable web-browsing machine now, hit up the source.
It’s no secret that Google is aiming to create a whole new segment in the world of portable computing with Chrome, and here with the newest Samsung Chromebook, especially at its eye-opening $249 price point, it appears that the big G will make that move. If you’ve got a need for an internet machine for school, for fun, or for a present for your mother who doesn’t use her desktop anyway, this device might just be perfect. It’s light, it’s extremely inexpensive, and most important of all: it’s a high quality machine. Samsung and Google have made some fabulous strides forward since September of 2011, of that you can be certain.
Hardware
This piece of Samsung hardware is the most basic Chromebook you can buy right this minute, but it’s not the low-quality piece of hardware the price suggests. Instead you’ve got a machine that Samsung and Google very obviously went through a lot of work to perfect, and they’ve taken all the bits from the machines that have been successful in this arena and stuffed them into a quality package here without a doubt. This rings true especially in the keyboard and the trackpad.
The real test a person such as myself must go through to decide if a notebook is going to work long-term is if the keyboard is able to take my non-stop usage and real need to be able to type relatively quickly. With this keyboard I certainly can do both of those things. One of the main reasons for this is that the keyboard is so extremely close in shape, size, setup, and spring to the MacBook series from Apple. It’s absolutely uncanny, in fact, with the main differences being in the special buttons that Chrome uses to execute commands like Full Screen, Back, Forward, and Reload (all of which work directly with the Chrome web browser which is, of course, at the center of your Chome OS experience.)
The trackpad is also extremely nice – the only more perfected trackpad I’ve ever used has been on the MacBook (Pro and Air, the same in the end). You can do the soft-tap we’ve seen running rampant over every Windows-toting notebook here as well, but unlike many notebooks, it’s not something you’ll do on accident. You’ve also got keyboard and touchpad settings in the Chromebook just incase you do want to increase or decrease speeds and such – but you’ll likely be fine right out of the box.
This Chromebook weighs in at 2.5 pounds and is 0.8 inches thin, working with what Google and Samsung say is 6.5 hours of battery life. It would appear very likely that Google has been modest in its estimation of how long this machine will stay active, even while movies are playing and oddities are rendering. Even with the 46% battery left I’m looking at right now, the machine has nearly 6 hours quoted as being left – and the machine has been out and on for at least 12 hours without need for a charge. This machine has some undeniable standby power abilities, that’s for certain.
The display is 11.6-inches large with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution across it, this making for a display that’s certainly OK, but not the best in the industry by a long shot. What you’ve got here is Samsung providing you with the amount of pixels you’ll need to watch relatively high definition videos without making a case for having a display that’s mind-blowing. The viewing angles on this device are also far from perfect, but certainly usable in most single-user situations. You won’t want to use this for a YouTube party, if you know what I mean.
You’ve got a VGA camera built-in for average video chat on the web (on Google+ Hangouts, of course) as well as a full-sized HDMI port for video output. You can connect to this device with 1 USB 3.0 port, 1 USB 2.0 port, and Bluetooth 3.0. Inside is a Samsung Exynos 5 dual-core processor – this is the next generation of processors working for mobile devices Samsung introduced last year and made available here in 2012, only available on this Chromebook thus far. The next-newest after this is a Samsung Exynos 4 quad-core which you’ll find on the Galaxy Note II.
Software and Performance
The newest version of Chrome OS provides you with the ability to download and upload files to storage on your Chromebook – this is one of the biggest stumbling points for people who only know the operating system to be an “internet only” sort of situation. Now that I can download an image from one webpage and upload it to another, I can write articles in a blog – I now have a machine with the most basic set of requirements I need.
Its worth noting that it appears the quality of this machine is above that of every tablet we’ve had our hands on thus far – if only because the operating system is made to handle notebook operations. One should not expect that since this device uses a processor from the Exynos lineup with two CPU cores (two less that the Galaxy Note II) that it wont work as hard on everyday tasks as a smartphone or tablet would. On the contrary – this is a minimally powered notebook with all the non-web elements stripped away – that’s all.
