The wife and I have had a couple windows netbooks for a few years.
They’ve been functional enough but never been speed demons and they’ve gotten slower over time. Web sites require more overhead and bandwidth demands not to mention the normal layer of bloat associated with Microsoft Windows and antivirus etc..
Every evening the woman came home and would surf her favorite web sites like TMZ, news sites, etc. etc.. But the netbook frustrated her with it’s lethargic performance.
So, I took a gamble and picked up the very inexpensive Acer Chromebook C 720.
Funny conundrum I found: I found the most current model being sold by WalMart as opposed to the largest electronics suppliers or big box stores. Huh?
First observations: It’s light, very light. it has a comparable display to any equivalent laptop screen. It’s easy to log in so long as you have a Google account. It streams like a champ with no issues, even with the HDMI port connected to a large TV. Battery life is between 8 and 6 hours of continuous use. And no fear of viruses. Plus it is shared between five grown ups with no concern that tech support (me) has to get involved.
Unique observations: We discovered it doesn’t have a delete key so you rely on the backspace key. You have to work something out for printing using Google Cloud print, whether a server or special printer function. Using the touchpad, it’s functions are slightly different. You have to use the alt key held down while tapping the touchpad to get the equivalent right click function. Your only choice for a browser is Google Chrome and (if signed in) your Chrome browser favorites and other functions are synchronized.
Overall Observations: Its not for a hardcore windows user that collects gobs of files and likes them on a local hard drive but if the majority of what you need is browsing and your’re okay with using Google user ID’s then you’ll love this. Power up is faster than any laptop I’ve ever used. Browsing is as good or better than any other. And no one can complain about the price.
My only complaint, the only chance I have at it is when no one else is around.
21 Buzzards 