Hands on ... ASUS C300 Chromebook

What is it? An ultra-portable laptop running Google’s Chrome operating system. How will it change my life? Many of us find ourselves constantly updating our computers to run the latest software but what if there was another way, one which could utilise all the latest programs without installing copious amounts of software?

Step forward the C300 Chromebook from ASUS, which avoids most of that by using the cloud. You can think of the cloud as your personal resource on the internet that can store much more data and run applications faster than your laptop or PC.

The C300 runs the Chrome OS, sort of a hybrid between what you would find on a standard desktop and that found on mobile devices. The only prerequisites are an internet connection and a Google account. Services include Google Drive, which gives 100GB of storage accessible anywhere, Gmail, YouTube and Google Play for accessing entertainment and applications. Good points? It weighs just over a kilo and is barely thicker than a smartphone, and the battery lasts more than 13 hours – double that of a high-end laptop.

The larger touch-pad supports multitouch gestures and isn’t as cramped when using two hands as previous iterations. The performance reflects the user’s internet bandwidth but that is a compliment to the hardware, which does everything asked of it.

This type of computing is the natural progression for the client-server relationship and allows the consumer to concentrate on what matters to them. Bad points? The keyboard can feel delicate and the screen quality is noticeably lower than traditional notebooks, but that’s understandable given the low price. Best for … Forward thinking people who view the experience as the ultimate factor. Avoid if … You are a geeky tinkerer. Score? 9/10. The future of computing with a Google twist.