Guest PaulOBrien Posted October 19, 2012 Report Share Posted October 19, 2012 Samsung and Google have announced their first ARM Chromebook, the Series 3, priced at £229 in the UK and $249 in the US. Great price right? But there's good reasons you might want to pick up it's Intel Series 5 sibling instead. The machine, available today from Currys features ChromeOS (of course), an Exynos 5250 Processor, 2 GB DDR3 RAM, a 1366 x 768 11.6" display, 16GB SSD, a memory card reader, 1 x USB 2.0 and 1 x USB 3.0 ports, 802.11 a/b/g/n wifi and HDMI output. Boot time is said to be only 7 seconds while the battery should be good for over 6 hours of use. As well as the base machine, a 3G equipped model is available from PCWorld for £279. Seems like a decent deal right? Well, it's kinda complicated. If we look at the UK supplier of Chromebooks with the largest range, PC World, we can see that the Intel equipped Series 5 550 Chromebooks (the latest and greatest) are much more expensive at £379.99 for the WiFi version and £429.99 for the 3G version. For the original Intel devices though, the Series 5 Chromebooks, the WiFi only model is £199.99 while the 3G equipped variant is £279.99. The Series 5 machines have a higher resolution 12.1" screen (compared to the 11.6" panel on the Series 3 Chromebook) as well as a few extra ports. They're white too. ;) Tough call right? Now factor in that there is currently £50 available by redemption on all Series 5 Chromebooks. You can also save 5% if purchasing from Currys using the 'cur5' discount code. Couple that with 2.52% cashback from Topcashback and the Intel equipped Series 5 Chromebook comes in at £135.20 which is quite ridiculous. The ARM equipped Series 3 will certainly offer good performance, a fanless chassis, great battery life from a smaller battery than in the Intel devices and maybe even in the future an ARM Android hack but, well, it's a tough sell today. The other question is... Chromebook or Android Tablet? What would you choose? Click here to view the item Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zarch1972 Posted October 19, 2012 Report Share Posted October 19, 2012 I love the idea of this and I think its fine for anyone who simply wants to browse/facebook/email etc and is better than a tablet for that because of the keyboard and trackpad. But I can see myself getting frustrated by the lack of true apps and being confined to the cloud. Also, do all video playback sites work? If SKY Go worked I think i'd get one in a shot, but it uses Silverlight, so probably not. Finally, with only "Chrome" apps available on the ChromeBook, an Android device gives you far more choice etc for apps with the Play Store etc. An interesting concept, but i'm wondering if an Android tablet with keyboard would allow you to be more productive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest andybarker Posted October 19, 2012 Report Share Posted October 19, 2012 Could these devices be hacked to become an Android tablet? That would be great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zarch1972 Posted October 19, 2012 Report Share Posted October 19, 2012 http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/915489-google-and-samsung-launch-229-chromebook-laptop "The lightweight 2.5lbs computer runs on Google's popular Android software and revolves around the internet search engine giant's Chrome web browser." mmmmmmmmmmm, nice research Metro. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest todoleo Posted October 19, 2012 Report Share Posted October 19, 2012 I already have an Android tablet and will decide on a Chromebook next week. Thanks for the cashback/redemption breakdown Paul! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Christian Edwards Posted October 19, 2012 Report Share Posted October 19, 2012 £50 cash back on the Series 5s, sounds like a bribe from Intel to maintain market share. They've been left behind by the low power consumption of ARM so they fired this plan from the grassy knoll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hecatae Posted October 19, 2012 Report Share Posted October 19, 2012 http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/915489-google-and-samsung-launch-229-chromebook-laptop "The lightweight 2.5lbs computer runs on Google's popular Android software and revolves around the internet search engine giant's Chrome web browser." mmmmmmmmmmm, nice research Metro. :) I like that, must write a letter of complaint, Dear Metro, based on your chromebook announcement I went and purchased one, imagine my disgust that it does not run Android, I have now purchased a Microsoft Surface. Yours Disgusted of Bognor Regis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KaterM Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 my ASUS Transformer TF 101 with keyboard dock seems a lot better value for money than this ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zarch1972 Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Google themselves now punting this at £229. http://www.google.com/intl/en_uk/chrome/devices/#utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-hpp-em-uk&utm_medium=hpp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zarch1972 Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Although not sure why the US get it through the play store and we have to head to PC World? Greater visibility perhaps to the non-Google/Android community? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oo03sjw Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 OK so now which do I get? Google announces Acer C7 Chromebook, available tomorrow for $199http://vrge.co/SXfjX5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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