Google sent me a netbook!

[dwilsonfl]

Just got a new chrome netbook. Kind of Thinkpad-ish. Rubberized to the max, very minimalistic.

[emtee3511]

Cool! What are the specs?

[rkan]

Aint a thinkpad without the keyboard.

[khtse]

I've just got one too! They didn't even bother to send me an email telling me that. Got home and there is a Cr-48 waiting at my door!

It's an Atom based netbook running beta version Chrome OS. Performance it's nothing to be pround of (since it uses Atom), but it's fast enough for web browsing. Built quality is very good for a netbook. As far as I know, it has 2 GB of ram (cannot be upgraded) and a small capacity (like 4GB or 8GB, don't remember) SanDisk SSD. Since almost everything is cloud-based, it doesn't need massive storage space. It comes with a network card that can connect to Verizon network, and Verizon is giving out 100MB per month for free for 2 years.

I've always been a Chrome browser since it first launched, and using Chrome OS is like... always have the Chrome browser maximized and forget what's behind it. Except poor flash videos performance, I'm pretty happy with its web performance.

[dwilsonfl]

What he said.

The kyb is actually not bad. Layout is different - some I like and some not so much, but it's fast enough for me to do pretty much everything I do. Camera is pretty good.

I'm still in shock I got sent one.

[rkawakami]

@dwilsonfl and khtse: I'm assuming that both of you had registered with the CR-48 pilot program some time ago. I've just done so and am wondering how long it took before they selected you and shipped out the system.

[dwilsonfl]

It was last fall I think and it just showed up w/o any notice. Not complaining.

[khtse]

I applied for it around Dec 19 or 20 something.

When Google first announced the pilot program, and the application asked about your job and how you would use the laptop, I thought it was only meant for web developer. I thought I would never get picked so I didn't apply for one. Then I read on forums how many random non geeky people got one few days after they applied for one, I tried my luck too. The original deadline for applying was Dec 21, and I applied just a few days before that.

Anyway, some thoughts on it after using it for two days:
- I like how it goes into/wake up from sleep really quick. Boot time is quick too. I have an Intel SSD on my X200, but it can never achieve boot/sleep time this quick with windows 7.
- Atom is slow. This is not news I suppose, but everyone was hoping that a light weight OS like Chrome would make things better. No, Atom is still too slow. Web browsing is okay, but not good. Flash is bad, youtube is acceptable but Hulu is really bad.
- The keyboard is good. I don't miss the F-keys, but I miss the del, home/end, page up/down keys.
- I don't like the trackpad. I'm a thinkpad person and always prefer trackpoint. But I do like the trackpad on macbooks, and I have yet found a trackpad on any non-mac that I like.
- The trackpad can do two-finger multitouch, no 3- or 4- fingers gestures. Pinch to zoom doesn't work everywhere, i.e. it doesn't zoom a webapge or enlarge the text like OS X, but it works in Google map. Two finger clicks work like right-click on a windows machine and bring up the menu. The problem is the trackpad often fails to register my two finger click and treated it as a left click.
- You can sync all bookmarks/apps/extension/preference of all your Chrome browsers on other computers with this netbook. So yes, in principle if you have been using Chrome on your Thinkpads there is no setup needed to use the Cr-48. You log onto Google and everything is here. This is really cool. The only bit that is not synced is cookies, you have to retype and save your passwords.
- Chrome OS is in beta, obviously. But you can run the Cr-48 in developer mode and get even beta-er build. There is an audio bug in the current build of Chrome OS, but going into developer mode and downloaded the latest developer build fixes it.
- Still cannot register on Verizon network.
- Screen is bright, but view angle and color accuracy are bad. I'm spoiled by the AFFS screen on my X200, and those Dell desktop monitors that I have.
- Battery life is very good.
- Beside the audio bug, I haven't had any crash yet.

- It's an excellent product for its price (free).

[rkawakami]

Thanks for the info and review!

- It's an excellent product for its price (free).

Which brings up the question... how much would you be willing to pay for one?

[khtse]

At the current state of Chrome OS and this hardware? Not much. This thing is going for 400-500 on eBay right now, but that's only because it's the only Chrome OS netbook out there and it's rare.

How much this thing is worth depends on what you want to do with it. People are paying 200-400 on average for an Atom based netbook with Windows pre-installed. That's crazy because those netbooks are slow as hell. Yes, they do everything your PC does, but they do nothing pleasantly. I'd use that amount of money to get a refurbished/used X60/X61/X200 instead if I wanted something small and light (and I do have an X200). For quick and simple internet access like checking emails, I do that on my smartphone. For an afternoon at a coffee shop, I use my X200 or iPad. For heavy computing, I go back to my desktop. So for me, I don't need a netbook.

