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MrJay23

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 12, 2011
67
1
Using a chromebook as my portable device just around the house and such. Anyone have any kind of experiences with chromebooks?

My Macbook's battery has been drained, trackpad is a bit jammed after replacing the battery, and the powerport only only charges at a certain angle.

I could get it all fixed but you can do the math from 2009..I'm way out of warranty of applecare lol.

So I've ran an external monitor with my Macbook and have a 24 inch monitor along with the 13 inch screen and it's pretty good as a work station.

Does anyone have any kind of reviews of going from a macbook to a chromebook?

I really feel I just need internet browsing and streaming of netflix/youtube. And anything else, Chrome remote desktop can help out a lot as well.
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,467
5,097
Based on your needs, sounds like a good solution. If you've every used the Chrome browser, then you're already familiar with the the OS.

We have 2 Chromebooks in our household that are primarily used by my younger kids for school work. Their school set up Google ID's with limited functionality (they use Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides) but it works great for them as everything is syncing in the cloud and allow easy sharing with other students or teacher.

My biggest gripe is the quality of the hardware. At the low end, you pretty much get what you pay for and if you are accustomed to MacBook quality, be prepared for some disappointment. That being said, there are some decent ones--we have a Samsung unit (previous gen, hardware is crap but kids don't care) and an Asus C720 (infinitely better than the Samsung, much sturdier build feel and better keyboard). The Pixel is an outstanding piece of hardware but it's also quite expensive comparatively.
 

Aika

macrumors regular
Apr 7, 2006
207
177
If you already use Google services on your Mac a Chromebook is a great second machine. I still use mine sometimes even though I have a MBA.

Go for the Toshiba Chromebook 2 with the 1080p screen.
 

MrJay23

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 12, 2011
67
1
Based on your needs, sounds like a good solution. If you've every used the Chrome browser, then you're already familiar with the the OS.

We have 2 Chromebooks in our household that are primarily used by my younger kids for school work. Their school set up Google ID's with limited functionality (they use Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides) but it works great for them as everything is syncing in the cloud and allow easy sharing with other students or teacher.

My biggest gripe is the quality of the hardware. At the low end, you pretty much get what you pay for and if you are accustomed to MacBook quality, be prepared for some disappointment. That being said, there are some decent ones--we have a Samsung unit (previous gen, hardware is crap but kids don't care) and an Asus C720 (infinitely better than the Samsung, much sturdier build feel and better keyboard). The Pixel is an outstanding piece of hardware but it's also quite expensive comparatively.


Thanks for the input. Really put it into perspective. I'm not looking for amazing quality, just something to browse around on away from my now desktop of a macbook pro. But I'm definitely looking to go into a well known brand, Samsung and Asus are probably going to be the main targets.

Thanks!
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,467
5,097
Thanks for the input. Really put it into perspective. I'm not looking for amazing quality, just something to browse around on away from my now desktop of a macbook pro. But I'm definitely looking to go into a well known brand, Samsung and Asus are probably going to be the main targets.

Thanks!

I realized re-reading my post that I mistyped Asus when it's actually an Acer 720, not Asus. And I'd stay away from Samsung--the model I have is garbage but I got it for something like $150 refurbished, can't recall exactly and the newer model doesn't seem to be appreciably better. I'd have no problem recommending the Acer but the previous poster's recommendation of the Toshiba is probably your best bet--much better display.
 
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