Civic Type-R Owners Club & Forum

Howdy,

So, chromebooks, decided to get one, so please no "oh get a tablet" blah blah blah, I need a cheaper, reliable, fast machine that loads full desktop sites, so no tablet/mobile sites.

Anyway, I'm looking to spend around £150, any got any recommendations? I am leaning towards a HP, as my main machine has been a HP for the last 3 laptops, been looking at these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171523121906? ... rmvSB=true

That was actually £120 a few weeks back, I should have snapped one up then.

Any other models worth looking at for £150ish?

Slightly over budget, but the best model I think is the Toshiba Chromebook 2:
http://amzn.to/1IScWPa

The Acer C720 is also supposed to be fairly good: http://amzn.to/1ISd55l

Have you used a chromebook in anger?

Seems like an extreme way to buy a web browser

What else are you wanting to do because unless it is everything Google you may find yourself a little limited

I use a Chromebook (C720P) as my goto device for browsing, email, finance spreadsheet, getting photos off my DSLR, SSH and RDP to a home server etc. It's also great for travelling; used it on a 9hr flight to Vegas to watch a load of Breaking Bad episodes. Instant on, always enough oomph to do what I need, just the odd restart every few month or so to update (takes 15 seconds tops).

Get a C720 - best bang for buck. My C720P is the same just with a touchscreen - bought as it was only £10 more than the non-touchscreen model when Tesco Direct incorrectly discounted them ...

If you want to nerd out and run proper desktop apps, you can run full fat linux as a "chroot" alongside Chrome OS. I've got it installed, but rarely use it.

I literally want it to check emails and browse the web, that's it. A tablet would do the job, but I need full desktop site access. I need something fast & reliable with decent battery life that can access webpages, a Chromebook seems like the best bet. Admittedly haven't used one yet though

skinnyman9000 wrote:I literally want it to check emails and browse the web, that's it. A tablet would do the job, but I need full desktop site access. I need something fast & reliable with decent battery life that can access webpages, a Chromebook seems like the best bet. Admittedly haven't used one yet though

Chromebook ideal then, as they're nice and basic.

You can get "desktop" web pages on a tablet/phone no problem though? Chrome on a Nexus 9 does it by default. For the ones that don't, just tick the "Request desktop site" option in the browser. For the more stubborn sites, you can change the "user agent" string of Chrome to 'Desktop'. Not sure if there's an iOS equivalent method.

I can, but is a £150 tablet going to render desktop sites faster than a £150 Chromebook? Think I've already talked myself into one, its just which one

skinnyman9000 wrote:I can, but is a £150 tablet going to render desktop sites faster than a £150 Chromebook? Think I've already talked myself into one, its just which one

If you're willing to buy open box, C720P (touchscreen model)

Leaning towards HP, had HP machines for the past 3 laptops, always been solid,

Doesn't help thought that HP make 3 different 14" chromebooks, all just called HP Chromebook 14!

Just check the screen and resolution in person, on a cheap 14" display it might look a bit pants.

Ordered one.

HP Chromebook 14. Tegra K1 processor, only 2GB of Ram, seems fine in reviews though, £180 from John Lewis, so 2yr guarantee too.

I still can't see the point of these.

I'll be honest, it's brilliant.

Boots up in 5 secs, 9hrs battery, no noise, internet, gmail, youtube, Google drive, all that jazz. No updates, no viruses.

Admittedly tablets do a similar thing, but this was £180 wth 2yr warranty, and has a full size keyboard.