The battle of the Chromebook vs netbook

Since 2011 Google is betting on a new formula of laptops called Chromebook, which offer a reduced version of a Linux operating system, aimed at preferably online use through the advanced capabilities offered by its Chrome web browser.

Original skepticism has turned to surprise as they are being acquired in large numbers in the North American education market, replacing low-cost wintel laptops, iPad tablets, and Android tablets.

But the question I'm trying to answer in this review is Does the concept of a Chromebook have a future?And how does the response of Chromebook affect you? various manufacturers with the newest generation Windows and Intel Atom based netbooks?

Chromebook Advantages

The main advantage is that it is a fast system to start with, with quite limited hardware needs, which entails long battery life and a cost that can be moderate; starting from €200 up to real ultrabooks with careful design and high price.

Security is also an added value, since it works in sandbox mode. That is, from the Chrome browser or the system apps, there is no direct access to the operating system. The software runs in a kind of closed box that prevents it from taking control of the machine. Another advantage is that it integrates with the entire Google ecosystem and all the productivity tools that we use so much such as Gmail, GDrive, Gmaps, G+. Or the apps that are distributed through GooglePlay.

Even in the seemingly near future, the arrival of App Runtime for Chrome opens the door to running Android applications , which can make a big difference with any current operating system by being able to put applications as emblematic and useful in the mobile world as WhatsApp or similar on a laptop.

Chromebook Disadvantages

The main one, and which it shares with the iPad, is that forces the user to leave the power to decide what I can run on machine that I purchased.

In pursuit of the security and quality of the user experience, the possibilities of use are severely restricted, always depending on what Google allows to distribute through its GooglePlay.

Without a doubt Apple knew how to find the gold mine in its tablets restricted to its ecosystem, but it is difficult for Google to ensure the quality of operation when most of the applications that are not distributed by Google Play (all applications web that runs in the browser) will not have any control.

Furthermore, the security of running applications within a browser is inherently (by the Web's own technology) less secure than running a desktop application or native.

Therefore I come to the conclusion that much of what I gain in security from a sandbox mode, I can lose when facing the countless exploits that appear continuously in all web browsers of all the operating systems. Even without the need to install anything on the user's computer, as happens in cases of phishing.

And let's not talk about the doubts I have about the support of the universe of Android applications, with its "fame" of insecurity that is only surpassed by Internet Explorer.

Another drawback is the inconvenience of printing In many cases, for example with those from Canon, to be able to use it I must first install a firmware in the printer - with the reluctance that this operation produces in the users - to later register it in a personal inventory in Google.In other words, getting to any place, connecting the USB and printing... will be impossible in most cases.

The Google Print system has the good side that I could print from anywhere in the world to my printer, but the drawback that general use is just the opposite. In these times of mobility, what I need is to be able to print wherever I go, and not be limited to the printers that I have registered in the Google Cloud.

Finally, the war that has launched against everything that smacks of Microsoft, represents a great handicap for the use of Chromebooks in companies as it is difficult to integrate with Active Directory systems (and the security policies that are applied), or in BYOD tools managed by teams outside the company.

Netbook Advantages

We have talked a lot about netbooks in XatakaWindows. Even in this article an analysis of its origins, its present and its possible future is made.

But basically these are laptops between 11 and 15 inches, with an Intel Atom microprocessor of at least the Z series inside, and which remain (so far) below the €300 - €200.

Their main advantage is that they come with a complete Windows 8.x (forgotten the bad RT) that is capable of running any application that Works on more powerful computers. In addition to being able to use our printer, mouse, keyboard or USB DVD drive no matter how old it is, or connect to the company's active directory and access via VPN while being fully integrated with the security and control of the servers, etc.

Ultra-mobility, without reaching the levels of a Chromebook, is also an advantage in this case.They are lightweight devices (similar to tablets), with a battery life of more than 6 hours and very compact measurements that allow you to take them everywhere Another advantage is the native Office integration. Although the office suite is reaching all current market platforms in the form of native applications, the Office 365 subscription formula or the versions of Office on the Web.

And, curiously, the great asset of Wintel netbooks is their openness to all platforms. These do not force you to use the Microsoft ecosystem with Office, OneDrive, etc. You can use tools such as those proposed by Google, by Apple, or others such as OneDrive and the dozens of offers for any activity that you want to do online and offline.

Netbook Defects

Its greatest virtue: Windows 8. And its greatest weakness is precisely the conjunction with contained hardware.

The wide openness of modes and uses that the Operating System allows requires the user to have knowledge about what they can or should not install, configure or use on their device.

And even more so when the most basic versions of netbooks have significant limitations in storage capacity, ram memory or computing power. Which will exacerbate slowness and overload issues that can be experienced in a misused Windows 8

The current security problems that a user may have with his laptop will continue to exist if two hundred toolbars are installed on the notebook and the system is filled with “garbage”.

That is, the biggest problem that netbooks in general and Microsoft in particular are going to face, is the possible frustration of user expectations. As with the first netbooks in the first decade of the 21st century, buyers expected the same capabilities in lower-cost hardware.

Something similar to what happened with the first cheap Android tablets, which were unstoppable and millions were returned or left parked in a corner .

Microsoft's response

The more I did research for this article, the more I realized that comparing a Chromebook to a Netbook is fallacious.

They really are devices that have very different market niches and it would be fairer for the Chromebook to be pitted against Android Tablets or the iPad, that share the philosophy of operation restricted to the manufacturer's ecosystem.

But, then why is Microsoft's forceful response to “giving away” Windows for Bing licenses to integrators, which has garnered support from manufacturers who are bringing to market a myriad of netbooks?

I think the main reason has been the massive migration to Chromebooks in many colleges and universities in North American states, leaving out Wintel computers or from Apple. And they clearly indicate that there is a market niche that was not covered.

It should also be taken into account that Google's war against Microsoft stems from a battle for the predominance of web services in the medium term. Where what is important will no longer be so much the operating system used by customers, but the services in a society based on ubiquitous information (in the Cloud), delocalized and permanently accessible.

Therefore, for Microsoft, Chromebooks cross a red line - previously crossed by Apple with the iPad and iPhone - which proposes an exclusive ecosystem oriented towards Google Apps for Business, and which leaves out Microsoft services.

And that is the ultimate cause of the Redmond giant's response .

Conclusions

Although it may not seem so at first glance, they are not competing machines.

The type of client to whom I see a Chromebook adding value is the user who consumes the services and applications of the Google ecosystem, whose main use is Google applications and Internet browsing, who has very high security and battery life, that you don't like the tablet format and that you don't like Windows.

To have the same thing – with less security and less battery, yes - adding everything else that can be done with equipment of the same price, you can only opt for a full Windows netbook.

The only thing that can take me to acquire a Chromebook is because the user who is going to use it is going to fall into the use and installation errors that a Netbook is going to allow, but then I would go to a tablet or hybrid running Android or iOS.

And if I am a normal user, like the hundreds of millions who use their Windows without major problems, just be a little careful with your navigation, there is no more competition against a Wintel netbook than another more powerful computer.

On Xataka TV | Chromebook: what is it, for whom and what kind of uses?