Chromebook: what are they and what's special about them?

Chromebook laptops : what's so special about them?

Chromebooks are a series of laptops created by different brands and intended for different types of users. So far it may sound like any other brand of technology, but this has a trick.

All laptops have the differentiating feature that they mount a unique and different Operating System from Windows or MacOS . This OS exists under the name of Chrome OS , was created by Google and is based on Linux .

Despite the fact that at the beginning Chrome OS was a somewhat empty and problematic platform , over the years Google has managed to support and improve it. Today it is a much more friendly, useful and flexible environment, especially for users less involved in computing.

Of course, we must emphasize that being based on their own OS , Chromebooks do not have certain keys. For example, we lose the row from F1 to F12 and the same happens with the Windows button. You may be afraid of "What am I going to do without F5?" , but do not worry. All the classic functions that we know of have been moved to other buttons or shortcuts.

We would also like to talk briefly about the original Chromebooks . Like their OS , these laptops were born for a different purpose, but they have been evolving and changing over the years.

The first iterations were designed to be used in teaching, so they were very simple and cheap equipment. For just 200 ~ 300 € you could get a good team. Currently, the market has opened more and now we have better quality equipment for higher prices. Not surprisingly, the teams that receive the most attention continue to be the mid-range and low-end ones.

Although, what were these cheap laptops due to?

The Chromebook over the years

The first Chromebooks appeared on the market back in 201 1 and their theory was simple. Since we often use laptops only for Internet browsing and office automation, why not have a computer that meets these needs?

As we have told you, Chromebooks were designed to be the student's choice. So they were designed light, efficient and not very expensive. Therefore, the solution was to create and optimize an Operating System so that with little gross power it would achieve good performance.

Components such as discrete graphics were discarded, since it was not very necessary to navigate and others. Storage would be reduced, offering this same feature in the Google cloud (Drive) . The equipment would be mounted with small screens to reduce the cost of materials and technology. The classic programs would be obtained through applications from the same Operating System. Later Linux and Google Play applications would be implemented .

And that's how they created some of the main design lines of the first Chromebooks .

In the ensuing years, different brands joined the car to create their own laptops signed by Google . However, in 2013 the thing would change with the arrival of the Chromebook Pixel , a laptop with a slightly higher sight.

Without forgetting their roots, they began to design models of Chromebooks of higher ranges. Now with more memory, better screens, more technologies and more top materials like the Pixelbook or the Pixel Slate . However, these teams have not received a great reception from users.

Today the landscape has changed a lot, so we do not know if Google laptops will get their place in the market. If you would be interested in catching a laptop, you can buy it from its website. Unfortunately, not all models are available in Spain and almost none have a key distribution with 'ñ'.

However, before continuing you should know a little better what Chrome OS is .

Google's style : Chrome OS

In the notebook market there are two main competitors: Windows and Apple . Both Windows 10 and MacOS are increasingly optimized Operating Systems , although a third bidder has been emerging lately .

The case of Linux- based Systems is increasingly striking and is something that we cannot ignore. Distributions like PopOS or ChromeOS have some popularity and, to be honest, quite deserved. In short, we could say that they are platforms created so that the general public can use them without difficulties.

It does not have to be configured, nor do you have to download files, plugins or tools unlike the different Linux distributions. Like Windows or Mac , when out of the box they are fully usable and, in addition, with a very intuitive interface.

Likewise, another of the characteristics that differentiates Chrome OS from the rest is its implementation with the Google application environment.

To log in you have to enter your Gmail user In office work the first selection is Google editors To save data, it is recommended the cloud, using Drive To navigate you have Google Chrome by default

And this is just some of the most direct examples.

Other interesting things are the functionalities that we have with the keyboard.

Instead of F1 - F12 we have a series of keys with unique actions like window refresh or sound control. We also do without the Windows button (unusable in Chrome OS) or Lock. Shift, whose actions are on other buttons / shortcuts. Finally, we would like to talk about your touchpad, since it implements numerous gestures to make it considerably more useful.