You’ve got 2GB of RAM that will not let you down unless you absolutely push the limits of the device on purpose. If you’ve got 20 or more tabs open, each of them playing videos or keeping up with Twitter feeds, for example, you’re not going to see as fast a performance speed as if you’re being a reasonable person working with just a few tasks at a time. This machine is not made to be a workhorse – it’s made to take care of basic tasks, management of your daily duties, and web browsing.
Access to the entire range of Google services here means you’ll be working in the Chrome web browser – the only offline items here are changing your wallpaper, storing files in your local downloads folder, and working on a calculator. You can also use a Beta product on the machine if you want to go bigger: Chrome Remote Desktop. With this environment you’re able to access your larger machine virtually, seeing it through your browser window and controlling it as if you were there at that other machine in-person – though it’s significantly more laggy than real life, when it comes down to it.
What you’re seeing above is a connection between the Chromebook and a MacBook Pro, both of them connected to the same wireless network. It’s not a perfect system, by any means, and it’s a bit difficult working with a display that’s mean to be much larger inside a browser window that shrinks it, but it’s interesting to say the least. This system is not limited to your local network, mind you, you can do tasks remotely, just so long as both devices are connected to the web.
This is all topped off by the fact that current purchases of the Samsung Chromebook come with 100GB of Google Drive storage for two years. That would cost you $100 if you bought it outright.
Wrap-up
This Chromebook from Samsung is a value offer you might just need to think about, if only because the quality matches the price so very closely. Considering the alternatives start at several hundreds of dollars higher, you risk being called “silly” for not considering the Chromebook in your decision making process in purchasing a new notebook. Where this device leaves off at a price of $249, the MacBook Air picks up – starting at $999.
Google and Samsung have created a machine with a price point that’s impossible to ignore. We’ll be using this device for an extended period to see how “game changing” it really is. Meanwhile, please feel free to let us know if you’ve got any questions about this device and we’ll certainly do our best to answer to the best of our ability. Have a peek at the Chromebook tag portal as well to keep up with all things Chromebook through the future!
It’s no secret that Google is aiming to create a whole new segment in the world of portable computing with Chrome, and here with the newest Samsung Series 3 Chromebook, especially at its eye-opening $249 price point, it appears that the big G will make that move. If you’ve got a need for an internet machine for school, for fun, or for a present for your mother who doesn’t use her desktop anyway, this device might just be perfect. It’s light, it’s extremely inexpensive, and most important of all: it’s a high quality machine. Samsung and Google have made some fabulous strides forward since September of 2011, of that you can be certain.
Hardware
This piece of Samsung hardware is the most basic Chromebook you can buy right this minute, but it’s not the low-quality piece of hardware the price suggests. Instead you’ve got a machine that Samsung and Google very obviously went through a lot of work to perfect, and they’ve taken all the bits from the machines that have been successful in this arena and stuffed them into a quality package here without a doubt. This rings true especially in the keyboard and the trackpad.
The real test a person such as myself must go through to decide if a notebook is going to work long-term is if the keyboard is able to take my non-stop usage and real need to be able to type relatively quickly. With this keyboard I certainly can do both of those things. One of the main reasons for this is that the keyboard is so extremely close in shape, size, setup, and spring to the MacBook series from Apple. It’s absolutely uncanny, in fact, with the main differences being in the special buttons that Chrome uses to execute commands like Full Screen, Back, Forward, and Reload (all of which work directly with the Chrome web browser which is, of course, at the center of your Chome OS experience.)
The trackpad is also extremely nice – the only more perfected trackpad I’ve ever used has been on the MacBook (Pro and Air, the same in the end). You can do the soft-tap we’ve seen running rampant over every Windows-toting notebook here as well, but unlike many notebooks, it’s not something you’ll do on accident. You’ve also got keyboard and touchpad settings in the Chromebook just incase you do want to increase or decrease speeds and such – but you’ll likely be fine right out of the box.
This Chromebook weighs in at 2.5 pounds and is 0.8 inches thin, working with what Google and Samsung say is 6.5 hours of battery life. It would appear very likely that Google has been modest in its estimation of how long this machine will stay active, even while movies are playing and oddities are rendering. Even with the 46% battery left I’m looking at right now, the machine has nearly 6 hours quoted as being left – and the machine has been out and on for at least 12 hours without need for a charge. This machine has some undeniable standby power abilities, that’s for certain.
