VIEW FROM THE LABS
ONCE BURNED BUT NOT TWICE SHY, STUART EXPLAINS WHY EVEN WINDOWS LOYALISTS LOYALISTS SHOULD CONSIDER BUYING A CHROME BOOKSHOULD CONSIDER BUYING A CHROME BOOK
It’s confessions of an early adopter time. I was right in there with the early Chromebooks, buying Samsung’s second-generation model when it first came out. Like many others, I bought my first Chromebook because I wanted a cheap, ultramobile computer, so I was prepared to deal with a few sticking points and hurdles on the way. Well, safe to say I got them. Most apps only worked with a live internet connection, while those that did work offline didn’t always sync when you came back online. Image editing was a nightmare over slow hotel connections, and every workflow seemed to involve some kind of kludge. I loved that little Chromebook but actually using it could be painful.
How things have changed. Chrome OS is now a sleek, usable, modern OS with a more Android-like look and feel. In many ways it feels faster and slicker than Windows 10 on my usual work machine. It also fits into my existing workflows; I can open files from Google Drive or Dropbox and work with Word and Excel docs either using Google’s apps, the Android Office apps or Office 365 online.
Photo editing is now an option, thanks to so many good apps to work with, and it’s really only video editing
and Adobe InDesign that send me scurrying back to my Windows 10 system.
Yet it’s not just that Chrome OS and Chromebooks have improved, but that the world is moving fast to meet them halfway. I’m freelance, and already many of my media clients have moved to online tools for easier working and collaboration. When so much of what I do is in a browser, does it really matter whether I’m working on Chrome OS or Windows 10? This has also driven me to experiment more with online apps over old favourites, working with Google’s apps and Zoho’s Office suite alongside venerable Office desktop apps.
Most of all, the latest generation of Chromebooks is giving me a rosy glow about using Chrome OS. They feel fast, they look great, they start up almost instantly and never seem to hold me back with yet another update. Microsoft has been pushing touch on Windows for ages, but the combination of the Android look and feel and Android app support makes it feel more natural and intuitive on Chrome OS. I’ve been tapping, prodding and swiping even more than I have done on a Surface device.
While the models we’ve tested are more expensive than my old Samsung – manufacturers are reluctant to send budget Chromebooks in for testing, so draw your own conclusions – they’re nearly all fantastic value. You could have told me that the Lenovo Yoga Chromebook C630 or Dell Inspiron Chromebook 14 were around £1,000 and I wouldn’t have batted an eyelid. I don’t blame you if you’re cynical or you feel Chromebooks would hold you back, but if you want to try a different way of working, give one of these Chromebooks a whirl.
“Chrome OS is now slick, usable and modern: in many ways it feels faster and slicker than Windows 10 on my usual work machine”