Laptop replacement <$1k: decent Chromebook or a cheap-end laptop?

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Laptop replacement <$1k: decent Chromebook or a cheap-end laptop?

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#2017636 17-May-2018 13:38

http://www.dell.com/en-nz/shop/2-in-1-laptops/inspiron-13-5000-2-in-1/spd/inspiron-13-5368-2-in-1-laptop/z511261nz

Has anyone posted one of those? They're on a really good special at the moment. 128GB SSD, 1080p screen....

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jonathan18

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#2017641 17-May-2018 13:50

wratterus:
http://www.dell.com/en-nz/shop/2-in-1-laptops/inspiron-13-5000-2-in-1/spd/inspiron-13-5368-2-in-1-laptop/z511261nz

Has anyone posted one of those? They're on a really good special at the moment. 128GB SSD, 1080p screen....

Thanks. Yes indeed it was posted earlier and has given me pause to think... As I mentioned in reference to that laptop, it's a matter of selecting either a fairly standard full Windows laptop (plastic body etc) or a fairly advanced Chromebook in the Asus Flip.

Review-wise, the Asus gets the better ratings, but of course this is not comparing apples with apples.

Is that Dell a slightly older model, in that there is also a 5369 model (versus this bring the 5368)?

Any other comments on the relative merits and performance of these two devices, and which one is more likely to be running trouble-free and at it's original speed in 2-3 years?

Thanks again everyone for the feedback and ideas.

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#2017660 17-May-2018 14:37

@jonathan18 As for the Asus Chromebook you linked it is very good also however doesn't quite have as good of a screen as the Samsung. I love my Samsung Chromebook mainly due to its screen. Also, often Amazon is cheaper than local shops for Chromebooks so hunt around.

As mentioned by several users I like the fact I boot up the Chromebook and it just works - no messing around, no waiting for updates to install and no maintenance. Also, Linux support is coming soon (you can also install Linux on them by unlocking the bootloader which is a simple key combo during boot).

I also looked at an iPad but the Chromebook is far better for internet tasks than an iPad - it is a laptop.

Edit: Forgot to mention as for ram ChromeOS is very lightweight - I have no issues with only having 4gb of ram on mine. I can have many many tabs open and still it doesn't bog down.

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Handsomedan

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#2017694 17-May-2018 14:50

jonathan18:

Do you feel the Pro can function as a replacement to a conventional laptop for everyday tasks? One thing is getting used to that type of keyboard. Plus the reduction of useable devices for the family. Also. A lot of money for a glorified tablet! Too many options...

Hmm...this gets debated all the time - I guess it's a personal thing. For me the answer is kind of...

I had a Surface Pro for work a couple of years ago and it was a lot more versatile, in that it had USB ports and was a tablet/laptop hybrid device. It ran any and all software that I needed and it really was a great device.

My iPad Pro is a different beast altogether - it DOES replace a laptop for me...to a point. I have a 9.7" one, so it's a little more convenient to lug about than the 12.9".

I still think it's a secondary device: it's not as limited as some may state or claim, but it does have its limitations. The Apple keyboard is awesome, but it's full of compromises - it's small, weird to use initially (a couple of weeks to get used to it and it's not weird any more) and certainly not a laptop keyboard replacement. By the same token, for the same money you could get any number of better keyboards that emulate a laptop (I also have a Brydge Keyboard that is amazing to type on and looks great), but they are bluetooth and not as sweetly integrated as a the Apple one that connects via the smart connector.

My Primary is my iMac. I'm not really a Windows guy, if I am paying.

I also use my iPad as a notepad - I write on it with the Pencil, so it's also replaced my large volume of Moleskine notebooks (somewhat making up for the cost). I use the app "Notability" at work and at home - it's brilliant.

For your unique use-case...an iPad Pro 12.9" may well work and be the ultmate replacement for both an iPad and laptop, knowing that you also have another windows device as a potential primary/secondary.

