What Is A Chromebook, Anyway?

Chromebooks have been the hot laptop replacement for the past few years, more than a tablet and somewhat less than a netbook. But what’s it like to use one, and is the cheap price tag worth the sacrifices? It may be hard to believe, but MrMobile never used a Chromebook until this week! Fortunately, he just got his hands on one for the very first time – so come along for his first-ever Chromebook hands-on!

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[PRODUCT]

ASUS Chromebook Flip C100PA-DB02

[ABOUT THIS VIDEO]

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[MUSIC]

"The Ballad of MrMobile" (Mobile Nations, 2016)

[DISCLOSURE]

[rayhan]

I like you better as MrMobile than Pocketnow.

[ElwoodAndersonNV]

I'm an experienced user, having owned a computer business. I'm retired now, living in a retirement community. I started investigating Chromebooks long ago, primarily due to the problems fellow seniors were having using PCs. These seniors were only using email and a smattering of other internet activities, but were always having problems with the complexity of PCs. Crashes, backups, security added other problems. I first bought a $200 Chromebook and found it a good alternative for seniors and other technically challenged users that were primarily using the internet. Chromebooks are simple, eliminating the need to learn all the complexities of a PC. They rarely crash. They have good battery life. Like a tablet you don't need to shut them down and boot them up every time you use them. Just shut the cover and open it again when you need to use them. If you do shut them down, boot time is only a few seconds, not minutes like a PC. If the thing breaks, just get a new one and log on. Everything is there in the cloud. What's not to like for the person with a good internet connection and simple computing needs.

So, what about my own use? Now that I'm retired I'm traveling a lot. I found myself leaving the laptop PC at home and taking only the Chromebook. It was lighter and more trouble free. I didn't have to worry about losing it or breaking it. It was always there, at the ready, when I wanted to get on the internet. But, it finally dawned on me, what am I doing with the el cheapo version? So, I popped for the Google Pixel 2, for five times what I paid for el cheapo. What a great decision that was. This is a dream machine in every way: touch screen, smooth trackpad, ultrafast with ChromeOS and Core i5 and 8 Gb or RAM. I've also installed a 64 Gb SD card with all my photos and music on it for entertainment when I'm traveling and offline. My PC now sits tethered to my big screen at home. I'm completely synched to everything on it with my Pixel. My most used devices now are my Pixel and my Nexus 6 phone. No more backups, no more security worries, only speed and convenience.

[TheShadowstorm]

I currently have been running a Toshiba Chromebook 2 for about 2.5 years now, and I have to say it's perfect for what it is. It was the only Chromebook at the time with a 1080p IPS panel, loud, well-located speakers and 13" display. The only downside is the Intel Celeron processor, but Chrome OS is so light, it never mattered. If you have a stable network, it's one of the fastest laptops I own. If you don't, it still connects to network more reliably than my Galaxy S4.
About the online applications, there are some that you can still use offline, including the Google Drive apps, so you need not worry about not being to edit a document or PowerPoint without an Internet connection, really.
Chrome books are very diverse and polarizing, but there are definitely some gems in this side of this market that rival the usability of PC or Mac. In my opinion, if you're a college student or just looking for something cheap, but more reliable than a cheap Windows PC, a Chromebook is a good choice.

[XP]

U should try a higher end Chromebook. Maybe the Chromebook pixel?

[canoopsy]

Killer video. I played with a Chromebook for a few weeks and came to similar conclusions. I think when Android apps are fully available on them, they'll be much more useful.

[OscarJaraJr]

The experience on a Chromebook has been amazing. Boots in under 8 seconds, always updating and the ability to run Android apps make me question the existence of modern tablets and PCs. I have the Samsung Chromebook Plus and it's fantastic!

[radomu]

Girlfriend bought a Toshiba Chromebook 2 after her Macbook Air broke after 5 years of use. She seems to like it a lot, especially because we have wifi everywhere in our home or our workplaces.

Honestly, for the majority of people a chromebook is all they really need.

[nomihsa]

Hello Michael ! Thank you so much for the nice video. I'm planning to buy a Chromebook and this video had helped me alot, Your videos are great

[colinkiama]

1:06 "As my fellow kids say, they are 'Cheap A.F' " - I loved that part lool

[EricOkafor]

I have been wanting this chromebook flip as my secondary laptop for maybe 3 months now. For some reason, my macbook just doesn't have enough juice to last through a full day/10hours without a charge or maybe i want to get one because i'm gadget crazy on the chromebook who knows?

[delanoscott]

I bought my daughter a Lenovo chrome book last year, and she loves it. A big reason was that our school district is heavily working in Google for the kids projects and papers, etc, but the second reason was the cost. It does all that we need and we definitely got our money's worth. Side note, love how the rugged flip phone was on the table next to the Chromebook.

[saideivr]

wow Michael your videos are much more better than they were on pocket now.It is like you have gone from being very good to being the best.Good luck. I'm very much looking forward to your next videos.

[JoeCubicle]

This video was helpful. It kind of verified what I was thinking.

[Bhavesh_Bharambe]

"My first Chromebook and maybe my last Chromebook" exactly well said Micheal

[burkett]

I have used a chromebook for the past 4 years. I started with an acer c720 and recently upgraded to the Toshiba Chromebook 2 (2015) with the full HD display and 4 gigs of ram. It does everything I need a computer to do.

[LucaGoemans]

Almost at subs, well deserved! Keep up the good work👍

[princegurung]

I love your every review from pocket now to mr. mobile ☺ goodwork man

[roadrageburleson]

I have 2 Asus c300m Chromebooks for my 11 year old twins and they love them. They do school work, play games, and YouTube watching on them. All in all a good computer for a great price.

[TheAlbanianBoy]

what a wonderful video . Thank you Michael for creating such a great content for us you truly deserve millions of subscribers .

[danielcoronel]

great video as always! hope your channel grows more :)