My Perfect Chromebook

Acer Chromebook R11

What Chromebook to buy? This is the question I recently found myself trying to answer. As a general tech enthusiast I maintain a fairly up to date knowledge of what tech is currently available in most areas related to technology. When I am anticipating making a purchase however, I make it my business to become a semi-expert in that product. I decided to share my buying journey because I feel that what I was looking for from a Chromebook is what most people would want out of a Chromebook.

My ideal requirements (which don't exist I might add) were as follows in list of importance. Price, for me to really get value out of a Chromebook I decided it needed to be under $400. Specs, at least 9 hours battery life, at least 1080p screen, 4GB RAM, capable processor, 3 lbs or less, 13 or 14 inches and a touch-screen. With android apps being made available to chrome OS in the near future I really wanted to make sure I wasn't I position of wanting to run an android app not optimized for anything but touch and not being able to. My nice to have was back lit keys, I wanted this to be a requirement but once I started looking realized it was a rare feature and I may have to deal go without (currently writing this in the dark i'm glad I didn't end up having to compromise however). Last of all I wanted something with some style, something a lot of manufactures leave out, especially in the under $500 price range.

ASUS Chromebook Flip

Hours spent searching for the Chromebook of my dreams and I realized it didn't exist. I was going to have to settle on at least one of my requirements. There was one Chromebook that had all the specs I was looking for but slightly out of the range of what I wanted to pay was the Dell Chromebook 13 which you can purchase in  a touch-screen option for $629. This was my first choice and I almost shelled up the extra cash for it but could quite justify it.

Two other Chromebooks which were also near the top of my list where the Acer Chromebook 11 and the ASUS Chromebook flip which are the cheapest touchscreen Chromebooks that you can get and already support android apps. These two were just to small for me. Just a note that if you so decided to get either of these make sure you get a 4GB version.

Toshiba Chromebook 2 (2015)

So we come to the finale Chromebook that I considered and also purchased; the Toshiba Chromebook 2 (2015). Starting at $300 this is almost a perfect Chromebook in my opinion. I opted for the core i3 model which is a faster processor than you usually see in Chromebooks for $350. The only requirement I had to sacrifice was having a touch screen. In the end I decided that if an android app I want to run does not support a mouse and keyboard well enough to use i’m probably not going to want to use it anyway. I have a android tablet that I can use for all my touchscreen needs. Plus the Toshiba Chromebook 2 (2015) was the only one of all the Chromebooks I considered that had back-lit keys, something I wanted even more then I realized.

I have now had my new Chromebook two weeks and absolutely love it. The first thing I did which I think most people wont need, is install a 128GB flash HD in it and install Linux using crouton (both of these may void your warranty). The core i3 and 4GB of RAM make for powerful little Linux laptop as well. I knew from the start there was a couple applications like Android Studio, eclipse and SQL Developer that I knew I was going to want to install and the only option was by running Linux.

Some of the thing I have been pleasantly surprised with are the quality of the track pad and keyboards. Both are exactly what I would look for in my input devices. Also the screen is crisp, vivid and bright.

I think most people would be happy with any of the four laptops I mentioned, each has their benefits and weakness. If you're not I rush however it may be worth waiting another two months because I have a feeling there are some new Chromebooks on the way and I won't be surprised if there one that hits all my requirements under the $400 mark. Until then though I think this $350 laptop is going to keep me quite happy.