aNewDomain.net — The holiday shopping season has begun to wind down. Currently, merchants are touting great “year-end” sales and clearance items. Tablets, laptops and gaming consoles, per usual, were high on the want list when it came to tech-related purchases. And as far as laptops go, the Chromebook was a force to be reckoned with this year. Why is that?
Image credit: Ant Pruitt for aNewDomain.net
According to Amazon, two of the top three laptops sold on its site were Chromebooks. The other top seller was the ASUS Transformer Book, which is actually a tablet, and only sort of counts. But I digress.
It is clear the Chromebook laptops were a hit. Is it because of the price point? I don’t know about you, but price is always a factor when it comes to my wallet. But what about the tech specs? Well, Chromebooks ideally lack in tech specs. You won’t find six-core CPUs or high-end graphics cards in a Chromebook. So is it the software? Mmm … maybe.
ChromeOS is a cloud-based operating system where you essentially boot up your device into a full-blown web browser. Simple, right? Maybe it is the software.
I don’t know about you, but the holiday wishlist usually includes a fairly-low-functioning computer. A “new laptop” as a holiday gift probably equals a device used for quick notes, watching online videos or surfing social media. Sound familiar?
Buy a Chromebook For Less Money
It is clear: The consumers have spoken! No need to spend way over $500 if you’re just going to check the Twitter feed of Ant Pruitt. No need to buy Microsoft Office if you’re just writing term papers for class, when Google Docs is available for free. Keep that extra money in your pocket, folks.
I’ve been a fan of the Chromebook for quite some time. I hope to snag one in the coming weeks as it fits my needs perfectly. They are lightweight, just large enough, functional for creating content here on aNewDomain and are secure.
The Chromebook has gotten bad press in the past, mostly from the competition that has labeled the device as “useless without Internet” and “not a real laptop.” Realistically, that’s total hog wash. Any laptop or computer without an Internet connection is pretty useless these days. Thatwould make it just a display with an input device and internal storage. Period.
Did you get a Chromebook or know someone that got one? What feedback can you give or have heard about the Chromebook? Leave a comment below telling us about your Chromebook experiences.
I’m Ant Pruitt for aNewDomain.net. Thanks for reading.
Based in Charlotte, NC, Ant Pruitt is an IT pro, a columnist and the podcast captain at aNewDomain.net. Look for his Smartphone Photographers Community and Yet Another Tech Show. Follow him @ihavnolyfe or on Google+ and email him at ant@anewdomain.net. See all Ant’s articles on aNewDomain by following this link here.
Google may have “won” but ultimately I see the consumer as losing and also the country as the Chromebook is simply a consumption device theres not much once can actually “do” with it and without creation we all lose.
What do you want to do, alrui? I’m curious. It’s not meant to be a powerful PC.
Thanks for your comment!
-RAP, II
I want to be able to create print publications, websites, edit video, etc. and I dont want to subscribe to oogles trade of access for use of my data and usage patterns:-)
lol! Well played, alrui.
-RAP, II
I don’t own one and I do not intend to buy one. The name Google is enough to turn me off. Since they and all the other “tech” companies have made their pact with the dark side I’m only looking at an OPEN source solution.
Sent from my Windows Laptop
Some strong words there! Interesting.
Thanks for your comment!
-RAP, II
I’m going to guess they were bought for their price point. How much they will be actually used after the holiday is the question. I think a lot of people bought these thinking they were cheap PCs and might be frustrated with Chrome OS.
Yep, I concur.
I bought one from my grandmom who is 85 years old. When I get the inevitable call that “I cant get the computer” – I tell her to turn it off and back on. Problem solved.
This is a good device for folks that just want to do what you said –
Exactly. This isn’t meant to be a “power” computer. No “power” computer will be for $200 ;)
-RAP, II