Chromebook take 2

Chromebook take 2.0

In June of 2013 I got my first Chromebook (Samsung Chromebook Series 3).  After getting frustrated by the poor viewing angle, and slow upload of simple photo's from my cameras SD card I returned it. The Chromebook was originally bought out of frustration when my Windows laptop began to bog down.  I was looking for something that would never slow down over time, but unfortunately I found I could never seem to get going with my new small screen toy.  After returning it I still felt like the Chrome OS was right for me, and maybe I just picked the wrong hardware;  however I just could not find anything that appealed to me.  I could not justify the high dollar expense of a Pixel as one of the benefits of a Chromebook was "Low Price".  I also could not find a piece of hardware that was both low cost, and felt like a quality product.  Until now.  After researching Chromebooks and many trips to the local stores I made an impulse buy online using my Amex points on an HP Chromebook 14 LTE.  It seemed to have the specs. good for me, and the cost was right.

Specs.

• Intel Celeron 2955U Processor 1.4 GHz
• 4GB DDR3 SDRAM
• 16GB solid-state drive
• 14.0" diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit display
• Full-size island-style keyboard 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless LAN with Bluetooth
• 4G mobile broadband (free for life)
• Chrome OS

So far my Chrome OS journey has been short but fantastic.  My new Chromebook boots up in seconds, and lasts for hours (so far my average under heavy use with streaming video included is 8 hours WOW).  Now I have found my Chromebook being occupied by my wife who was the biggest doubter of the Chromebook being usable for a college student.  About 24 hours before the arrival of my Chromebook my wife dropped her brand new Windows 8 laptop and broke the screen.  We immediately contacted the laptops manufacturer, then shipped it out for a screen replacement and were told it would take roughly 3 weeks to get it back.  What a coincidence my wife at that point had 3 weeks left of school.  Let the usability test begin!!  Immediately upon my first boot and setup completion my wife assumed ownership and took over my new toy.  She initially was pleasantly surprised by the screen size, the keyboard feel, and most of all the battery life.  Then she became very frustrated trying to use Google Docs for her spread sheets when she was deep into the spread sheets using Microsoft Office.  Once I showed her she could still use Microsoft office (Yes you can use office on a Chromebook) through the very same "cloud" concept of the Chromebook utilizing "Office Online" with the app. "One Drive" she is now thrilled.

When I do get the chance to use my new HP Chromebook it seems to be after my wife has used it all day, and has headed off to bed.  No worries with the awesome battery life, I can stay up for hours without having to plug it in.  I can run many web tabs at the same time with either music streaming in the background, or listening to a YouTube video on the side.  I have had over 10 tabs open at the same time, and no noticeable slowdown occurs.  While using Google Hangouts I have had positive response to the camera's quality and the sound of the microphone.

All in all my experience has been short but positive.  I will be doing a follow up to this in another couple weeks when my wife finishes her classes for the summer, and I get my Chromebook back.  So far though I am happy with my new toy.