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loceff13

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#2017802 17-May-2018 17:36

wratterus:

http://www.dell.com/en-nz/shop/2-in-1-laptops/inspiron-13-5000-2-in-1/spd/inspiron-13-5368-2-in-1-laptop/z511261nz

Has anyone posted one of those? They're on a really good special at the moment. 128GB SSD, 1080p screen....

Typically the cheaper dell range will have 1x1 wifi and 100/10 ethernet(not gigabit) but that laptop you can upgrade the ram and hdd which is pretty good for a 13 inch..

Theres some refurbished for $769 at the Outlet store(1 year warranty) if you don't mind having something thats been returned/repaired.

martyyn

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#2020499 22-May-2018 17:07

I'm a bit late to this party but wanted to share my experiences.

I'm a Chromebook lover. I've had a Dell Chromebook 13 for over a year now and I love it. I've gone through the pros and cons of replacing it with a laptop more times than I care to remember but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It has an i3-5005U, 4GB ram and a 1080p screen. It's light, has great battery life and I quite like the keyboard. For the day to day stuff it's brilliant.

But the more work I do remotely for my clients who are all in the Microsoft space, the more I think it just isn't quite enough and for me this is where the line between a Chromebook and laptop is. I've tried both O365 online and the Android apps and have found the restrictions, in Excel in particular, forcing me to wait until I'm at my desktop.

I've also been moving my website clients to Vultr instances and although I'm sure can work out how to do everything I can with putty, filezilla, etc, I don't have the time to work it out right now.

So I've just pulled the trigger on a Dell 7490 from the Outlet store. i7-8650U, 16GB and 1TB PCIe SSD. Overkill for what I need to do but with having the same CPU benchmarks as my desktop i7-4790 it may even become my daily driver.

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#2020714 22-May-2018 20:47

Not too late as I’m yet to purchase one!

Interesting to read your comments on the limitations of Office 365 online and Android. Were these issues related to every-day features or more advanced functions? In particular would I experience any fundamental issues with using Excel for something straightforward as a basic budget spreadsheet (nothing fancy)?

Unless this is a real issue, I still intend to get the 4GB version of the Asus Flip. Happy this will do what we want and in a much classier package than a similarly priced laptop like that Dell (noting we still have a Spectre 360 when we need some grunt).

Thanks again for all the advice.

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#2020813 22-May-2018 23:13

Put one eye on the supported dates day before you buy:

https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366?hl=en

They say you can use Linux after that. They seem to extend every year or so with new models. Supported is from model release date not purchase date.

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#2021003 23-May-2018 10:46

gzt: Put one eye on the supported dates day before you buy:

https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366?hl=en

They say you can use Linux after that. They seem to extend every year or so with new models. Supported is from model release date not purchase date.

Thanks for the info on this, as it’s import to go in to this with full knowledge of the longevity of a product. The C302 is assured of auto updates until Nov 22, so nearly another 4.5 years. I will also be sure to check this next year when I have to buy my son a Chromebook for his new school.

As to when that date comes up, what are the full implications? I get that it won’t get auto updates, but are manual updates ever available? Is the device still usable but just increasingly at risk and out of date, or does it just stop working? I’d assumed the former, and the latter would be a bit concerning. Even if Linux is available after that it’s unlikely to be an adequate solution for us. I get that nearly five years is long for a laptop, but equally I am not too keen on the idea of assured and planned obsolescence...

gzt

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#2021356 23-May-2018 20:28

Policy going forward is 6.5 years from launch of the hardware platform so probably another generation coming up. The device will keep working etc just no further updates potentially. It's a minimum updates can potentially go on longer.

I don't know the rest sorry.

martyyn

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#2021698 24-May-2018 11:27

jonathan18: Not too late as I’m yet to purchase one!

Interesting to read your comments on the limitations of Office 365 online and Android. Were these issues related to every-day features or more advanced functions? In particular would I experience any fundamental issues with using Excel for something straightforward as a basic budget spreadsheet (nothing fancy)?

Unless this is a real issue, I still intend to get the 4GB version of the Asus Flip. Happy this will do what we want and in a much classier package than a similarly priced laptop like that Dell (noting we still have a Spectre 360 when we need some grunt).

Thanks again for all the advice.

