Re: But
Chrome OS is far superior to Chrome on Windows. You only have to reboot Chrome OS when there is an update available, rebooting takes about 7 seconds (including installing the update), sleep/resume is infinitely trustworthy and is very fast, the computer doesn't slow down over time.
Is it really worth 200€ more than Chrome on Windows? That was the problem.
Likewise, my Windows tablet gets rebooted once a month, takes around 15-20 seconds. Sleep/resume is infitely trustworthy and is fast enough for web browsing, the computer doesn't slow down over time - the Samsung is 2 years old now and hasn't slowed down yet - although I haven't filled it up with crap.
The Surface Pro 3 is even quicker, but we are in a different price and performance league.
(the replacement model can be bought new for £180), so you'll not save 50% by buying a Windows machine.
Maybe given time. In December, they were still much more expensive thant Windows equivalents. In January the prices seem to be finally been coming down to near US levels. That is what is needed, until now the Chromebook was just an over priced curiosity. The question is, is it too late?
My 11" Windows laptop was quick when I got it, but now it's practically unusable for 5 minutes after I turn it on because it's just so slow at starting things up and checking for updates.
My old Sony Vaio is a 2010 model and with Windows 8 (installed at release), it still boots in around 30 seconds and is usable straight away - Firefox is loaded and usable in under a minute, including me entering my password to log on to Windows.