The display is 11.6-inches large with 1366 x 768 pixel resolution across it, this making for a display that’s certainly OK, but not the best in the industry by a long shot. What you’ve got here is Samsung providing you with the amount of pixels you’ll need to watch relatively high definition videos without making a case for having a display that’s mind-blowing. The viewing angles on this device are also far from perfect, but certainly usable in most single-user situations. You won’t want to use this for a YouTube party, if you know what I mean.
You’ve got a VGA camera built-in for average video chat on the web (on Google+ Hangouts, of course) as well as a full-sized HDMI port for video output. You can connect to this device with 1 USB 3.0 port, 1 USB 2.0 port, and Bluetooth 3.0. Inside is a Samsung Exynos 5 dual-core processor – this is the next generation of processors working for mobile devices Samsung introduced last year and made available here in 2012, only available on this Chromebook thus far. The next-newest after this is a Samsung Exynos 4 quad-core which you’ll find on the Galaxy Note II.
Software and Performance
The newest version of Chrome OS provides you with the ability to download and upload files to storage on your Chromebook – this is one of the biggest stumbling points for people who only know the operating system to be an “internet only” sort of situation. Now that I can download an image from one webpage and upload it to another, I can write articles in a blog – I now have a machine with the most basic set of requirements I need.
Its worth noting that it appears the quality of this machine is above that of every tablet we’ve had our hands on thus far – if only because the operating system is made to handle notebook operations. One should not expect that since this device uses a processor from the Exynos lineup with two CPU cores (two less that the Galaxy Note II) that it wont work as hard on everyday tasks as a smartphone or tablet would. On the contrary – this is a minimally powered notebook with all the non-web elements stripped away – that’s all.
You’ve got 2GB of RAM that will not let you down unless you absolutely push the limits of the device on purpose. If you’ve got 20 or more tabs open, each of them playing videos or keeping up with Twitter feeds, for example, you’re not going to see as fast a performance speed as if you’re being a reasonable person working with just a few tasks at a time. This machine is not made to be a workhorse – it’s made to take care of basic tasks, management of your daily duties, and web browsing.
Access to the entire range of Google services here means you’ll be working in the Chrome web browser – the only offline items here are changing your wallpaper, storing files in your local downloads folder, and working on a calculator. You can also use a Beta product on the machine if you want to go bigger: Chrome Remote Desktop. With this environment you’re able to access your larger machine virtually, seeing it through your browser window and controlling it as if you were there at that other machine in-person – though it’s significantly more laggy than real life, when it comes down to it.
What you’re seeing above is a connection between the Chromebook and a MacBook Pro, both of them connected to the same wireless network. It’s not a perfect system, by any means, and it’s a bit difficult working with a display that’s mean to be much larger inside a browser window that shrinks it, but it’s interesting to say the least. This system is not limited to your local network, mind you, you can do tasks remotely, just so long as both devices are connected to the web.
This is all topped off by the fact that current purchases of the Samsung Chromebook come with 100GB of Google Drive storage for two years. That would cost you $100 if you bought it outright.
Wrap-up
This Chromebook from Samsung is a value offer you might just need to think about, if only because the quality matches the price so very closely. Considering the alternatives start at several hundreds of dollars higher, you risk being called “silly” for not considering the Chromebook in your decision making process in purchasing a new notebook. Where this device leaves off at a price of $249, the MacBook Air picks up – starting at $999.
Google and Samsung have created a machine with a price point that’s impossible to ignore. We’ll be using this device for an extended period to see how “game changing” it really is. Meanwhile, please feel free to let us know if you’ve got any questions about this device and we’ll certainly do our best to answer to the best of our ability. Have a peek at the Chromebook tag portal as well to keep up with all things Chromebook through the future!
Samsung’s new Google Chromebook will have a 3G flavor as well as the originally announced WiFi model, new listings have confirmed, with the cellularly-blessed version promising 100MB per month of free data. The new ultraportable was revealed as a WiFi-only model yesterday for $249.99, but according to both Samsung and Amazon there will be a 3G variant, the XE303C12, priced at $329.99.