I knew you would ask me that and to be honest I can't remember !

One of my clients has a spreadsheet which includes some macros, coloured cells and some more, what I would consider minor, Excel functionality and it couldn't cope with it.

For me it's the difference between using Google Apps and Office. Google is perfectly good if you just do the basics, but once you try a little harder it cant compete with Office, and that's probably where I am. I just need a little more than the Chromebook can offer but that wouldn't stop me recommending one at all.

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#2023719 28-May-2018 08:58

Thanks for all the feedback and advice on this. I ended up going with a Chromebook - the Asus Flip, which seems the best bang for buck at the quality end of the Chromebook options. The Samsung’s, while apparently better in many ways, we’re not an option my wife was willing to go for, given the lack of any CGA cover.

Two things worry me a bit - the useability of Office and the small capacity drive, especially since I understand the ability of Android apps to access the SD card has only recently been announced. This particularly affects our use of OneDrive which we have used to sync all our files over all computers - until OneDrive and all apps can access, edit and save files to the SD card we’ll be much more limited to what we can sync, but it should be sweet.

The good news is the Spectre 360 appears to not be freezing randomly any more after a fresh reinstall of Windows and some tweaking of power-related settings yesterday - this freezing seems to be a bit of an issue with the Spectre, going by the number of reports online. So we’ll soon have two working laptops again!

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#2031553 7-Jun-2018 16:42

Just wondering how the Chromebook is going?

jonathan18

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#2031627 7-Jun-2018 18:28

MikeB4:

Just wondering how the Chromebook is going?

Overall I'm really happy with the Asus C302 - I'd give the device itself a higher rating than from an OS perspective, as there are some things I'm still getting used to (or limitations I find a bit annoying) with Chrome OS - but even then there's nothing substantial.

The quality of the device itself is fantastic - and totally worth it from a design/quality/user experience over a similarly priced Windows model. Hinges are strong and stable - unlike some of the Lenovo 2-in-1s I've tried out. Nice solid metal body that doesn't get hot, a really nice keyboard to use, with good degree of travel and a good feel (noting the comments about different/missing buttons compared to a Windows keyboard). Screen is great for the price - and in a different league to the usual 768 screens in Windows laptops at this price point. Sound is fine - better and louder than that of our HP Spectre 360.

It's easy to switch to 'tablet' mode (magnetic link between the two parts), and I find it more intuitive than our Spectre to use in this mode (despite it not having that Windows 'tablet mode'- or perhaps it's good because of the lack of this?!

So nothing really major to criticise from that perspective; that said, it's damn fast to boot up so there's a benefit of such a simple system. Battery life is also good - I think it's a realistic eight hours, which is more than enough for me.

Good to see Google Play support out of the box (despite what the Google website warns); have found a few apps that aren't compatible (eg Kidslox, which is how we manage our kids' screen time); also takes a bit of getting used to not being able to use the 'desktop' for anything other than a pretty picture! I'd like to be able to use Android widgets, say, even if it's just stuff like Google Calendar etc. Can't log into Netflix app, but I discovered it's limited to 480 resolution anyway! (It's also easy to pin Chrome windows that open specific pages to the taskbar equivalent, with the appropriate icon, and that look like an app not a Chrome window (so missing the toolbars etc).

Office from the Google Play store works really well - and is free if you have a 365 account (as the Chromebook counts as a 'tablet'). Haven't found it terribly limiting thus far - only thing was the inability to pick any colour for text in Word.

Biggest issue thus far is that I've had no luck being able to log into the OneDrive app, so cannot work out how to sync any files on the device. There's the Chrome window, but that's just the same as the web view. There are many people on the web reporting the same problem, and there doesn't yet appear to be a solution (appears it started with a relatively recent release of Chrome OS). This means I'd have to manually download any files I may need to work on when I may be offline then remember to upload them to OneDrive. I may see if I can work out a way to automatically sync files between OneDrive and Google Drive (buying a Chromebook gives you something like 100GB free for two years), which may be one way around this problem.

