cdmagurus.com
10-11-2013, 07:40 PM
Update: This article was updated shortly after posting with battery-life results.
The HP Chromebook 11 could have been just another low-cost container for Google’s browser-based OS. But Google stepped in to make it special—and maybe even spare it the mockery of PC snobs who can’t wrap their heads (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2030096/how-i-survived-7-days-in-chromebook-exile.html) around the- (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2030096/how-i-survived-7-days-in-chromebook-exile.html)Chromebook concept.
Realistically, you can’t expect much from any sub-$300 machine, and most Chromebooks reside in this underwhelming hardware space. Nonetheless, Google’s 2012 partnership with Samsung on the Chromebook 3 (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2019245/samsung-chromebook-3-cheaper-more-productive-alternative-to-a-tablet.html) proved that a manufacturer could do a good job with low-level components, and then Google itself pulled-out all the stops a few months later with the launch of the gorgeous-Chromebook Pixel (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2030228/review-google-chromebook-pixel-is-an-expensive-curiosity.html). If nothing else, the Pixel, replete with a beautiful touchscreen and elegant industrial design, sparked a heated (and slightly bizarre) debate about whether the Chrome ecosystem deserved a machine so high-end.
And now we have HP’s Chromebook 11, a laptop that attempts to add some industrial design finesse to the low end of the Chromebook space.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here (http://cdmagurus.com/article/2053946/hp-chromebook-11-review-google-gives-the-low-end-some-much-needed-luster.html#jump)
More... (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2053946/hp-chromebook-11-review-google-gives-the-low-end-some-much-needed-luster.html#tk.rss_all)
The HP Chromebook 11 could have been just another low-cost container for Google’s browser-based OS. But Google stepped in to make it special—and maybe even spare it the mockery of PC snobs who can’t wrap their heads (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2030096/how-i-survived-7-days-in-chromebook-exile.html) around the- (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2030096/how-i-survived-7-days-in-chromebook-exile.html)Chromebook concept.
Realistically, you can’t expect much from any sub-$300 machine, and most Chromebooks reside in this underwhelming hardware space. Nonetheless, Google’s 2012 partnership with Samsung on the Chromebook 3 (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2019245/samsung-chromebook-3-cheaper-more-productive-alternative-to-a-tablet.html) proved that a manufacturer could do a good job with low-level components, and then Google itself pulled-out all the stops a few months later with the launch of the gorgeous-Chromebook Pixel (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2030228/review-google-chromebook-pixel-is-an-expensive-curiosity.html). If nothing else, the Pixel, replete with a beautiful touchscreen and elegant industrial design, sparked a heated (and slightly bizarre) debate about whether the Chrome ecosystem deserved a machine so high-end.
And now we have HP’s Chromebook 11, a laptop that attempts to add some industrial design finesse to the low end of the Chromebook space.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here (http://cdmagurus.com/article/2053946/hp-chromebook-11-review-google-gives-the-low-end-some-much-needed-luster.html#jump)
More... (http://www.pcworld.com/article/2053946/hp-chromebook-11-review-google-gives-the-low-end-some-much-needed-luster.html#tk.rss_all)