Many of the things we are seeing are new and you can learn them quickly on this page. Here, Google shows different daily tasks done with Chromebooks . On the other hand, here is a page where Chrome OS is explained in more depth exclusively

Recommended Models

There are a lot of Chromebook laptop models out there, but which one is worth it. We are going to make a recommendation of three different models pointing out their strongest points.

Acer Chromebook R13

This Acer laptop seems to us a good success for office tasks and other everyday actions.

It has a 13 ″ Full HD (1920 × 1080) screen and the best of all is that it is tactile, to which we have to add that it is a convertible laptop. On the other hand, its weight is only 1.5Kg and its battery lasts a respectable 7-8 hours.

We have to emphasize that its frame is quite thick and that its price is higher than what we usually find in Chromebooks of this type. We leave you two models, one with a Spanish keyboard, but more expensive and the other with a German keyboard, but considerably cheaper.

Acer - Chromebook r 13 cb5-312t-k227 - flip design - mt8173 2.1 ghz - chrome os - 4 gb ram - 32 gb emmc - 13.3 ips touch screen 1920 x 1080 (full hd) - powervr gx6250 - wi-fi, bluetooth - silver Acer Chromebook CB5-312T-K227, Acer Chromebook, Chromebook r13, 2in1 convertible full-hd ips touch-display 4gb 32gb flash chrome os - Chromebook concertible Full HD laptop; 4 GB of RAM; 32 GB internal memory; 13.3-inch screen 278.34 EUR WE RECOMMEND YOU Format USB write-protected in Windows 10

HP Chromebook 11 G6

This HP Chromebook 11 G6 is designed precisely for students, since it is cheap, compact and efficient.

It is a laptop with certainly low specifications, but thanks to the optimization of Chrome OS we can take more advantage of it. Its diagonal is only 11.6 ″ , but thanks to this it manages to weigh only 1.24 Kg .

As for the battery, we have a little one of only 36 Wh. However, being such a low-performance team it is expected that we can use the team for around 12 hours without interruption.

We will have 4 GiB of RAM and 32 GiB of main memory, although for these prices and types of equipment it is what we expect.

PORTABLE HP CHROMEBOOK 11 G6 N3350 4/32 EE

Lenovo Yoga Chromebook C630

The Lenovos Yoga are known for their good versatility and good performance, and this Chromebook is no exception.

This model has a 15.6 ″ screen, so it has higher dimensions than what we have been seeing. On the other hand, it is a convertible laptop, which facilitates and encourages its use as a tablet, since its screen is touch.

Its battery is 56 Wh , so we estimate it to last around 10-12 hours of life at best.

Unlike other previous models, this Lenovo can carry an 8th generation Intel Core i5 processor . Obviously it will come with the Intel HD Graphics 620 , so many tasks will be executed with much more agility.

On the bad side, the equipment will weigh around 1.9 Kg , so it is no longer as portable as previous models.

Lenovo - Yoga C630 2-in-1 15.6 "Touch-Screen Chromebook - Intel Core i5-8GB Memory - 128GB eMMC Flash Memory - Midnight Blue North American-English QWERTY Keyboard

Final words on Chromebooks

As you can see, there are Chromebooks for all kinds of people.

We find it an interesting experience that we recommend trying the most explorer users. It may be a bit strange at first to change airs, but it never hurts.

The adaptation period is usually not very long, since the Operating System is designed to be intuitive. Therefore, the most important problem is possibly the transition from one platform to another. To do this, Google has enabled a website where it offers support to make this change as smooth as possible.

If you want to have a laptop for only office tasks such as writing in word, giving presentations, surfing the Internet, a Chromebook can be an excellent option. On the other hand, if you want to do heavier tasks like playing video games or rendering videos, these are not the best laptops.

Google's commitment to trying to create a new standard seems quite interesting to us. In the future, working in the cloud may be very common. So perhaps today's Chromebooks are remembered as the pioneers of it.

We hope you were interested in the article and that you have learned something new. But now write us: what do you think of Chromebooks ? What are you looking for in a laptop to buy it? Comment your ideas in the comment box.

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