The Chromebook is a little controversial in the laptop world. However, despite what others might consider fallbacks, it is one of the fastest growing in terms of sales. After all, there are plenty of benefits that come with the Google-powered units as well.
What Is A Chromebook?
As explained by Forbes, Chromebooks are laptops that run on Google's Chrome OS. Basically, this means that the Chrome browser is used as a desktop with various icons and a settings app. The apps include Google's office suite, Autodesk's Pixlr image editor, the Chrome Web Store, Photos, Play Movies, Play Music and Hangouts.
Furthermore, the hard drive - which is typically 32GB - is not such a necessity because the cloud is used more often.
The Pros Of A Chromebook
Pricing - in general, a Chromebook is priced between US$199 to US$399. However, there are already higher-end units that are priced between US$500 to US$800.
Speed - according to Turbo Future, the Google powered units can generally boot in an average of 8 seconds. The speed is because of the units' SSD hard drives and the Chrome OS, which again lies primarily on the Chrome browser.
Battery - at a minimum, Chromebook laptops boast 6 hours of use, with some even claiming that units are useable for as many as 13 hours. This is better than most Windows laptops that are currently in the market.
Cloud Storage - as mentioned earlier, the devices rely on cloud storage more than the hard drive storage. For the first two years of use, users will get as much as 100GB of Google Drive storage. And combined with the Chrome OS, the device is incredibly stable and fast.
Android Apps - because the laptop will not have its own programs, users can instead download Android versions of different services.
Weight - though it definitely varies, the Google powered units are generally lightweight devices, as the unit again heavily relies on Chrome.
The Cons Of A Chromebook
Office - because of its operating system, there are no Microsoft Office products, nor are there programs like those found in Apple. The alternative that Google provides is to use its range of online services. And while there are options for most Microsoft Office offerings, they are not as easy or as versatile. Even android versions of the Office apps will lack on some features and functionalities.
Internal Storage - typically, Chromebooks only come with 32GB of internal storage, which is extremely small for a productivity device.
The Chromebook: Verdict
The Chromebook is a good alternative to Windows units or Mac products, as it has the basic features and functionalities of a laptop down. If users simply want a notebook that works without any of the fuss and complication, a switch would definitely be a good idea. Furthermore, the roster of software applications that are available to Chromebooks are growing more and more.
However, loyalists might have trouble getting used to the new features and inner workings of the Google powered machine. Especially if the user is reliant on the most intricate parts of various programs from Windows and Apple.
