Originally Posted by John Malkovich:
“I watched the BBC's review on Chromebook.
From what I saw, it boots instantly and displays only a single internet browser with apps, such as Angry Birds.
There is no ability to customise the device, only to choose a time zone. Even the clock is set by the internet.
There is no file manager, no word processor, printing can only be done through the internet and most file types aren't recognised. The device is practically useless without an internet connection.”
It does have a basic file manager actually and as paulbrock says, you do get a work processor in the form of Google Docs - in the same way you get an email client in Gmail I guess.
I think it is actually a brilliant idea and I love the concept. Everything is synced to the cloud and you get the same experience from whichever machine you log into etc. We spend pretty much all our leisure time with computers on the web, so let's get straight to the point! The problem comes, like with the iPad, when you actually want to do some proper work on it!
The main problem for me is that it is a little before it's time. As soon as you have no internet connection, the device is near useless and we do not yet have a reliable, portable, cost effective always-on internet solution, such is city-wide Wi-Fi or 4G (but they are coming).
The price is definitely too high for what it is though.