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laptop or chromebook

8 years ago

could anyone please help us. we are wanting to get a new computor. we each have our ipads not, but hubby still prefers the laptop. the only requirement we have is that it has usb ports and he can surf. nothing fancy, what is the difference between a chrome book and laptop. any information would be appreciated.

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Comments (8)

azinoh
8 years ago
A laptop could have either the Mac OS or Windows. A Chromebook has only the Chrome OS.
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Universal Iron Doors & Hardware Inc.
8 years ago
Chrome is just a low end PC running google OS. So you are limited in hardware and software. It can't run Adobe Flash so your net experience will be limited as well. Best bet would be to go with a laptop with Windows 10. Then you're not boxed in by limitation.
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Then I would say go with a tablet that is more portable and easily can travel with you. We only take our tablets now when we travel in the RV. We can do everything we need to do on the tablets. Plus there is no worry about it over heating or getting hot like a laptop they don't have those problems. For the price you are wanting to spend it will probably be in the 7" range, you can find a 10" on sale sometimes. If you want to go with straight Android not a branded one like Amazon then I would look at the Asus Transformer or one of the smaller Asus tablets. The Amazon Fire is good but it is a branded version of Android so it is more limited than a regular Android, The books would be of course for the Kindle and from Amazon. But you can add the kindle reader to any Android tablet. Plus with regular Android you can add other reader programs and read any format of book not just kindle books. I would not get anything below Android 4.1 as far as the operating system goes. You can find several of the unknown brands around for much cheaper, some are fine some use cheaper products in them. Another alternative altogether is a tablet that runs windows. For example this one by HP which is on for $299 today at Woot. It is a factory reconditioned which does not bother me, I have bought several tablets that were factory reconditioned with no problems. And it does come with a 1yr factory warranty. HP ElitePad 900 10.1" Tablet, Intel Atom Z2760 1.8GHz, 128GB SSD, 2GB RAM, 802.11n, Bluetooth, Win8Pro 32-bit Asus Tablets at this link you can see various of the Asus tablets from 7" to 10" brand new and refurbished. Products ******Now this right here is a really really good deal on this 10" LG G Pad which is a quad core running the latest version of Android. Plus there is a code there for $20 off. This might be the deal of the day.And it is from newegg a very good place to do business. It is brand new, it has some very unique features and it also has IPS display excellent! It is a very good entry level first tablet, not as powerful and full bodied as some of the others but those others will be in the $400-500 or more range. For $229 this is a nice first tablet. LG G Pad 10.1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GB Memory 16GB eMMC 10.1" Touchscreen Tablet Android 4.4 (KitKat) LG G Pad In that same size/price category is the Acer Iconia with some decent specs for an entry level also. Acer Iconia 10.1" Tablet 32GB Quad Core samsung is also a good brand in tablets(maybe out of the price range). Google nexus is good The main things you need to look for in the specs is the resolution it should be at least 1280 x 600 or so higher is better. The version of Android it is running 4.1 or higher. The Ram memory and storage space plus the ability to add an additional sd card. 1-2 GB of RAM or higher. Usually 16 GB is the internal storage and most take up to a 32GB sd card. just let me know if I can help with anything. That LG is a sweet deal. I would go for ASUS, Samsung, Google, or the LG or Acer Iconia all very decent brands and offer nice options.
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I moved to chromebook after the flood when I lost all of my computers. I have been very satisfied. My original one is an HP. I just bought a new one around Christmas. It's a Lenovo flip which allows it to be folded and used as a tablet or as a regular laptop. It has a touch screen which I think is essential. My original does not have a touch screen. But it lives in the office on my desk. The new one I move wherever I am. There's a lot of good tutorials available to help you learn how to use the features. After the flood all of the ladies I had been maintaining their computers for I switched over to chromebook. I knew it would handle anything they needed to do. They have adjusted well and love their chromebook. Some decided to get stand alone monitors and keyboard instead of the small screen of the chromebook. That works perfectly. They were all used to using Chrome browser on their computer so they were very familiar with that. It was fairly painless.
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mike_kaiser_gw
8 years ago
While their low price makes Chromebooks attractive, just make sure you fully understand the limitations of the Chrome operating system before making a purchase. Or ensure that company selling it has a good has a good return policy.

Personally, I think most people would be better off with a traditional laptop running Windows or OS X. It just gives you more flexibility.
juneroses Z9a Cntrl Fl
8 years ago
I'm going to take the other side and advocate for the Chromebook. I have a Windows desktop but bought a Chromebook in October 2015; I wanted a laptop and was curious about the Chromebook. I love it!! It's so easy. No daily or weekly notices to update this or that. I open the lid and it just runs.

I had been using Firefox on the Windows machine but copied all my bookmarks to the Chrome browser on that same machine. My email was already gmail. Turned on the new Chromebook, entered my gmail address, and the bookmarks from the desktop appeared on the Chromebook. That was the setup!! Easy peasy.

Because of the previous comment about Adobe Flash, I googled "sites that require Adobe Flash" to see what I was missing. I tried out a selection on each of the first two that appeared - ebizmba and beautifullife - and there was no problem. They played beautifully on the Chromebook.

The Chromebook will not run a site that uses Microsoft Silverlight, in my case a stock charting site, but I knew this before purchasing the Chromebook and just use another site.

My spouse has an older Windows laptop and is flummoxed by the frequent update requests. He's due for a new one and it will definitely be a Chromebook. We'll both be much happier!
bmelz
8 years ago
Chromebook is kind of in between an iPad and a laptop. If you don't need to install any software, it'll probably work for you.
Steve J
8 years ago
June, the chromebook has just as many updates as the pc, they’re just configured by default to download and install automatically. A pc can be configured the same way for your husband. The only caveat is that if there are apps installed and running, it may require a reboot to start or complete. That said, i’m glad your chromebook is working great for you, but I wouldnt suggest one over the other based on “updates” because they are required and do happen on every device.

Jo, you mentioned you had a requirement for a usb port. What is the purpose for that requirement? Are you transfering files, connecting devices, or other?

as others have mentioned, a laptop/tablet will be full featured, and a chromebook will be stripped down to basic internet/network usage. If you truly just need a device to connect to the internet, this will likely meet your needs, but if you ALSO want to install an application or two, and other pc like functions even later down the road, then a laptop will be a better option.
Jo
Original Author
8 years ago
thank you all for the information. I will take it all into consideration. Steve just so you know why I need the usb port. I transfer audiobooks from the library into overdrive and from there install them on a MP3 player. I know I could listen to them on my phone, but then the library would be able to delete them when needed. this way I have them till I can listen to them.
Elmer J Fudd
8 years ago
Is there a Chrome OS version of the Overdrive desktop program/app?

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