There's some need to learn alternative shortcuts or gestures - (eg two fingers on the trackpad for a 'right mouse click' - now find myself doing this on Windows devices, and think it's a better method anyway!); don't like the lack of 'delete' button either (and there's a lock button in its place - luckily it has to be held down to function!). File management is also pretty rudimentary - I'm getting frustrated that every few days (perhaps when switching users?) it loses the shares on our NAS, so I have to re-add that.

I'd say as someone who was already a heavy user of Google services it's been a great match; I'd say if we were users of Google Drive it would be pretty much perfect.

Any specific questions let me know; and sorry for the rave! (And a bigger apology for the grammar in my post just above - I see auto correct resulted in some dodgy uses of apostrophe's (and yes, that one's deliberate...).

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#2031697 7-Jun-2018 20:11

jonathan18:

MikeB4:

Just wondering how the Chromebook is going?

Overall I'm really happy with the Asus C302 - I'd give the device itself a higher rating than from an OS perspective, as there are some things I'm still getting used to (or limitations I find a bit annoying) with Chrome OS - but even then there's nothing substantial.

The quality of the device itself is fantastic - and totally worth it from a design/quality/user experience over a similarly priced Windows model. Hinges are strong and stable - unlike some of the Lenovo 2-in-1s I've tried out. Nice solid metal body that doesn't get hot, a really nice keyboard to use, with good degree of travel and a good feel (noting the comments about different/missing buttons compared to a Windows keyboard). Screen is great for the price - and in a different league to the usual 768 screens in Windows laptops at this price point. Sound is fine - better and louder than that of our HP Spectre 360.

It's easy to switch to 'tablet' mode (magnetic link between the two parts), and I find it more intuitive than our Spectre to use in this mode (despite it not having that Windows 'tablet mode'- or perhaps it's good because of the lack of this?!

So nothing really major to criticise from that perspective; that said, it's damn fast to boot up so there's a benefit of such a simple system. Battery life is also good - I think it's a realistic eight hours, which is more than enough for me.

Good to see Google Play support out of the box (despite what the Google website warns); have found a few apps that aren't compatible (eg Kidslox, which is how we manage our kids' screen time); also takes a bit of getting used to not being able to use the 'desktop' for anything other than a pretty picture! I'd like to be able to use Android widgets, say, even if it's just stuff like Google Calendar etc. Can't log into Netflix app, but I discovered it's limited to 480 resolution anyway! (It's also easy to pin Chrome windows that open specific pages to the taskbar equivalent, with the appropriate icon, and that look like an app not a Chrome window (so missing the toolbars etc).

Office from the Google Play store works really well - and is free if you have a 365 account (as the Chromebook counts as a 'tablet'). Haven't found it terribly limiting thus far - only thing was the inability to pick any colour for text in Word.

Biggest issue thus far is that I've had no luck being able to log into the OneDrive app, so cannot work out how to sync any files on the device. There's the Chrome window, but that's just the same as the web view. There are many people on the web reporting the same problem, and there doesn't yet appear to be a solution (appears it started with a relatively recent release of Chrome OS). This means I'd have to manually download any files I may need to work on when I may be offline then remember to upload them to OneDrive. I may see if I can work out a way to automatically sync files between OneDrive and Google Drive (buying a Chromebook gives you something like 100GB free for two years), which may be one way around this problem.

There's some need to learn alternative shortcuts or gestures - (eg two fingers on the trackpad for a 'right mouse click' - now find myself doing this on Windows devices, and think it's a better method anyway!); don't like the lack of 'delete' button either (and there's a lock button in its place - luckily it has to be held down to function!). File management is also pretty rudimentary - I'm getting frustrated that every few days (perhaps when switching users?) it loses the shares on our NAS, so I have to re-add that.

I'd say as someone who was already a heavy user of Google services it's been a great match; I'd say if we were users of Google Drive it would be pretty much perfect.

Any specific questions let me know; and sorry for the rave! (And a bigger apology for the grammar in my post just above - I see auto correct resulted in some dodgy uses of apostrophe's (and yes, that one's deliberate...).

Thanks heaps for that, it's an interesting read. I believe Chrome OS could be the OS of the future

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