That extra hundred bucks gets you integrated Verizon 3G, together with 100MB of mobile data allowance per month for two years. After that – or if you want to use more than 100MB a month, which given Chrome OS’ cloud-centric focus wouldn’t be too unlikely – you’ll have to pay for it yourself. No sign of LTE as an option, unfortunately.
Otherwise, the specifications are the same as what was announced yesterday, so an 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 display, Samsung’s own Exynos 5 1.7GHz dualcore ARM procrssor paired with 2GB of DDR3L memory, and 16GB of solid-state storage. WiFi a/b/g/n is still onboard, as is an HDMI output, one each of USB 3.0 and USB 2.0, a memory card reader, and a VGA-resolution webcam.
All in all, it’s a far cheaper way to get on the 3G-enabled notebook ladder than usual, even if there are some cloud compromises to be made with the OS, and the 0.69-inch thick Chromebook itself is a slick little looker. Samsung’s 6.3 hour battery estimate is impressive for the price too.
No word on shipping dates in the US, though a UK listing – which has the 3G model at £299.99, though claims it’s running Windows 8 rather then Chrome OS in the description – suggests it will hit shelves Friday, October 26.
Well, this has got us scratching our collective heads. Yesterday, Google was fairly certain that its latest and greatest Chromebook would be a WiFi-only affair. Today, however, and a listing has appeared on the company’s official website and Amazon that shows a 3G-enabled version is available for $329.99. Neither site mentions network options, so presumably you get the same 100MB a month for two years Verizon data that its brethren receive — and given that we described it as being “80 percent of the MacBook Air experience for a quarter of the price,” the 3G version seems well worth the extra $80.
If you’re asking yourself if the brand new $249 Samsung Chromebook is going to get you through the school year, you’ll want to know a few details on how this device actually functions. First of all, it may look surprisingly like a MacBook Air, but it’s not a full-fledged system in the way you’re used to – this device isn’t made for massive video editing and it’s certainly not ready for any big-name gaming adventures. What it is made for is web-based action – and lots of it.
If you’re ready for a web-only experience, the Chromebook might be right up your alley, especially since it’ll only run you $249 USD. The notebook looks and feels rather similar to what you might already be used to with your MacBook or Acer Aspire notebook – if you’ve got one or the other – or any of the recent high-end Samsung notebooks that look rather similar to this model. With this device you will not have the same power as a full-fledged laptop, but physically you’ll feel like you always do.
“If you’re ready for a web-only experience, the Chromebook might be right up your alley.”
This device works with one giant heap of Google Cloud services, including Google Drive. With Google Drive you’ve got file storage on the web in Google’s servers, and with a purchase of a Chromebook here, you’ve got 2 free years of 100GB of space on those servers. You’ll be working with Google’s services primarily – or that’s what’ll be easiest – including Gmail, Google Docs, and the like, but you can also work with a variety of Chrome apps as well.
Chrome is not just an operating system, it’s a web browser as well – the same one you use on the computer you’re on right this minute. Chrome has a variety of apps that do all manner of tasks that you’d otherwise do on your desktop, here optimized for the web browser. Have a peek at the Chrome Web Store now to see if you’ve got enough greatness there to do every single task you’d normally do in a day.
“…not that far away from a high-end smartphone…”
The hardware you’re working with on this new Samsung Chromebook announced this week is a dual-core A15-based Samsung Exynos 5 Dual (5250) SoC paired with 2GB of RAM, for starters. That’s not that far away from a high-end smartphone, mind you. That’s the kind of processing power you’re working with. You also get 16GB of built-in flash storage as well as Bluetooth and wi-fi capabilities. The display has a 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, it’s got one USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0 socket, and a headphone/mic jack too. You can boost your storage with the full-sized SD card slot this device works with as well.
Sound find enough to you? You’ll be able to pick this beast up through several online sources and it’ll be out in stores extremely soon – you’ll be able to see it in person at Best Buy likely by the beginning of next week, for example. You’ll also be able to purchase this Chromebook from the Google Play store too. Think about it!
