Best computer purchase I've made, lately. 14" HP Cromebook.

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sportage

sportage

Lifer
Feb 1, 2008
11,492
3,163
136
Grabbed one of those 14" HP Cromebooks with free lifetime T-mobile service.
Hotspot? Naw. Been there, done that.
Pad with built-in cell service? Naw. Too limited. Poor reception.

For around $300 bucks, this is a damn nice add-on to your computer arsenal.
Battery life, outstanding.
Backup internet for those emergencies.
I'm not a big fan of T-mobile, but I have had totally reliable reception everywhere I go.
Which was not the case when I tried T-mobile on a cell phone.
I'm guessing the antenna(s) in this cromebook are more powerful with this being a laptop vs the antenna(s) in a phone or pad.
And the speed I am getting from T-mobile equals my home cable internet quality.
Which really did shock and surprise me. 3G.

It is very nice to have reliable free internet on-the-go, and battery life that I can take this cromebook to work without the charger, and have far more than plenty of battery life for the days use.

My main PC is an apple, but for this being a laptop AND an HP AND a cromebook AND for around $300 bucks, I'd recommend this little goodie to anyone looking to get either a pad or laptop. I mean, considering the price and for all you get. Especially, the built-in cell service, and free cell service at that.

Yes, T-mobile will offer you to move up to to a paid plan if you need more data allowance, but just for simple web browsing the free 200mb monthly allowance from T-mobile is pretty decent. And now, free for the life of the 14" HP cromebooks.

Plus, of all the many laptops I have tried and or owned thru the years, and I'm talking a lot of laptops, the mouse-pad on this HP cromebook is the best I have ever used.
Not too picky. Not too over sensitive. Not too under sensitive. But just right.
I have not had to consider dragging along a wired mini mouse, as with all my other laptops, because their built-in mouse-pad always sucked.
This HP cromebook built-in mouse-pad is as good as any apple laptop mouse pad I have used. I was impressed much!

I just think everyone should have one of these, especially as a simple backup pc.

Large 14" screen, a tad bit washed out, maybe, very minor but by no means a deal breaker.
Free T-mobile for life.
Not to mention, the built-in cell service ability in itself.
Something missing from most all other laptops.

Unbelievable battery life !!!!!!! I don't go by hours, I go by days.
I can take this to work several days in a row, use it several hours a day for simple web browsing, and not have a battery issue or need charging. And stand-by battery life seems unlimited.

Not a slow-poke laptop. This crome is pretty damn perky.

Built-in WiFi when WiFi is available.

A built-in web-cam (something I really do not need, but this has it).

Well designed KB. Nice response. Nice feel. Full sized.

Plenty of USB ports, as well as HDMI-out, and a side SD memory-card slot.

Just a nice little powerhouse laptop full of goodies and for the price? Damn.

PS. Did I mention the pretty color choices? I stuck with white.
 
CNNN

CNNN

Member
Aug 7, 2014
52
0
0
From my understanding, all you can do on a Chromebook is browse the web. You cant run office or Photoshop or video editing. It doesn't even have a big hard drive to store files. Don't see what's so great about it.
 
Red Storm

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
106
Yeah my little sister has this Chromebook, she really likes it. I also really like it because I'm her tech support, and Chromebooks make my job so much easier than a Windows notebook. It just works with no worries about viruses/malware or Windows updates. The lifetime free 4G from T-Mobile is awesome too. There was a slip of paper that said it was only for 2 years, but Woot emailed me and they said that was a lie, it's actually lifetime. :)

I'm eager to get my hands on the new Acer model running Nvidia's Tegra K1. 4GB RAM, 1080P screen and 11 hour battery life for under $400? Yes please!
 
JoeMcJoe

JoeMcJoe

Senior member
May 10, 2011
327
0
0
I use the same HP Chromebook most of the time for home use. Hardly use the TMO service, but its works, nice and fast. Make sure you use it every few months, otherwise they close the account.

The grippy case is a nice touch, the main downside is the LCD viewing angles and the low resolution. If they made one that had the regular 4:3 ratio and better viewing angles, it'd be perfect. (like the Pixel)
 
sportage

sportage

Lifer
Feb 1, 2008
11,492
3,163
136
I think T-mobile made a genius decision to partner with some of the HP products in offering free lifetime service. What it does is tempt the customer to opt for a paid service for more data. And the rates for that are pretty decent. Like I said, I once had T-mobile service on a call phone and the reception was awful. But this cromebook always has a signal even inside at work where service is poor no matter what the provider.
True, the crome does not do ms office but for my use, this is a backup internet browser when I need service on the go or when home internet service is down. Like right now, mediacom has been down for three hours this morning. Typical.
I have often thought about getting a hotspot as a backup or a secondary service such as DSL. No need for that anymore thanks to HP and T-mobile partnership.
For the price and having a laptop with cell service built-in, pretty nice.
 
