Google’s New Samsung Chromebook: World’s Best Low Cost Laptop Ever Designed [A Full Review]

Google’s new Samsung Chromebook is the latest browser based laptop with an 11.6 inch display and slimmer enough to have a weight of only 2.5 pounds for which Google truly claims; “the best computer that’s ever been designed”. And more surprisingly this Samsung Chromebook costs for $249 only with its wonderful cloud based operating system- Chrome.

Actually, Google Chrome is a laptop based on cloud computing for which it uses Google Chrome OS built on Linux which in fact runs applications in the Chrome browser.

Back in May, Google launched two second generation Chrome OS based products, Samsung Series 5 550 Chromebook with a price tag of $550 and the $330 Series 3 Chromebox. Both products were launched with a promise of highly increased processing power.

If you have a look on both devices, you will be able to easily conclude that Google launched Chromebook Series 5 550 by incorporating the concept of Apple’s MacBook Pro, while the new Chromebook seems much inspired by a MacBook Air as it is a thinner notebook with a smaller 11.6 inch display screen but yet is cheaper than Apple’s Air. Google knows it well that cost is the most effective factor in the popularity of a device so it has launched an aggressive publicity campaign to make its Chrome laptop highly trendy in stores and advertising.

Sundar Pichai, the senior vice president in charge of Chrome and Google Apps, syas;

It’s the best computer that’s ever been designed at this price point, We’re calling it the new Samsung Chromebook.

Now come to another big and powerful difference between new and previous Chromebook models; the previous model has an Intel x86 processors inside while the new Chromebook is powered by a processor of the ARM lineage that’s virtually universal in mobile phones and tablets.

Yeah, Google has finally incorporated universal version-less brand names as we experience in Apple’s iPad and Honda’s Civic like hi-tech products.

The new Samsung Chromebook is powered by an ARM Cortex-A15 processor manufactured by Samsung and dubbed as the Exynos 5250, also known as the Exynos 5 Dual. ARM licenses its chip designs to the companies including Samsung, Apple, and Qualcomm, and A15 symbolizes the objective to push into higher-end devices where x86 chips powers the rest.

However, Google still looks very careful in defining its new Chromebook, as it doesn’t describe this new Samsung Chromebook as a full fledge high end personal computer. Instead, it wisely defines it as a best low cost laptop for the folks who widely use the Internet or for educational institutions looking for conveying more computing skills to their students.

Google Launches Impressive Promotion Campaign for New Samsung Chromebook:

Google believes that Samsung Chromebook is the best ever affordable laptop ever designed in the tech history so it is almost impossible for a laptop lover to ignore it. So the company launches an impressive promotion campaign for new Samsung Chromebook contrary to the first-gen Chromebook models those were only available online without any considerable publicity. The second-gen Chromebook models were launched back in May and were made available in 100 Best Buy stores in the United States and select Currys stores in the United Kingdom. But the new Samsung Chromebook will be available in 500 Best Buy stores and more than 30 Currys and PC World stores starting next week.

Also, trained staff will be smiling there in the stores to ensure the business activity along with the availability of new Chromebook on Amazon.com and Google Play, and online pre-orders.

Pichai told the world;

We are going to take more of an active presence in the market. We believe we have a device for the mainstream. You’ll also see us run a marketing campaign like we’ve done with Chrome.

Though tech market leads to a situation where PC and laptop makers will feel a lot of trouble as techies are much interested in buying a tablet, yet Pichai not worried for it as he sees the whole scenario with another angle;

Tablets will sell well, but there are many situations — notably typing — when people prefer a device with a traditional keyboard. His daughter uses a Chromebook for school, and “she vastly prefers opening up her Chromebook and doing her homework.

I think the notion of what is a tablet and what a Chromebook is over time will converge,” for example as tablets learn to get along better with keyboards.

However, he forgot to present the big and newest example of  such convergence – Microsoft Surface.

Why Chromebook Uses an ARM Processor?

The battery life of a device depends on its power consumption and it is also a key factor in the acceptance of a device especially for laptops and notebooks. The use of an ARM processor in new Samsung Chromebook is mainly for providing low power consumption and improved battery life.  Microsoft has already accomplished this fact during making its Windows RT operating system. Google claims that new Samsung Chromebook will have a battery life of 6.5 hours and it runs just like tablets without a fan.

Pichai, who is a regular user of Samsung Chromebook at office and home, claims that he works whole the day with a half-hour charge which incredibly enhances the battery back up to 30 or 40 percent capacity.

The other reason which seems logical in this regard is the Google’s intention for designing a Chromebook based on system-on-a-chip (SOC) approach. The Exynos S Dual chip, a dual-core processor running at 1.7GHz, is capable to decode 1080p video at 60 fps; run an external monitor with 2,560×1,600 resolution; support HDMI 1.4, USB 2.0, and 3.0 ports; power a Webcam; use hardware accelerated graphics with the OpenGL and OpenVG interfaces; and run software on its graphics hardware with the OpenCL interface.

The Samsung Chromebook uses a single USB 2.0 port, a single USB 3.0 port, an HDMI port, a headphone-microphone jack, and an SD Card slot without any RJ-45 jack for an Ethernet cable.

In fact, Samsung Chromebook is the typical cloud computing device. Developers have to battle with multiple issues in getting Web apps to work without any network connection, and even Google Docs only has limited support — for example, you can’t edit spreadsheets.

Being a giant search engine, Google is obviously a big supporter of cloud computing. Along with Google Docs, the company provides its Google Drive service capable of storing any sort of file and synchronizing it across numerous devices. Google Drive usually has 5GB of free capacity online, but Samsung Chromebook user will have100GB, as announced by Pichai.

And with the launch of new advanced version of Chrome OS, Google has completed the integration of Chrome OS and Google Drive. In other words, a guy signing on to the Chromebook for the first time with Google account credentials doesn’t need to go through additional loops for the working Google Drive.

Moreover, for Chrome OS’s design Web apps use essentially cross-platform software written in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, so most software works the same without programmers. That’s a big disparity to what Windows developers struggle supporting both Windows 8 on x86 chips and Windows RT on ARM chips, or that Mac programmers battle when Apple shifted from PowerPC chips to x86 chips.

Another big difference associated with new Chromebook is Google’ Native Client software used to run software fairly recreated C or C++ in a protected memory compartment called a sandbox. Dissimilar with Web apps, NaCl apps work as native instructions for the processor. That means NaCl apps — games frequently have another obstacle to cross with the Samsung Chromebook.

Google is keenly trying to introduce an improved version of Native Client called PNaCl, though, that attaches a layer of perception to protect programmers from the chip complication. And that will be introduced on the Samsung Chromebook with the launch of next Chrome OS update within six weeks.

via: CNET

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