back to article RIP charging bricks: $279 HP Chromebook 11 charges via USB

HP has unveiled a new Chromebook that it says borrows design ideas from Google's posh Chromebook Pixel - while still keeping the price tag under $300. Unlike HP's earlier Chromebooks, which you'd be hard-pressed to tell apart from the company's Pavilion laptops at first glance, the HP Chromebook 11 was designed "in close …

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  1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

    Why?

    It's $80 more than the Samsung, a year later and doesn't have the USB3 port

    1. P. Lee

      Re: Why?

      Worse - I don't want a chromebook, I want a pc laptop I can switch to being a chromebook.

      1. Ian Johnston Silver badge
        Thumb Up

        Re: Why?

        (1) Install Chrome under the OS of your choice

        (2) Run Chrome

        (3) Login in to your Google account

        You now have a PC which is also a chromebook. Congratulations.

        1. Dave Fox

          Re: Why?

          Yes, anything you can do yourself with a Chromebook, you can also do with a PC running the Chrome browser, and yes that PC is ultimately more flexible, but you don't get the zero maintenance aspect which is really the whole point of the Chromebook.

          I got my eldest son a Chromebook, and thus far I've not had to do anything at all with it myself, whereas with a regular Windows laptop you can be certain he'd have managed to screw it up somehow.

        2. JeffyPoooh
          Pint

          Re: Why?

          It isn't that some people just want a Chromebook.

          It's that some people are sick and tired of traditional Windows PCs. They want a laptop-like gadget to get online that does not include all the rigamarole of using a PC. Every time I turn on my fackin PC, all the software in the Universe barges online to check for updates. Yes, I set them all one by one not to do this, and then next time I manually update them one by one they all reset the setting. It gets to the point where I'll turn the PC on on a Tuesday in the hope that I might be able to use it by Thursday. PCs suck.

          Some people want NOT a PC.

    2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: Why?

      However, it being HP there is a likelihood of compliance to the GPL including publishing the config for the kernel as well as a viable source tree tarball. So that you (or Ubuntu/Debian) can actually build a viable fully functional working kernel for it.

      There is still _NOTHING_ published as required by the GPL for sammy's handywork. Contributions to 3.5+ do not count. The machine ships with 3.4 so Sammy should actually publish its changes to 3.4 for all to see. None of that is available.

      So the clusterf*** with Exynos around AOSP and recent crop of Google devices is clearly not an exemption - it is the "Sammy Rule" which in English should translate to "we comply with the law only when we feel like it".

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Why?

      Are people still fool enough to buy these things?

      I know they are cheap, but they lack real practicality for 98% of the population.

      1. The BigYin

        Re: Why?

        Yeah, because 98% of the population doesn't use their computer for Social Media and watching cat videos.....wait a minute!

        1. Captain Scarlet Silver badge

          Re: Why?

          I don't watch cat videos, I use my computer properly by erm watching Russian Deathcrash videos :(

          "Yeah, because 98% of the population doesn't use their computer for Social Media and watching cat videos.....wait a minute"

      2. MJG

        Re: Why? @AC 6:25

        Actually I think 90% of the population would be more than happy with a computer that doesn't 'slow' down over time, keeps itself updated, gives them access to their webmail, facebook, online shopping, and the more and more HTML5 games that they play (though probably more play games on their phones, etc).

        It's not my thing, but I think the chromebooks (even without Linux put on, as I would do if I got one), actually serve more home peoples usage. I know my girlfriend would get away with one, as she does EVERYTHING online on her phone, pretty much through the browser, and I'm sure theres plenty of people out there.

        I don't think the readership of the The Register is the target audience for these devices, doesn't mean there isn't a significant market for something like it though. The advantages of a tablet, with a keyboard, etc.

        1. The BigYin

          Re: Why? @AC 6:25

          "I don't think the readership of the The Register is the target audience for these devices"

          Speak for yourself. I have been looking for a netbook for ages and these fit the bill (they should take a full GNU/Linux install, assuming no lock-down).

          1. MJG

            Re: Why? @AC 6:25

            @The BigYin

            Yeah I kind of meant as they are, tbh if I was in the market for a small portable laptop (which I would love to, but can't justify), I might get one and shove a Linux on it too. I meant as a Chromebook with the Chrome OS we're probably not the target market :) (Though even then I'd have a play)

        2. Mark .

          Re: Why? @AC 6:25

          I think Chromebooks are a great thing for some people- though I'm not convinced by the "PCs get slower" argument. I've seen Android phones and tablets get slow over time, and I hear people say the same things about old IOS devices too, it's only less noticable because people are used to upgrading every 2 years. If anything, I'd argue it's more the other way round, given that people can use PCs for years, something unthinkable for phones unless it's a cheap dumb one.

