If what you want is speed, portability, battery life and convenience, then a Chrom OS device is the right fit for you. If you still haven’t gotten your hands on one of these bad boys, though, you might want to check out the new Chromebook and Chromebox (first of its kind) that Samsung has just announced and released.
Samsung’s new Chromebook is the Series 5 550. It comes with a 12.1 (1280×800) display, 4 GB of RAM, WiFi and 3G, an HD camera, and an HDMI/DVI/VGA output. It is not a bad device at all, so if you are in the market for a Chromebook, this one should be among the top devices in your list. It is not the cheapest at $449, but if you really appreciate the benefits of Chrome OS, it should be a great investment.
Some of you may like Chrome OS but don’t need a portable device, though. This is why Samsung has also released the Chromebox, which works as a set-top box that will bring Chrome OS to any screen. All one needs is a connection via HDMI, DVI or VGA, as well as a keyboard and mouse. The Chromebox has 6 USB ports for maximum connectivity, WiFi, 4 GB of RAM and Bluetooth 3.0. All for the awesome price of $329.
I must accept that I do not see the purpose of this one as much. It is affordable and convenient, but a non-portable Chrome OS device seems to lose much of its purpose. Battery life is taken out of the equation, as well. Plus one could get a PC tower with full Windows at that price, there are some out there that are as small as this one. Chrome OS definitely offers its benefits, though. And if you can benefit out of the faster, cloud-based OS, it could be a great deal.
Granted, Google’s redesigned Chrome OS is much more similar to the traditional PC experience. The platform still revolves around the web, but the experience is much more complete with separate tabs and apps being able to run simultaneously. You can also display multiple windows side-by-side, making multi-tasking much simpler.
Both cloud computers are available as of now in the US and UK. The “(always) new computers” can be purchased straight from Amazon, so jump right on it!
Samsung Series 5 550
Samsung Series 3 Chromebox
[Source: Google Chrome Blog]
