Chrome OS Tablets

[richaron]

Question: Are Chrome OS Tablets the next thing? I'm looking for tablet form factor plus the ability to do limited actual work.

Background: So I'm back doing some studies and have been considering a portable "device" to take notes and work on whilst out and about. I've got a nice PC and I think a proper notebook would be kinda redundant, so I've seriously considering a tablet. I know tablets are going out of fashion now, but it's cool because I hated them when they were popular...

Anyway a proper stylus would be awesome because it would be nice to go paperless (I can go through mountains of paper). And as proof of concept I got one of the new Wacom "Bamboo Tip" active stylus and borrowed a crappy android tab from a family member; Totally didn't work. But the stylus works awesome on my S8 (apart from palm rejection and stuff) and it's almost useful for just jotting and rearranging formula while I work elsewhere. So I'm pretty sure I'd like a proper system.

There are a few options out there like a Galaxy Tab S3, though it's due for a replacement soon (and I hate Samsung's stupid backwards android buttons). There's also a new Huawei media 5 pro or something which looks nice also, although I'm concerned about long term support.

But then a couple of days ago Acer tried to steal some of Apple's thunder by releasing an "affordable" Chrome OS tablet aimed at education and it has a nice stylus. It looks kinda meh in general, but it's the first Chrome OS tablet out there. And with the addition of a keyboard/mouse and maybe an external monitor this seems heaps more practical for productivity than an android device.

So do you guys think Chrome will be the next widespread tablet OS? Seems to me it would be more are to perform "2 in 1" duties vs Android. I don't want to buy a less than perfect device right now on a soon to be depreciated platform. Is Chrome OS the direction mid-high end tablets will be taking from now on?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Can you get by 100% using Chrome browser-based apps and a few Android phone apps?

If you need any Windows apps you might want to look at a Surface Pro instead.

 

[richaron]

Can you get by 100% using Chrome browser-based apps and a few Android phone apps?

If you need any Windows apps you might want to look at a Surface Pro instead.

I can totally do without any Windows apps. I haven't owned a windows system in years and have zero intention of going back.

I do need something for light web and office duties when I can't lug around my desktop. Heck, if need a full desktop maybe I can VPN/Remote Desktop into my home computer. And it sounds to me like Chrome OS might be the way to go without giving up any tablet functionality. So I was wondering if all (non windows/mac) tablets will go in that direction?

 

[DaveSimmons]

No one knows yet. Most Chromebook use is in K-12 education, and the initial tablets will probably get most of their sales there.

The second-best selling tablets after iPads are Amazon's Fire tablets, which use a custom fork of Android. After that it's Samsung android tablets, other Android tablets, and a tiny amount of Windows tablets. Will this change in a year or two? Maybe.

But what everyone else does shouldn't matter to you if you only need Chrome-based browser apps. ChromeOS will continue to be updated, and updates are handled through Google not lazy phone companies. Your Chrome browser will probably get updates for as long as the device keeps working so you're good.

 

[richaron]

But what everyone else does shouldn't matter to you if you only need Chrome-based browser apps. ChromeOS will continue to be updated, and updates are handled through Google not lazy phone companies. Your Chrome browser will probably get updates for as long as the device keeps working so you're good.

It's not exactly the fear of being different which is keeping me up at night... But I do wonder about long term Chrome OS support for tablets and the associated development funds vs market share. There is only 1 device atm after all. But if there is a landslide from Android to Chrome tablets the developers will follow, and I would obviously prefer to be on a newer platform.

Significantly I wonder about choices in the segment; even a few months down the road there might be a bunch of options, or the idea could be stillborn. I've been close to pulling the trigger on a Tab S3 but I hate the stupid arbitrary backwards buttons and I have concerns over Android "Desktop" use ( with peripherals). Chrome OS would make "Desktop" much more functional, and future products might do away with my hardware concerns about high end tablets with stupid stupid backwards android buttons.

I thought maybe someone with their finger on the pulse of the market might have an idea of where it's heading..

 

[DaveSimmons]

It's too soon to know. Like I said, ChromeOS is successful with laptops in K-12 since they can be managed by the school district and are more kid-safe than Windows. Will the tablets be as successful? Maybe.

 

[richaron]

It's too soon to know. Like I said, ChromeOS is successful with laptops in K-12 since they can be managed by the school district and are more kid-safe than Windows. Will the tablets be as successful? Maybe.

Coolio. I actually hadn't realized how successful ChromeOS had been in schools up until now, so that does alleviate some of my concerns over general support. But I still wonder if a bunch of new tablets running it will change the landscape.

Thanks for your input, kinda like what I figured. I guess I'll wait and see which direction the next big releases are heading, I've kinda convinced myself a Chrome tablet is what I'm looking for.