          Issues such as increased software requirements from the OS, apps or webpages apply to any platform. One of the biggest problems for Windows seems to be people who end up installing ridiculous numbers of browser plugins. If Chrome is immune to this, one could improve things by installing Chrome on any PC they use.

          My biggest dislike of ChromeOS was how much of the apps in the Chrome Store didn't work, due to needing native plugins only available for other platforms(!) Still, I'm glad to see alternatives for low cost laptops, and devices with keyboards, rather than just tablets.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Why?

        Err... I completely disagree. It's absolutely good enough for 98% of the population. Even for a power-user like myself (ex-coder for a fortune 500 computer company, linux geek for 20 years, etc), it is good enough for 98% of what even I need to do.

  2. Frankee Llonnygog

    Mmmm.... ChromeBooks!

    Or as I prefer to call them (after a short reinstall) - Linuxbooks

    1. Herby

      Re: Mmmm.... ChromeBooks!

      Yes, after a quick install of a FULL operating system they ought to work quite nicely. Just al long as they don't have the UEFI garbage.

      Oh, does Microsoft get paid for computers that don't get windows installed on them??

      1. handle

        Does Microsoft get paid?

        Probably not, as it doesn't appear to have an SD card slot and hence presumably has no reason to support the FAT filesystem, for which MS has been extracting licensing fees.

        1. Alan Brown Silver badge

          Re: Does Microsoft get paid?

          Even if it idoes have (micro)SD there's still no reason to support FAT - I'm happily using f2fs on my sd cards

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Mmmm.... ChromeBooks!

        UEFI is better than the old crappy BIOS crap.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Mmmm.... ChromeBooks!

        I don't know if the days when MS got paid a license fee for every computer sold or the dealer got cut off still apply.

        Given MS's history, probably does.

      4. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Mmmm.... ChromeBooks!

        There is nothing in the Samsung one stopping you doing a Linux install to the SD card. You can even do a software-reset to recover the original chromeOS.

        As chrome is a Linux kernel you can even run a chroot linux environment at the same time and hot key between them. https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton

        But since most of us here already have more PCs/laptops around the house than we have pairs of shoes. I leave mine as a nice lightweight instant-on web browsing machine - it's what its built for.

        1. Henry Wertz 1 Gold badge

          Re: Mmmm.... ChromeBooks!

          "As chrome is a Linux kernel you can even run a chroot linux environment at the same time and hot key between them. https://github.com/dnschneid/crouton"

          This may actually be a pretty acceptable solution. A year or two ago, I ran a chroot linux install on a droid 2 global (much lower spec -- single 1.0ghz ARMv7, 512MB RAM). Just to see how things would run. Needless to say the screen on it is far too small since it's a phone and not some tablet or arm notebook, so I ran X over ssh to a remote machine and started some stuff up. It ran quite acceptably (although I'm sure it wouldn't have enough RAM to run a bunch of stuff at once; the Chromebook has 2GB though.) You could ignore Chrome if you want and run Linux, or use Chrome's browser and so on, but switch to Ubuntu or whatever to get things done that Chrome doesn't support.

        2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

          Re: Mmmm.... ChromeBooks!

          @Yet Another Anonymous coward

          I have one running a frankenstein off the internal disk (debian with CrhomeOS kernel because Samsung and Google violate the GPL and do not post sources for their handywork). "Most of us already have more PCs" - true, however most of us do not have one that can last 7h on one battery charge, cost 250£ and have 1360x768+ resolution. That is MacBook Air territory.,

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Netbook trash!!

    Netbook trash all over again.......

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Netbook trash!!

      It's about time for more netbook trash.

      The wifi on my trusty eee 701 has gone flakey, I've recently had to re-solder the joints between the power jack back onto the motherboard, and the battery life is getting pretty poor.

      I need another machine to stick gentoo linux on to, so I can carry on getting my fix of waiting 24 hours whilst it re-compiles chromium every time there's an update....

      :-)

      1. Ian 55

        Re: Netbook trash!!

        I still adore my Eee901 with its better screen, keyboard and battery life, but still ultra portable.

