Chromebooks

[stevemcs]

The other half has decided she doesn't like the current laptop and wants something different, we had a quick look around Currys at the weekend so she could have a look, we decided that what sh might like is a chromebook, the HP14a seemed to fit the bill and at £210 its not too expensive.

We are apple users so i know that kind of goes against chrome, however all she want to use it for is surfing the web, basic excel work, just spreadsheets for personal accounts, we still have a laptop if she wants to create something but i'm pretty sure we don't need anything complicated, she wasn't too keen on the macbooks, is there anything decent out there for say £200-£300 or should i just spend £600 on the Google pixel go.

[Cloudy147]

I got my parents (who are light internet users) the cheapest Chromebook with a decent sized screen about 3 or 4 years ago (I think it's a Lenovo) and it has been absolutely fine, still going strong and they've never had a software problem with it.

Chromebook also removed the need for me to be tech support as soon as they moved from Windows, as these machines do the basics brilliantly.

For light use, you could probably do the same I reckon and I'm sure one of the entry models would be fine. I'd recommend having a look at YouTube reviews for whichever model takes your fancy, and see if it's right for you. There are some great Chromebook review channels on there.

[Corso Marche]

As above, check online for reviews of stuff you shortlist.

Check the AUE date for any models you consider;
https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366...
You might as well buy something with as long a life as possible. CB's get 8-8.5 years of updates from the model launch date.

You mentioned Excel. The best option is to use G Sheets instead of Excel if it's for home use stuff.
Otherwise if it's not possible to do without Excel your best option is to use Excel online. Functionality of Excel online is different to full fat desktop Excel, but you're probably fine for home use stuff.

Once you've a shortlist post the models here and I'm sure people will be able to offer advice/opinions on them.

[AJB88]

Before you buy one you could try opening her spreadsheets on Google Docs to see if they work nicely.

[stevemcs]

This is favourite at the moment

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/la...

Followed by

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/la...

Or if spending more helps

https://store.google.com/gb/product/pixelbook_go?h...

[witteringon]

I have been using the most basic Chromebooks for some years now with no problems at all for mundane everyday tasks. They are fast, secure, idiot proof and inexpensive. I can't see any need to buy the more highly specced models unless you have specific likes or needs.

[AJB88]

witteringon said:

I have been using the most basic Chromebooks for some years now with no problems at all for mundane everyday tasks. They are fast, secure, idiot proof and inexpensive. I can't see any need to buy the more highly specced models unless you have specific likes or needs.

I agree I've used a lot of them, I however dont have one at the moment as my last ChromeOS device is now out of support and running ElementaryOS Linux.

My mum and sister however have them now.

[rodericb]

MS Office apps on chromebook are a dumpster fire. Some Android apps don't play with Chrome OS 100% and very few won't work at all (according to the play store). Apart from that they're great. I'm on a Samsung Chromebook Plus which I think I've had for four years. Think of it as a big android tablet with keyboard and your expectations will be met.

[Corso Marche]

I usually advise people to stay away from android apps on Chromebooks and to use a web service or PWA instead. Android apps result in people installing apps for everything, swallowing up the internal storage, and slowing the machine to a crawl as a result. They put themselves in a situation where they're not leveraging the benefits of Chrome OS as a platform at all.

[essayer]

Musing about a Chromebook as I only ever use my laptop as a remote desktop client back to my Windows PC when I'm at home
do they work well for this? I just want it to be a reasonable screen/keyboard, not burn my hands/lap and be usable outdoors

[Corso Marche]

Yes, for certain. Lots of companies roll them out to staff on the road/in the field specifically for this kind of purpose. You just need to prioritise what's important to you e.g. keyboard/trackpad/display etc and shop accordingly, and ensure support for whatever remote client is in use.

[stevemcs]

What about a Microsoft surface laptop at £550 ?
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/la...

[Corso Marche]

The issue I see with that particular model of Surface is the storage at 64GB. Fine for light couch use and browsing. But considering Excel again if your wife wants full fat Excel rather than Excel online or the Windows store version of Excel then you'll need to switch it from Win 10S to the full version of Win 10 Home or Pro for Excel. At which point you'll discover after a little use that 64GB of internal storage isn't enough and will be full very quickly.
If you could get one with 128GB storage for similar money they're a nice machine. Win 11 will be released officially quite soon and MS are insisting on 64GB as the minimum to upgrade from 10 to 11 too.