Azuma Hazuki

Azuma Hazuki

Golden Member
Jun 18, 2012
1,532
866
131
Chromebooks are very hackable which is their main appeal to me :) I have an Acer C720 I've hacked Linux onto and it is a surprisingly capable machine.
 
bassoprofundo

bassoprofundo

Golden Member
Oct 26, 1999
1,958
12
91
www.heatware.com
I almost pulled the trigger on the Woot deal to get my daughter a backup since they use Chromebooks at school but aren't allowed to take them home. The review comments on the LCD scared me away, though. Some said it was a total deal-breaker. If it ever tips below $150, though, I'll bite.
 
frozentundra123456

frozentundra123456

Lifer
Aug 11, 2008
10,451
642
126
Free mobile service would be the *only* thing that would make me even consider a chromebook. But since I dont have a smart phone, this seems quite attractive, since the reason I dont have a smart phone is not the cost of the device, but the 2 year contract. I wonder though if T-mobile has any legal obligation to continue this service, or if they could arbitrarily cancel it at some point. Seems almost too good to be true for such a cheap device.
 
TeknoBug

TeknoBug

Platinum Member
Oct 2, 2013
2,084
31
91
Azuma Hazuki said:
Chromebooks are very hackable which is their main appeal to me :) I have an Acer C720 I've hacked Linux onto and it is a surprisingly capable machine.
Click to expand...

Yeah I messed with someone's Chromebook which had Linux on it, used LibraOffice (I think that's what it was) to write .docx files and it was just like a regular laptop with practically no lag.

For simple tasks, I prefer just to use a tablet, a laptop is too much just for surfing the web, however if you install Linux on it, then there's a whole new world out there for that.
 
ponyo

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
2,811
126
frozentundra123456 said:
Free mobile service would be the *only* thing that would make me even consider a chromebook. But since I dont have a smart phone, this seems quite attractive, since the reason I dont have a smart phone is not the cost of the device, but the 2 year contract. I wonder though if T-mobile has any legal obligation to continue this service, or if they could arbitrarily cancel it at some point. Seems almost too good to be true for such a cheap device.
Click to expand...

Supposedly it's lifetime but who really knows. I'm guessing at least 5 years since that's how long Google promised to support and update each Chromebook. As long as you use some each month, they won't cancel for inactivity. I love the free 3G HSPA+ service and it has come in handy several times. And with Google Voice/Gmail or Google Hangout, it's super easy to make and receive free phone calls, voicemails, texts in the US. You could use it as your mobile phone. All for free.
 
JoeMcJoe

JoeMcJoe

Senior member
May 10, 2011
327
0
0
T-Mobile offers the 200MB per month for free as they make money when people want more data. It is nice for when you use it for email/google voice/calls, just avoid videos/facebook and install adblock plus, it can last quite a while.
 
midwestfisherman

midwestfisherman

Diamond Member
Dec 6, 2003
3,564
8
81
Red Storm said:
Yeah my little sister has this Chromebook, she really likes it. I also really like it because I'm her tech support, and Chromebooks make my job so much easier than a Windows notebook. It just works with no worries about viruses/malware or Windows updates. The lifetime free 4G from T-Mobile is awesome too. There was a slip of paper that said it was only for 2 years, but Woot emailed me and they said that was a lie, it's actually lifetime. :)

I'm eager to get my hands on the new Acer model running Nvidia's Tegra K1. 4GB RAM, 1080P screen and 11 hour battery life for under $400? Yes please!
Click to expand...

Is this the one you're referring to?
 
P

paulcheung

Member
Jun 3, 2012
136
0
76
Hi guys, I never play with a chromebook before, does it has any video player like VLC to play video files with the extension AVI, MP4 and MKV etc.?
Thanks
 
P

paulcheung

Member
Jun 3, 2012
136
0
76
Thanks, but the comments said it has problem playing 720p videos, that mean it won't paly 1080p at all then? I will stick with Wintel Then. Thanks again.
 
ponyo

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
2,811
126
RollWave said:
I have a crappie c720 and it plays anything I've thrown at it
Click to expand...

There are lot of video files ChromeOS won't play. Or it will play it but you won't get any sound. That's why I installed Crouton. VLC and XBMC solved that problem.
 
Yuriman

Yuriman

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2004
5,530
141
106
Picked up a Chromebook 14 myself, 2GB model for ~$190, and I couldn't be happier. Loaded Crouton on it for everything I couldn't do in ChromeOS.
 
Red Storm

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
106
Chrome OS is basically the full Chrome browser, and that's about it. Eventually some Android apps will work in Chrome OS, but we don't know which ones or how that process works.

If everything you need to do can be done in a browser (there is a file manager for local stuff on an SD card or USB drive), then you're golden. For me it works perfectly. For others who need to do more than the usual stuff, it may not be enough.

I will be getting that Acer model you linked, looks real good.
 
JoeMcJoe

JoeMcJoe

Senior member
May 10, 2011
327
0
0
Red Storm

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
106
The Nvidia K1 chip is looking very good, it's a lot faster than the Exynos in the Samsung Chromebook.
 
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