        Ah Gentoo - 24 hours of compiling to spent 2.4% more time in the idle loop :)

      2. hungee

        Re: Netbook trash!!

        get one of these and put linux on it.. bit more pricey, much better though...

        http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/asus-transformer-book-t100/4505-3126_7-35827544.html

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wonder how long it takes to fully charge?

    USB offers a tiny amount of power compared to a brick. Even with the brick laptops take a couple hours to charge, you'd be lucky to get a charge off USB in 12 hours!

    1. Kwac

      Re: I wonder how long it takes to fully charge?

      So you think you have to charge a mobile phone via a computer's USB port?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I wonder how long it takes to fully charge?

        Did you not read the article? My post had nothing to do with charging phones via a computer's USB port.

        The article says they're going to charge the Chromebook via a micro-USB port. The USB spec only allows it to deliver a very limited amount of power, so it will take a long time to fully charge the Chromebook's battery. An AC charging brick typically sends 5-8 amps at 12v and thus charges over an order of magnitude more quickly than USB specs would allow. Phones that charge via an AC->USB charger adapter (like Android and iPhones do) charge rather slowly because of the small amount of power that USB can deliver, and they have batteries far smaller than the Chromebook.

        1. Metrognome

          Re: I wonder how long it takes to fully charge?

          Not saying that it is the case but it could be the same trick that Asus did on their TF line.

          Extra powerful usb charger and modified usb cable. Once the charger realised that it was connected to the TF it would bump the power to 2.5 amps. Failing that, anything else connected would only be served the usual 1 or 0.5 amps.

          Smart solution though not very elegant. The charger though usb nominally still was needed for the TF to charge in less than an eternity.

          1. dajames

            Re: I wonder how long it takes to fully charge?

            Extra powerful usb charger and modified usb cable. Once the charger realised that it was connected to the TF it would bump the power to 2.5 amps. Failing that, anything else connected would only be served the usual 1 or 0.5 amps.

            No, you've got that the wrong way around.

            The charger always makes the full 2.5A available. The device has to detect that the charger is capable of delivering all that current before trying to draw more than the basic 500mA (so as not to damage power sources that cannot supply a higher current).

            If you connect a normal, non-negotiating, low-power device to the TF's charger it will only draw 500mA, which is fine because the charger has that and more available.

        2. Dave Fox

          Re: I wonder how long it takes to fully charge?

          I think the point here is that the hardware inside these Chromebooks is more akin to a mobile phone or tablet than a regular laptop.

          The Samsung Exynos-based Chromebook had a battery capacity of around 4000mAh, which is less than the 4600mAh that my Galaxy Note 8 has, and that charges fine using a microUSB charger (about 3 hours). I'd imagine the HP Chromebook has a similar sized battery to the Samsung.

          I have several 2A USB chargers, and I'd expect they'd all charge this Chromebook perfectly reasonably, and the benefit of not having to tote around a power brick is very compelling for me.

    2. Peter Mount
      Thumb Down

      Re: I wonder how long it takes to fully charge?

      True plain USB power is just 500mA but later specifications allows the device to negotiate with the controller what power it really requires, so if your latest tablet/phone needs 1A or more then the host can tell it what it week provide safely. If in doubt then it stays at 500mA.

      Remember the 'USB condom' article the other week? It works by having a small device sit between the host & device which then passes the power negotiation through but nothing else, allowing higher power charging but no data. A cable with just the power lines won't do as the device will just stick at 500mA.

    3. JeffyPoooh
      Pint

      Re: I wonder how long it takes to fully charge?

      Just as foolish: "...so you can carry a single charger to power up your Chromebook and your phone, tablet, e-reader, and other devices."

      Has the writer ever actually travelled with several gadgets? The e-reader probably won't need charging for weeks.

      If one brought only a single charger for several gadgets (chromebook, tablet, phone), then one might have to wake up at 2am and again at 5am to switch the "single charger" from one gadget to the next.

      If one would like to sleep through the night, then one would want to bring moire than one charger.

      1. Dave Fox

        Re: I wonder how long it takes to fully charge?

        "If one brought only a single charger for several gadgets (chromebook, tablet, phone), then one might have to wake up at 2am and again at 5am to switch the "single charger" from one gadget to the next."

        Haven't you ever seen a multi port USB charger? I've one that can charge 4 USB gadgets on the go, and it's still much smaller and lighter than the average laptop power brick.

