Samsung Chromebook Plus

[rockymtnhigh]

I am headed off on a long trip abroad this summer, and I did not want to be bringing my $2500 macbook pro with me, so I decided I wanted to look at what the current chromebook offerings were. To my surprise I ended up picking up a Samsung Chromebook Plus. It is not in the "throw-away" price zone of the $200 chromebooks, but the 12" screen, real (albeit a little cramped) keyboard, touch screen, and 360 degree flip screen, plus the ability to run Android apps in addition to Chrome web apps sold me. That and the fact that it weighs 2.38 pounds, and is about as thick, in both pieces as two iphones,

So, I've had the Chromebook Plus for a few days. I put a 128gb microSD card in the slot, and began playing with it. Chrome OS and Android are definitely in beta. Some android apps run great, some are buggy. Android apps running on Chrome OS run in their own sort of sandbox, and have their own settings (as if it was a Android tablet). You can't manipulate the fonts and text size nearly as much in the apps as you can in Chrome OS. BUT the idea, while more beta than I would like, is a good one, and is in many ways what we are slowly seeing in the Mac OS and iOS convergence.

What Android gives to Chrome OS is a LOT of expansion opportunities, and makes it a much more appealing OS. For example, I have the Android Outlook app - works just like Android on my iPhone/iPad, and is far easier to deal with than the web version of Office 365. Evernote is the full app too, not just Evernote web client. The New York times and Washington Post apps are very good, particularly in 12" tablet mode.

I will be traveling for 24 days starting mid-June and was really nervous of being gone that long without my Mac. I am now quite confident that I will do fine with the chromebook plus and my iPad. (I could probably go without the latter if I wanted or just bring my older iPad mini -- but I will be taking a lot of notes, and I like to use the iPad Pro and its pencil in notability. Plus AudioNote for iPad is just a phenomenal app.

If you are checking out chromebooks, do take a look at the chromebook plus. Nice form factor, 4gb ram, 32gb storage, plus capabilty of a 256GB micro SD card to expand it. Laptop and tablet. With a real keyboard.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Well I went out and picked one up for my Birthday Tomorrow, and I LIKE it... I like it a lot!

About the only thing I am having an issue with is I have two Google Accounts I had one I used for Gmail, and a second one I created for my Android Phone so all my apps would be on one account... And I logged into the apps account so I didnt have to purchase my apps again, but in the web browser it is not syncing bookmarks, passwords, etc from chrome on my desktop machine.

I love running the android apps, as now I can basically do everything I could on my laptop.

About the only thing I don't like is the delete key is tiny compared to the one on my mac book pro. I keep hitting the = button when going to delete. Oh well!

Its was a good buy.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Yeah, I've been playing with it for about four days now, and I am very pleased with it. The keyboard is not the best in terms of spacing, but it is a 12" device, and hell, compared with those padded keyboards on all other tablets, this is excellent.

I wish they would allow the Android side to use the SD card. That is annoying, but the reality is the 32gb of internal storage will largely be for android stuff, and all of my actual media and files are on the 128gb micro SD card.

The other thing is the "native resolution." Yeah, it can do 2400x1600 but all text has to be blown up to 150-200% and all the icons are so small you can't read it. I suspect making a resolution change to watch a movie makes sense, but the "best" 1200x800 is really easiest to read. I also find that if the resolution is higher, the pen has a lot of "lag" but if it is set to the lower resolution it works very well. That said, nothing beats the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil for on screen writing.

I think it is the physical build of this device that impresses me the most. It is so light. It has that metallic skin. It is just fun to use.

I continue to be impressed by the combination of the laptop and mobile experience together. I do think google is onto something. It is probably the saving grace for Chrome OS.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Damn it Scott Greczkowski you say = keys instead of delete, and what do I start hitting? Yup, the = key.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

So, I had a bit of a mishap. I wanted to install the Microsoft Word mobile apk, and knew I needed to side load it. And that meant Developer mode. So I switched to developer mode. Well, that is Chrome 60.03, stable is 58.x. Totally different look. BUT somehow it had decided that I was no longer the owner of the device, and would not let me change the android setting for unauthorized apps. At first I played with the Developer mode, and was turned off by the fact that non-maximized Android apps (think Outlook, for example) were running in a phone-like aspect ratio. I eventually got back to stable, after changing to a different user, and then changing back, and then setting it to stable, and then re-updating the stable channel. This involved at least three power washes, and ultimately 2 hours. But I got it back to where it was before. And while I still can't side load, I can at least run the apps the way I wanted to.


So, in the end, back where I started. I forgot how frustrating Android can be; while it provides a lot more flexibility than iOS, there is a frustration level.

 

[navychop]

Thanks for reminding me why I avoid Android.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I thought I found a great external battery I could use for my trip. RavPower 26800 mAH with 2 USB and 1 USB-C 30W charger. Picked it up. Brought it home. It will charge the battery FROM the Chromebook, but even reversing the charge, won't charge the Chromebook. Bummer. Given I have no other reason for this giant battery, it is going back. My Anker external battery is lighter, and will provide plenty of charge for my other devices.

But a week into the Chromebook Plus, and I am finding this to be an excellent light-weight laptop. Not my MBP for sure, but very very functional.

