In this changing computing landscape, Google’s Chromebook has kind of been lost amongst the rise of the tablets and bigger cell phones. Early versions of the Chrome operating system seemed clunky and pricier than one would expect, which I think is why the Chromebook has been kind of a dud so far.
However I was talking to a co-worker the other day who purchased a Chromebook for his nephew for Christmas, and he was impressed with the operating system and the price. Looks like the floor price for new Chromebooks have hit $199, and the operating system is improving, and getting more positive reviews.
For people who dont want to spend money on computers and just want to browse the internet and compose email – the Chromebook seems like it might be right choice. How many people these days really need a full blown Windows PC? I would guess 80% of people buying laptops only need it for email and web browsing, and if thats the case Chromebook probably is a nice cheap appliance for that.
Interestingly, you can also get Windows PC’s for close to that price – the cheapest Windows 8 PC I found was $299. Buy that is still $100 more than the Chromebook, and if you don’t need the overhead and functionality of a full computer, you are not getting alot for that (and at that price point, you really cant play power hungry PC games or Photoshop).
So the year 2013 might bring a new player into the PC and tablet wars – further driving down the prices of these internet appliances.
I was all set to buy the $199 Chromebook until:
–I discovered that Amazon is charging $250 (free shipping)for it
–TigerDirect offers it for $199, but I couldn’t find out the shipping charges without first entering my credit card info (NOT going to happen!)
–BestBuy has it for $199 (free shipping), but I decided to first …
— … read an indepth and overall positive amazon.com customer review (I’m e-mailing it to you) detailing a few deficiencies (small keys, really lousy speakers, etc.) which changed my mind about buying it.
Long story, short: it’s back to the waiting game for me.