        1. JeffyPoooh
          Pint

          Re: I wonder how long it takes to fully charge?

          So three or four gadgets with ~4000mA-hr batteries each, plugged into one 2A charger. 12,000 to 16,000+ mA-hr/ 2,000mA = six to eight+ hours to recharge (assuming all the gadgets are turned off, a false assumption). It might just work, if you get to bed early enough (another false assumption).

          I'd rather just drop a couple more changers into the gadget bag. The commonality of USB charging is better applied in terms of providing back-up charging options.

          Also, one might wish to have one gadget (smartphone) bedside for BBC On-Line listening pleasure, while the other gadgets will need to be spread around the desk.

          My point remains valid - proposing to bring only a "single charger" is not really a sign that the author is an experienced multiple-gadgets traveler. I am (very much so, carry-on bag brimmed with gadgets), and I think it's a daft suggestion to bring only one "single charger" because it might just barely be feasible given many false assumptions.

          Your point about multiport chargers is a valid backplanation, but it is not recommended.

          1. Metrognome

            Re: I wonder how long it takes to fully charge? @JeffyPooh

            6-8 hrs to charge!?

            Well, if it's wrong to assume it's wrong to assume that gadgets would off when charging (fair enough), why do you assume that every single one of them would be drained down to 0 and needing the full monty to re-charge!?

          2. Dave Fox

            Re: I wonder how long it takes to fully charge?

            Come on, the only backplanation here is you changing the scope and having 4 4000mAh batteries to charge in one night, rather changing the rules a bit. It is also fairly unlikely that you'd have to charge all 4 devices from empty every night, though I do accept it's a possibility.

            When I recently went on holiday with my family, we took 2 USB chargers. One was a 4 port USB charger, and the other a single port USB charger. Yet we managed to keep the following devices charged:

            1 iPhone

            1 iPad

            2 Android Phones

            2 Android tablets

            The largest battery by far was in the iPad, and that usually used the single port charger. The others all used the 4 port charger. Keeping everything charged wasn't an issue. Yes, I had two chargers, but that was 2 chargers spread across 6 devices, and was perfectly sufficient.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I wonder how long it takes to fully charge?

        I just bought a cheap charger from Amazon which is no larger than a lot of phone chargers and has two outlets. It can charge a 7 inch tablet and a phone together at acceptable speed.

  5. Stephen 2

    Too long to charge?

    My macbook air pulls in about 30 watts while charging.

    Most microusb chargers are 1amp at around 5 volts. At best, 5volts 2amps. Thats 10 watts best case scenario. So at least 3 times slower to charge :/

  6. andreas koch
    Flame

    Who had the idea anyway

    that USB is a power supply? Per specification it provides 500mA @5V.

    And then people use a 7-port passive hub in the office, because they charge their mobile with that and plug in their USB-powered desk fan and their USB-powered speakers and their USB-powered moodlight and their USB-powered webcam and their USB-powered cupwarmer and their USB-powered WiFi stick. And then ring and ask you why their camera, mobile/cellphone, cigarette lighter (oh, yes) doesn't work.

    I'm waiting for the day that someone asks for an USB-powered jump starter for a diesel Range Rover.

    I'll tell them that they're all Bluetooth now.

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Re: Who had the idea anyway

      So, you're against doing away with a dedicated power brick for a device that needs a DC supply?

      I agree that USB is probably somewhat underproportioned for this kind of thing but the battery is only 30Wh so only a little bit bigger than most phones so charging shouldn't be any worse than it is for a phone. But I do wish the industry would come up with a USB+ standard which would support higher current draw for this kind of thing.

      1. JeffyPoooh
        Pint

        Re: Who had the idea anyway

        "... come up with a USB+ standard..."

        'The nice thing about Standards is that there are so many from which to choose.'

      2. andreas koch
        Holmes

        @ Charlie Clark - Re: Who had the idea anyway

        > . . .

        But I do wish the industry would come up with a USB+ standard which would support higher current draw for this kind of thing.

        <

        You didn't get my grudge against this: I'll make it clearer.

        It's Universal Serial Bus, not Unlimited Sower Bupply.

        Has anyone ever wanted to run a HiFi of a RCA socket? Does an antenna plug provide the power for your radio*? Do you expect your router to get it's power from the ADSL line? You wouldn't expect your smart TV to run off power-over-ethernet, would you?

