Samsung Series 5 12.1-inch 3G Wireless Chromebook

Google's Chromebook anatomy agency is advised to break several axiological problems inherent in acceptable laptop design. For one, Chromebooks are awfully attenuate and light, agnate to Ultrabooks, but at a atom of the cost. The Samsung Series 5 12.1-inch Chromebook advised actuality measures aloof 0.83 inches blubbery and weighs a beard over 3 pounds. Chromebooks additionally blaze up abundant added bound than Windows or Mac OS X laptops and are accessible to use in a bulk of abnormal (as in, distinct digits). Finally, they're allegedly added defended and awful airy to malware. How can this be?

The acumen Chromebooks can achieve what best notebooks don't is because the majority of the basement resides in the cloud. You can anticipate of a Chromebook as a hardware-based browser, admitting that's affairs these accessories a little short. Still, these are web-centric machines with bashful accouterments requirements. The absolute belvedere revolves about Google's Chrome OS, which is advised to bung users into the billow for aggregate they charge to do, from chat processing to alike a bit of accidental gaming (think Angry Birds). To booty advantage of all that a Chromebook has to offer, you're best served by blockage affiliated to the Internet, and in accession to Wi-Fi connectivity, the Samsung Series 5 archetypal advised actuality has a 3G radio.

Other upgrades abound, both to the accouterments and the software, and Google tells us the active Chomebooks are faster and bigger than ever. But are they fast abundant and acceptable abundant to amuse our adaptable needs? Let's stick our arch in the billow and accept a look.

• 12.1-inch LED affectation (1280x800)
• Intel Celeron 867 processor (1.3GHz)
• 4GB DDR3 RAM
• 16GB solid accompaniment drive
• Intel HD Graphics
• 1MP webcam
• 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi; Verizon 3G WWAN
• 4-in-1 anamnesis agenda reader
• DisplayPort; 2 x USB 2.0; headphone/mic combo
• Google Chrome OS
• 11.5" x 8.5" x 0.83" (W x D x H)
• 3.02 pounds
• $550 MSRP

  What We Liked:

Virtually No Bootup: Blame it on McDonalds, but this bearing hates to delay for anything. And back you anticipate about it, shouldn't PCs accept already acquired to instant-on cachet by now? We're still not there, but Samsung's Series 5 Chromebook comes close. It takes beneath than 10 abnormal from the time you columnist the ability button until you're on the Web or allocation apps on the desktop. Very cool.

Intuitive Interface: Born and bred on Microsoft Windows? Afraid to apprentice a new operating system? Don't fret, Chrome OS is about as simple as it gets. If you can use a Web browser, you'll feel appropriate at home abyssal Chrome OS. About aggregate you do is through the Chrome browser anyway, and the desktop interface is cool simple, alike for novices.

Lightweight and Portable: The alone affair that prevents the latest bearing of Chromebooks from condoning as Ultrabooks is the accouterments inside. From a authentic portability standpoint, Chromebooks are thin, light, and accomplish for accessible biking companions. If you're a student, a Chromebook will fit accurately in your haversack while abacus a bald 3 pounds. You'll hardly apprehension it abutting to that 800-page avant-garde engineering arbiter that's congenital like a cinder block.

Trackpad Navigation: Samsung's Series 5 Chromebook is able with a ample trackpad with hidden left- and right-click buttons forth the basal edge. It supports a scattering of gestures that, already mastered, makes abyssal a breeze. We're additionally afflicted with the keyboard.

Overall Performance: Let's get one affair straight. Chromebooks don't action adorned Ivy Bridge CPUs and detached akin graphics, and so they abridgement the application of a acceptable notebook. At the aforementioned time, Samsung's Series 5 isn't absolutely a slouch, in allotment because of the contempo upgrades (both to the accouterments and the OS), but additionally because abyssal the Web (and Web-based apps) isn't all that demanding. We begin the Series 5 to be acknowledging rather than sluggish, and alike the speakers pumped out admirable volume.

What We Didn't Like:

• No Optical Drive: One of the aboriginal things to go back designing a attenuate and ablaze laptop is the optical drive, and the Chromebook is no exception. That agency no watching DVDs or Blu-ray movies (native resolution is alone 1280x800 anyway), or abetment up abstracts to optical discs.
• Underwhelming Hardware: Google's Chrome OS doesn't crave high-end hardware, but alike still, it's boxy to get aflame about a Celeron CPU and aloof 16GB of centralized storage. Google will acquaint you 16GB is affluence back about aggregate is stored in the cloud, but that still doesn't alibi the beggarly bulk of bounded storage.
• Limited Compatibility: Want to run a full-fledged adaptation of Microsoft Office, or comedy a annular of Battlefield 3? You're not activity to do either one of those on a Chromebook.
• Price: The distinct bigger analysis charcoal the price. While this accurate assemblage is a top-end archetypal with congenital 3G connectivity, the $550 allurement amount feels boundless back compared to acceptable laptops packing higher-end accouterments and beneath limitations.

Our Verdict:

First bearing Chromebooks brought a accurate abstraction to the adaptable landscape, but they were bedfast by the all-embracing design, both on the accouterments and software side. Both of those accept been addressed in the newest beachcomber of Chromebooks, and while Google's eyes ability not be absolutely realized, it's accepting closer. To be sure, there's a lot to like about Samsung's active Series 5 Chromebook. It looks like an Ultrabook and is every bit as portable, it has continued array life, it boots fast, and the keyboard is bigger than what's begin on best laptops. What you accept to ask yourself, though, is whether or not you can alive about absolutely in the cloud. If that's not feasible, the Chromebook isn't for you. For abounding boilerplate users, however, it's not out of the branch of possibility, as you can still analysis email, cream the Web, amend Facebook, participate in a Google+ Hangout, and alike coact with co-workers on business projects (think: Google Docs).

The added affair to accede is price, and for many, that's activity to be the bigger turnoff. If you're accommodating to attending accomplished the amount tag, or feel it's a reasonable advance in the aboriginal place, you aloof ability be afraid at all you can do with a Chromebook against what you can't do with one.