Google has been looking to make a statement with its Chromebook line for some time now, and it’s continuing its push for affordable laptops by announcing a new Chromebook from Samsung that’s just $249. The laptop has an 11.6-inch display and features an ARM processor, which is certainly a rare thing to find in laptops these days.
The new Chromebook features 16GB of storage, 2GB of RAM, Bluetooth, WiFi, and an SD card slot to expand the storage past its built-in 16GB. The laptop weighs just 2.5 pounds and is only 0.8 inches thick. On the sides you’ll find two USB ports and an HDMI-out port. Google says that all of the internal hardware is designed to keep the price down while keeping the device fast. In fact, the company says it’s able to run 1080p video at 30fps without a problem.
The Exynos 5 Dual ARM processor means that there are no fans and no moving parts of any kind inside the laptop, and the chip’s low power consumption allows the machine to run on battery for approximately 6.5 hours. The 11.6-inch display has a resolution of 1366×768, so while it may be able to play 1080p, it won’t really be needed.
The overall Chrome OS user interface remains relatively the same, so you won’t see many changes on the software side. For anyone who purchases the new Chromebook, Google will give them 100GB of Google Drive storage. You can also buy Samsung‘s Series 3 Chromebook or the original Samsung Chromebook and will still be able to redeem the 100GB storage offer up to two years from now. Google’s new Samsung Chromebook will be available for purchases starting Monday, but you can pre-order it today.
Google really impressed us in San Francisco here today with its 11.6-inch ARM-based Samsung Chromebook. The $249 laptop is 0.8-inches (20mm) thin and weight only 2.43 pounds (1.1kg). It features a 11.6-inch 1366 x 768-pixel matte display, a full-size keyboard, a button-less trackpad and a 30Wh battery for 6.5+ hours of operation. Specs include a fanless dual-core A15-based Samsung Exynos 5 Dual (5250) SoC, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in flash storage, WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth. There’s a full-size SD card reader and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack (with mic support) on the left, plus the power input, HDMI output, USB 2.0 port, USB 3.0 connector and SIM slot (currently unused) in back.
First impressions? This is a solid machine — build quality and materials are fantastic for the price. It’s also pleasantly thin and light, a boon for people who are used to carrying a laptop around every day. We’re happy with the display which is bright and crisp. Viewing angles could use some improvement, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better laptop screen at this price. The keyboard and trackpad feel great (we’re coming from an 11-inch Core i7 MacBook Air), and two-finger scrolling works like a charm. Performance is somewhere between the original Atom-based Chromebooks and the current Celeron-equipped Series-5 model. The system didn’t have any issues playing back 1080p content in YouTube, but we didn’t get a chance try Hulu or NetFlix.
Ultimately, this is a phenomenal device for the price. If you’re used to working in the cloud, you’re basically getting 80 percent of the entry-level MacBook Air experience for a quarter of the price. Factor in the Google Now integration and 100GB of free Google Drive storage for two years and this latest Chromebook is a winner. Check out the gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on video.
Google just launched the latest iteration of its Chrome OS-based laptop here in San Francisco — the $249 (or £229, for those in the UK) 11.6-inch Samsung Chromebook. It’s ARM-based (fanless), 0.8-inches thick, weighs only 2.43 pounds, runs 6.5+ hours on battery, boots in under 10 seconds and supports 1080p video playback. Pre-orders start today at Amazon and PC World, and the laptop includes Google Now integration using Google Drive as a transport and comes with 100GB of free storage for two years. It will be available for sale on the Play Store and featured prominently at retailers like Best Buy, and naturally, we’re expecting this one to make a bigger splash than prior models based on the bargain bin price alone.
Under the hood, there’s a dual-core A15-based Samsung Exynos 5 Dual (5250) SoC, 2GB RAM, 16GB of built-in flash storage, WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth, all of which should act to give this Chromebook a lot more oomph compared to slower, earlier models. Other specs include a 1366 x 768 native screen resolution, a USB 3.0 port, a USB 2.0 socket, combo headphone / mic jack, an SD card slot and a “full-size Chrome keyboard.” Hit up the links below for the nitty-gritty, or hop on past the break for a promo vid.
Update: Our hands-on with the new Chromebook is live!
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