        It's a data connection, albeit with a bit, a little bit, of supply for a flash drive or so.

        Not a power outlet.

        * Yes, I know; crystal sets and the like. Different thing.

  7. Henry Wertz 1 Gold badge

    It's an ARM...

    Regarding power to run this thing, it's an ARM. It probably won't charge all that fast, but to get 6 hour battery life, I think the battery is also very small so it may not take as long as you'd expect. The power use of these would be very low compared to what you are expecting. Some Atom netbooks (with GMA500 GPU) were down to 5W, with ones with regular intel graphics over 10W. Typical portables will ship with 10-30W CPUs. This ARM uses a watt or two under full load, and can actually halt and go to under 0.1W usage idle (some x86 chips do this, others "idle" while still using several up to 10 or so watts of power.)

    1. The First Dave

      Re: It's an ARM...

      So: 1amp charger, at 5 volts = 5Watts of power

      10 - 30 Watt CPU means 5 - 25 Watt deficit...

  8. Mevi

    lenovo tablet 2

    My eBay bargain Lenovo charges over micro-USB. Even using the supplied 2A charger, I don't get anywhere near a full charge during my typical 8 hour night of sleep. Nice to only have to put one charger in my bag for my stuff and be able to easily charge off a 12v cigarette lighter adapter.

  9. Richard Wharram

    Would make a nice Linux machine but...

    1360x768 res?

    When mid-range phones have better res than a laptop it's a fail.

    1. Neil Barnes Silver badge

      Re: Would make a nice Linux machine but...

      Well, maybe, but mid-range phones have high resolution screens for bragging rights, not actual usability. The point of this is that it's large enough to have something actually readable on the screen.

      Though I agree it's depressing how few affordable laptops have screens with a higher resolution, particularly at 13".

      1. monkeyfish

        Re: Would make a nice Linux machine but...

        Phones generally have higher res because you hold them closer to your face, so you are more able to see the pixels. TVs have crap ppi compared to phones and laptops but you don't care because it's on the other side of the room. That said, yes I would prefer it to have a little more than sub 800 high, in fact I'd generally prefer to have a 4:3 1280*1024, but that's because I'm special.

  10. cashback

    Charging.....

    From zee specs here:-

    http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/hp-chromebook-11/#full-specs-content

    "Micro USB for 15.75W charging"

    1. James Hughes 1

      Re: Charging.....

      Just about to post something similar. Surprising how many people don't know there is a charging spec for USB that go up to 5A.

      But then, Google/Wikipedia is such a difficult thing to use.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#OMTP.2FGSMA_Universal_Charging_Solution

      1. andreas koch
        Coffee/keyboard

        @ James Hughes 1 - Re: Charging.....

        No personal criticism intended, John, but if I look at the size of a micro (or even a full size) USB plug and socket, the idea of running 5A through that makes me feel queasy. I's like wiring an electric oven with 0.4mm2 bell wire.

        And then I see the same people using 4mm2 OFC loudspeaker cables for their 2x 50W PMPO music box to have less loss . . .

        1. andreas koch
          FAIL

          Not John

          James.

          My bad, sorry

  11. deive

    Almost...

    If 4g was ubiquitous and this had at least 1080p resolution, then this would work!

  12. RonWheeler

    Want

    Finally may be time to move away from my elderly netbook. To me these things are devices for when on holiday - hopefully fanless so silent, and gives me Chrome. As long as it can play movies from USB to keep me amused on the plane, job jobbed. For proper computing I have a nice big desktop back at home. Just hope they do one with black keys and the screen isn't reflective.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Love my Chromebook.

    No need for a PC anymore. The new Nexus7, Nexus4 and Chromebook have me totally seup for what I do. Cost less than an iphone and iPad too.

    1. JeffyPoooh
      Pint

      Re: Love my Chromebook.

      "... Nexus7, Nexus4 and Chromebook have me totally seup for what I do. Cost less than an iphone and iPad too."

      The iPad Mini I bought my wife was $250 local store. My Nexus 7 was $230 plus $14 S&H (almost exactly the same total price). There is normally a price gap, but it's hardly worth mentioning.

      My iPhone was $250 when accompanied with an actual 6GB 2-yr data plan so that it's useful. My coworker bought a Nexus 4 outright and it was also $250, but (and because) he's too cheap to have a reasonable data plan. So he has a very nice smartphone that's much less useful. There are two different locally optimized solutions, but only one approach actually gets the smartphone connected to the 'net with a multi-GB per month data plan. YMMV.