 

[Tampa8]

Well I went out and picked one up for my Birthday Tomorrow, and I LIKE it... I like it a lot!

About the only thing I am having an issue with is I have two Google Accounts I had one I used for Gmail, and a second one I created for my Android Phone so all my apps would be on one account... And I logged into the apps account so I didnt have to purchase my apps again, but in the web browser it is not syncing bookmarks, passwords, etc from chrome on my desktop machine.

I love running the android apps, as now I can basically do everything I could on my laptop.

About the only thing I don't like is the delete key is tiny compared to the one on my mac book pro. I keep hitting the = button when going to delete. Oh well!

Its was a good buy.

You don't pay twice for apps on the same account across devices with android. My two smartphones, my tablet and my Chromebook all use the same apps that I paid for once if there was any fee.

 

[Tampa8]

Thanks for reminding me why I avoid Android.

His problem was loading a non compliant app through the back door. If it isn't in the store for your device you are taking a chance you can guess how I know. All our android devices have been rock solid so much so I have not updated from my S4 or Note 4 and still use an older Galaxy tablet yet have all the newer apps working as they should. My newer Chromebook has been better then even I expected I love the use of apps now. Finally a computer my In laws can use without calling me all the time for help!!

When you side load the way to do it is to find out first if anyone has it working on your same device or if you can ask the developer if he/she knows. And I don't suggest ever using anything but the stable mode unless you are a developer or really know what you are doing.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Finding people who have one for advice is hard.

I have an issue with it won't see my hd homerun on my network as for some reason the android apps are on their own network. 100.10.10.* instead of my 192.168.0.x network.

Other than that no issues with it.

I do however need to figure out how to setup cloud printers so I can print from it.


Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

 

[Tampa8]

Finding people who have one for advice is hard.

I have an issue with it won't see my hd homerun on my network as for some reason the android apps are on their own network. 100.10.10.* instead of my 192.168.0.x network.

Other than that no issues with it.

I do however need to figure out how to setup cloud printers so I can print from it.


Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

For cloud printing I think it's in the Add Printer settings. You pick Add A Cloud Printer and you have a list of manufacturers to choose from.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Yeah I know that, but I remember some utility you ran on a computer in your network which would turn your non cloud printers into cloud printers by keeping that app running on a PC on your network. Just got to find it and install it.

 

[Tampa8]

Yeah I know that, but I remember some utility you ran on a computer in your network which would turn your non cloud printers into cloud printers by keeping that app running on a PC on your network. Just got to find it and install it.

And to my knowledge at the moment the only way to get HD homerun to work is to add VLC player and in that app go to network settings and pick local area network.

 

[navychop]

Yeah I know that, but I remember some utility you ran on a computer in your network which would turn your non cloud printers into cloud printers by keeping that app running on a PC on your network. Just got to find it and install it.

But then your PC needs to be on all the time and that's a - oh. Right.

Never mind.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I have lots of computers on at the time at home, so not an issue.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I will be glad for google's chromium developers to move the Android/Chrome OS project along a bit faster. Apps like the New York Times open full screen in tablet mode, but when you click on a story, the story is in a small window. Actually all apps seem to do this in tablet mode. But I am pleased with the setup. As a "travel" machine it will be pretty nice.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

While it wasn't cheap. I went out and bought a Apple 29W USB-C charger which I can use with my world travel adapter kit and use a very small charger for both my Chromebook and iPad while I am in Israel. Everything is about weight and space, and this was a nice way to minimize bringing a charger just for the chromebook. And the Apple charger is just as fast as the Samsung one. 29 v. 30 watts.

 

[Foxbat]

I thought I found a great external battery I could use for my trip. RavPower 26800 mAH with 2 USB and 1 USB-C 30W charger. Picked it up. Brought it home. It will charge the battery FROM the Chromebook, but even reversing the charge, won't charge the Chromebook. Bummer. Given I have no other reason for this giant battery, it is going back. My Anker external battery is lighter, and will provide plenty of charge for my other devices.

The Anker PowerCore 21000+ does allow me to charge my 13" Late 2016 MacBook Pro through its USB-C port. I get one MBP charge from the battery. I haven't tried charging my iPhone 6 multiple times from it but it is supposed to provide 6-7 full charges.

Also, how close is the RavPower 26800 to the FAA's maximum 100 WHr limit for Carry-on Lithium Batteries? The Anker 21000+ is just under 80 WHr.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

The Anker PowerCore 21000+ does allow me to charge my 13" Late 2016 MacBook Pro through its USB-C port. I get one MBP charge from the battery. I haven't tried charging my iPhone 6 multiple times from it but it is supposed to provide 6-7 full charges.

Also, how close is the RavPower 26800 to the FAA's maximum 100 WHr limit for Carry-on Lithium Batteries? The Anker 21000+ is just under 80 WHr.

I'l have to check about its WHr. I will be returning it though, as I don't need it given that it doesn't do the one thing I wanted it for. Only after I got it did I see reports that it doesn't work with my CBP.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I'll check the Anker -- I actually have that charger, and it is the one I intend to bring with me, instead of the RavPower. It is also much lighter!!