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Buying a Chromebook laptop - Is it worth it?



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Buying a Chromebook laptop - Is it worth it?

For while now I'm contemplating on buying a Chromebook. The most attractive feature is the price, it is usually a lot lower compared with most laptops out there and buying the right thing for the job without spending too much cash is one of my main goals.
Buying a Chromebook laptop - Is it worth it?
The Chromebook laptops have an operating system developed entirely by Google and its based on Linux but was built around the Chrome browser. It lacks a lot of functionalities like installing software or games and you don't really store anything on its hard drive, most Chromebooks have a very little space for actual storage and usually run on an SSD of 32GB or more. Everything is online based and you can install Chrome-based apps and now apparently you can also install apps made for Android.

Because of its simplicity, you don't need a lot of computing power, a decent processor and 2 or 4 GB of RAM is usually enough to run everything smoothly.
Another great feature is the battery life, you often can get up to 10 hours of battery life on most Chromebooks, you simply can't reach such performances with a normal laptop.

I think this can be great for a freelancer that is orientated on creating content or implementing SEO strategies and techniques. I rarely need anything else than Chrome when I'm freelancing, sure I might miss tools like Screaming Frog but there are a lot of web-based tools that can replace Screaming Frog as well as other tools SEOs need.

The huge battery life you give me mobility I currently don't have with my old laptop, I don't get more than 30 minutes of battery life at the moment.
I also love everything Google and use most of their services every day, stuff like Google Drive and Google Photos make my life easier, I don't need to install any software and everything I need can be accessed and synced from anywhere anytime.

I currently have my eyes on Lenovo N22-20 Chromebook. It's about 200 bucks here with decent specifications and a huge battery life, one of the biggest among Chromebooks.

Anyone here owns a Chromebook or used one for an extended period of time? It would be great to hear some opinions from direct Chromebook users.
Do you think it's worth it for a web-based freelance like me?

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CryptoGuru
These things are garbage. When the chrome book first came out me and my wife where buying them by the pallet broken. They are so small and hard to work with its insane. The ram and Hard drive space is so minimal at the very most all you can do with this thing is search the web. The SSD is not really that great anymore the price on them has gone down so much yet companies like Acer still charge so much to upgrade your computer to an SSD. I would say that you would get a good year out of this and then it will be so slow that you will be using it as a Frisbee or paper weight. For $200 dollars its not worth it in my opinion, you could build a desktop with double the specs for this price.



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Cristian
Yes, but I don't need or want a desktop. I want a long battery life, Lenovo claims this laptop's battery can last up to 14 hours. Most reviews say over 10 hours.
After 6-12 months the battery will last half of what people are claiming it lasts today, well I think it will be money well spent. The size of the display is 11.6 inches, I used such small laptops before and I agree, they are pretty small but for a content writer this can be pretty much everything he/her needs.



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Lynne
Well if it is half of the battery life at 6-12 months that is still 5-7 hours, not bad at all! I don't get that out of my laptop Buying a Chromebook laptop - Is it worth it?



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Lynne
I've never had a Chromebook laptop but I asked a few people about them when I was thinking of replacing my laptop and the feedback I got was very mixed.

One thing I wonder about with the battery life of 10 hours, does it still have a 10 hour battery life 6 months down the line or not? I have bought a few products that said it had a great battery life and yes for the first month or two it did but later down the line that was hardly a benefit anymore.

I'm not too clued up about computers, I always ask for advice from others that know their stuff and like I said the feedback on Chromebook laptops is too mixed for me to ever buy one.



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Cristian
Well, even 5-6 hours is still great after 6 months Lynne. It's more than enough to finish whatever I have lined up for a day of freelancing.
For more serious work that needs extensive tools, I can always can back to my main laptop that I also use as a desktop.
I need this Chromebook for mobility first, I already know I can't probably have more than 10 tabs opened at the same time before the damn thing starts lagging, but I don't need that many tabs open, I figured out a great way to increase productivity by opening a few tabs at once and just finish whatever work I have on them before moving on to anything else.



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Lynne
Cristian I couldn't agree with you more about finishing something before moving on to something else. I used to switch inbetween screens like crazy, multi tasking like a pro. Then I read somewhere you get a lot more productivity dealing with just one thing at a time. I tried it out and I am sure it is right!

So true, 5-6 hours battery life is not bad.

I hope the Chromebook laptop works well for you Buying a Chromebook laptop - Is it worth it? You will have to come and tell us about it Buying a Chromebook laptop - Is it worth it?



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Cristian
I'm not really convinced yet, I to read more reviews on Chromebooks, maybe go to an actual store and get the feel of a real one. It may be just 200 bucks but I don't want to waste them on something I won't use to death.



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Corzhens
I bought a new laptop last year. It is our habit to list down the prospective products and gather information and review to help us decide what to buy. Chromebook and Netbook were part of the selection but in the end, we decided to go for the laptop because of the video editing. I don’t think the Chromebook is designed for complex programs but I agree that for the freelancing work, the Chromebook fits the bill to a T. And you can save on the cost because it is definitely cheaper compared with the laptop.



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kinja90
I've never used a Chromebook but as what I heard, you cannot install most of the software. I would suggest to purchase a portable laptop that's a Windows or a Mac. Recently, new Chromebooks has an Android OS which means you can install Android applications. To be safe and if you don't want to have a problem in installing the applications that you like when you're using a Windows computer, I would suggest to purchase laptop, not a Chromebook.



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ThereseHaag
Chromebooks are getting more popular, but some people are still on the fence about whether or not to buy one. Chromebooks run Google's Chrome OS, which means they're basically just Chrome web browsers with some offline functionality. They're built around Google's online services like Gmail, Drive, Docs, Hangouts and so on. If that sounds familiar it's because those are also the services you'll use on your smartphone and tablet too — assuming you own an Android phone or tablet (or an iPhone). Playing real money casinos at https://wageringadvisors.ca/best-o...inos/real-money/ website is always interesting because it gets you a lot of money that can help you to turn your dreams into reality.



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