      As far as I can see, with clever shopping, everything listed above is about $250. Facts. In general, there is an "Apple tax", but it can easily be avoided with clever shopping or including a data plan with your smartbrick.

      YMMV, depending on local marketing practices.

    2. jason 7

      Re: Love my Chromebook.

      I have the 11" Samsung and its great. I don't bother using my 13" Laptop anymore. It's just too heavy and bulky compared to the little Samsung.

      I can do most of what I need to do with it web wise plus a bit more. For me it's a more useful device than a tablet. It's also far far superior to a netbook. It may only have a 768p screen but at least the menus fit on it.

      Basically it cost £200 so I just thrash it for two years and then buy a new one. And when I get the new one all I have to do is log into it and I'm up and running. Cheap, simple chuck-about computing. No need for Linux as it's...well linux already really.

      Try doing that with your miserable bulky £300 Toshiba bargain special laptop from PC World.

  14. Number6

    I want an upgrade to my Aspire One in the same general form factor capable of running Linux as a standalone computer. The AA1 is five years old now and still doing fairly well, but is beginning to creak. A shame someone can't do an upgrade motherboard that would fit in the same case, with the same connectors on it, but I suspect the market would be rather small.

  15. auburnman

    Specs making ChromeOS pointless?

    Decent RAM +Processor + SSD should make ANY decent OS fast as anything. So where's the argument for using an OS that is crippled when you can't get online?

    1. jason 7

      Re: Specs making ChromeOS pointless?

      How often in the 21st century do you find yourself offline?

      I take it you have a smartphone with tethering? You live in the first or developing world?

      If I find myself in a location or situation nowadays that doesn't have any access to the internet then chances are that's exactly the situation I wanted.

  16. Nick Ryan Silver badge

    It's useful to turn this specification around a bit and compare it to tablets rather than full blown laptops.

    I have the latest Nexus 7 and it's a great bit of kit for the money, really nice screen with a good resolution (not ****ing 1366x768) , fast processing that's easily fast enough for what I need and the battery easily lasts all day of pretty solid usage. It comes with a 2.5A charger (or something like that) which charges up really quite quickly as well.

    Why the description of the Nexus 7? It doesn't have a keyboard - add a keyboard and you get something very similar to a ChromeBook. So there's no real reason why a device like this couldn't charge using a "standard" tablet charger.

  17. Hellcat

    I still don't understand chromebook.

    You need to be online as all the content is through the browser? But the thing costs as much as a cheap laptop and nearly as much as a Surface RT or a mid-spec Android tablet - and all these have offline capabilities.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I still don't understand chromebook

      It does have offline capabilities for Google Docs, and syncs when reconnected.

      Knock off the cost of 100G of Google Drive for 2 years, and it is a $180 mini laptop. When I got mine I was able to cancel my Dropbox account, so I saved somewhat more. I don't know why, but document editing on a Chromebook, and posting to sites like this one, is much easier than with an Android tablet, even a Transformer.

  18. Stefing

    Now you'll need a PC to charge your phone, ebook reader and ... er, laptop

    If only there were USB mains chargers available!

    Oh, wait, - THERE ARE.

    Enough of the tabloid deliberate stupidity, please.

  19. Lockwood
    Trollface

    This thing has a USB sockets to connect devices to.

    This thing can charge via USB.

    Charge it once off the mains and you'll never have to do that again!

  20. King Dave

    1. Connect USB lead to USB port on Chromebook.

    2. Connect microUSB end to charging port on Chromebook.

    3. Infinite powah!!!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @King Dave

      Kirchoff called, he has a law he would like to tell you about.

    2. Lockwood

      Same idea at the same time. Awesome.

  21. Andy 70

    yes but....

    does it run minecraft?

    if not, I can garrentee loss of interest from all the teenagers and below in the family.

  22. jason 7

    To those that don't get it.

    I suggest trying or borrowing one first.

    Before I got mine I was pretty sniffy and felt "what the hell is this going to be useful for???"

    But then I got one (felt I had to try as it's part of my job really) and within an hour or two I was pretty impressed. The form factor works, the usability is far more then you imagine for general use.

    It is actually far nicer to use than all these cheap full laptops that keep getting mentioned. Laptops at that end are miserable. I do not consider the 11" Samsung miserable at all. My proper laptop gathers dust.

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