Chromebook or Netbook?

[jon]

Win7News
Editor’s Corner

Should You Trade in your Windows 7 Netbook for a Chromebook?

Google has been touting its Chrome operating system for a while, and now the first computers running that OS, made by Samsung and Acer, are available for preorder:
http://www.win7news.net/3T4K9H/110619-P ... Chromebook

These Chromebooks are being advertised as an alternative to Windows or Linux based netbooks, but what are the advantages and disadvantages? The Chrome OS is based on Linux but it’s basically a web browser. Therefore, it runs only web- based applications. You can’t install other Linux applications on it. The only "real" (locally installed) application on it is the browser, which looks (unsurprisingly) like the Chrome browser that you can install on Windows or Mac. It’s a very minimalist approach and that makes it lightweight and efficient in terms of system resources. It makes for a quick boot-up process. It also limits what you can do with it.

Don’t confuse Chrome OS with Google’s popular mobile operating system, Android. They are very different. You can’t run Android apps on Chromebooks. Chrome (like Android) will run on ARM processors and will also (like Windows) run on x86 machines, but it’s designed for low powered, "secondary" computers - not for the desktop or to be used as your primary/only computer. There is no "desktop" on a Chromebook - everything happens in the browser. And because they rely on the web for their applications, Chromebooks are very dependent on Internet connectivity. Some Chrome apps (games, Google Docs) can be used offline but in general, you need to be connected. Your data is stored "in the cloud."

As with tablets (and some notebooks), Chromebooks come in both 3G/wi-fi and wi- fi only models. Interestingly, the 3G models come with 100 MB of free data per month through Verizon Wireless. If you want/need more, you pay for it. The good news is that you don’t have to sign a contract; the data plan is "pay as you go." Interestingly, I saw nothing about an Ethernet port in the specs. For a device that’s so dependent on having an Internet connection, that seems odd to me.

The cost of the currently available Chromebooks ranges from $349 (the Acer wi-fi only model) to $$499 (the Samsung 3G model). Now let’s compare that to a typical netbook or notebook running Windows 7. First of all, you can find a Windows 7 netbook for at least $100 less. Best Buy offers an HP Mini netbook with a gig of RAM and a 160 GB hard drive, running Windows 7 Starter Edition, for $249. In fact, for the same price as the lowest-priced Chromebook, you can get a full- fledged HP notebook computer with an AMD processor, 3 GB of memory and a 320 GB hard drive. It runs Windows 7 Home Premium Edition. Of course, you can probably find sales and online deals to get an even better price.

What about portability? That’s important if you’re going to be taking your device on the road. Whereas most notebooks are a bit bigger and heavier, the Windows 7 netbooks are about as light and compact as the Chromebooks (around 3 lbs.). Most Win7 netbooks have the same amount of RAM as the Chromebooks (2 GB), and the notebooks have more. The Chromebooks run on ATOM processors, like many netbooks. One big advantage the Windows 7 computers have - for me, at least - is the substantial hard drive. The Chromebooks have small (16GB) SSDs, which are fast, but only intended to hold the operating system. You’re supposed to store your data in the cloud, although there is a flash memory card slot so you can get more storage space that way. They also have USB ports so presumably one could attach a USB drive (although I don’t know if there are drivers available).

Something that’s very important when you’re traveling with a portable computer is how long the battery will last. Chromebooks boast a 9 hour battery life, and most full-fledged Windows 7 notebooks can’t match that. Netbooks are another story, though, with various models of the Asus, Toshiba, Acer and HP Mini (for example) getting 8 to 11 hours on a charge. So the Chromebook doesn’t really have an advantage there. One area in which the Chromebook does excel is boot time. With an 8 second boot and instant resume from standby, it might be the right choice for those who are short on patience. Average boot time for Windows 7 is 30 to 50 seconds, but there are ways to shave some seconds off that:
http://www.win7news.net/3T4K9H/110619-Win7-Boot-Time

Then there is the security issue, and it’s admittedly an important one. The Chromebook is arguably more secure than a Windows netbook/notebook. The attack surface is smaller because it runs only one application (the browser). It also enjoys the benefit of security through obscurity; because there are far fewer systems running the Chrome OS, attackers and malware writers are less likely to target it; you just don’t get as much "bang for your buck" when you write a virus that will infect only a small percentage of the computers out there. So if you literally don’t have a minute to spare, and/or you need the absolutely most secure way to connect to the Internet, a Chromebook might fill the bill.

But before you make that leap, consider what kind of work you need to get done, and where/when you need to be able to do it. The Chrome OS might not be the best choice if you need to use specific applications or you want a lot of flexibility in an OS. Even the lowly Windows 7 Starter Edition looks robust in comparison. You won’t be running your favorite Windows applications on the Chromebook - unless they’re web apps. There’s no file manager or real file system structure that you can access, because you’re expected to keep your data in the cloud. If you have to work offline (for instance, on a plane that doesn’t offer onboard wi-fi), you won’t be able to use most of your apps and data. Sure, it integrates "seamlessly" with All Things Google, but how difficult is it, really, to access Gmail, Google Docs, etc. on a Windows 7 netbook or notebook? Not very.

When Google first announced that the company was going to make its own operating system, there were dozens of headlines along the lines of "Will Chrome OS kill Windows?"
http://www.win7news.net/3T4K9H/110619-Chrome-vs-Windows

Now that we’ve actually seen the reality of the Chromebook, I think it’s pretty safe to say that the answer to that question is "no." I’m not saying the Chromebooks have no place at all. I can see how they might be useful for certain purposes. However, given the price point in comparison to a Windows 7 portable that can do so much more, I would have a difficult time justifying the purchase. Tell us what you think. Have you been eagerly awaiting the release of Google’s Chromebook? Would you trade in your Windows 7 netbook or notebook for one? Why or why not? Did the pricing disappoint you? At what price would it become an attractive option? Who do you think would make up the target market for this type of device? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in our forum at
http://www.win7news.net/3T4K9H/110619-Forum-Discussion