But for people who needs something like a netbook, this thing makes more sense than any Windows based netbook. Not for now, of course, since there are still bugs to be ironed out and the app catalog is still pretty thin. The OS is free, manufacturers don't have to pay for Windows license and that should make it slightly cheaper. Quick boot/wake/sleep time really makes using this thing very convenient. Long battery life. Good build quality (compared to netbooks, not $1,000 Thinkpads or Macbooks). I'd say if every retail Chrome OS netbook retains all these good qualities of the Cr-48, and priced below $300, the Chrome OS can really take over the netbook market.


Btw, I've just tried Google Cloud Print, which is really cool. It works this way:
- Install Chrome browser on your computer that has a printer installed. Go to settings in the browser, enable cloud print, and choose which printer to use.
- Now, any computer with a Chrome browser can use that printer wirelessly with your Google username and password! (I suppose you need to have Chrome browser running on the main computer all the time in order to use this feature)

[dwilsonfl]

One of the things I thought would be totally easy with the Cr48 was using Google Apps. But if I download say an excel file,the OS says it's not a supported file type and I can't do a darn thing with it. I cannot live without being able to use an Office type suite with some means of grabbing files off my college's forums and opening them.

I also hate the trackpad and that's why I am typing this on my X40.

Tried to use an external monitor today and nothing happened.

USB stick and nothing happened.

The audio bug is aggravating.

That said, I like the machine overall and really like the idea of getting out from under the M$ thumb. Just have a few things to work out.

[khtse]

Some more thoughts after 2 more days of using it:

- dwilsonfl: the audio bug is fixed if you switch to developer mode and download the latest developer build (yes, Chrome OS is in beta and all builds are beta builds. But you can get even more experimental "developer builds").
- yes, the trackpad sucks
- Atom is just plain too slow. Open one tab with Pandora, all other tabs become unresponsive. Maybe this has to do with flash? Using a Pandora Chrome extension (instead of opening the webpage) seems to help a bit, but still notice the slow down. Cr-48 runs on a single core Atom N450 1.66Ghz, anyone knows if the newer dual core Atoms offer any significant performance improvement?
- There is no way to adjust the auto-sleep and/or auto-screen off time. It's not very fun when you are listening to Pandora on it while reading a book, and then the machine goes into sleep automatically.
- I use Chrome on both my Thinkpad and desktop. Using the Cr-48 makes me appreciate the Chrome browser even more. I don't need a netbook that's more or less the same size of my X200, with not even half of its performance. If it's a 7/9/10 inch netbook, with better CPU/GPU combo (maybe AMD Fusion?) at a low price, I may consider buying one. Better yet, integrate Chrome into Android and do something like the Motorola Atrix 4G does.

[RealBlackStuff]

Are you expected to turn in a 'user review' or similar to Google?
And keep the machine for your efforts, or return it?

[khtse]

Are you expected to turn in a 'user review' or similar to Google?
And keep the machine for your efforts, or return it?

No you don't have to. It's like most other Google's products, by using them you are automatically generate tons of data for them to analyze. Of course there are also a convenient bug reporting button on top of the screen which you can use to suggest bug or improvement. But no, no one is required to write a review or send the unit back to Google.

Perhaps I should stop criticizing the hardware of the CR-48. After all this is not a retail product, and the thing that Google really want us to test out is the OS itself. Just that the slowness of Atom and the flakiness of the trackpad hamper this experience a lot. I have to say though, the CR-48 is still much better built than many other netbooks that I have played with.

[Anniemoose98]

I just got one, too.

I am posting from it right now. It is like a mix between a thinkpad, apple macbook, and the old apple Pismo's.

--AM

[dwilsonfl]

Just an update. I'm liking it more and more. In fact, while I was waiting on my X40 to boot the other day I was cussing myself for leaving the CR48 at home. It's much quicker handling most webpages too. If they'd work out the USB storage deal and fix the download and open glitch, I'd get rid of both the X40 and X60s.

[ParatoOptimal]

Why do you think got you the netbook over others?
Your job title, background, level of computer knowledge, hours spent on Internet per week?

[dwilsonfl]

In my case, I couldn't say why I was chosen.

I'm a pastor/student teacher who lives on the internet and applied several times.