mrcursed
Google Cr48
I'm sure everyone has seen all the professional reviews of this thing, so I'll give my personal take:
Pro:
Aesthetics: Design wise, this basically dispelled the myth that Google can't design hardware. It's pretty gorgeous, and the soft-touch coating is a joy to handle and easy to clean.
Instant on: This goes with the battery life, but the Chrome OS and the SSD hard drive really eliminates any lag between you and the internet.
Battery life: Serious 6-7 hour of use on a charge.
Packaging: One of the most hilarious packing + safety literature I've ever seen. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go look it up.
Speakers: The speakers are surprisingly good on the Cr48. They are not going to replace external speakers, but for essentially a netbook, it sounds not too bad.
Chrome: For me personally, the "browser" OS is perfect. If Google's goal was to eliminate any lag or delay between the user and the internet, Cr48 really demonstrate it as a proof of concept.
Cons:
Touch pad: Annoying as hell to get used to... I am finally starting to get used to it. Though "right clicking" is still hit and miss for me.
Screen: The 12" screen is basically a mid to low end LCD that one would find in a netbook. The vertical viewing angles are really poor, but at least brightness is decent.
Flash movies: I'm sure you all know by now, the guts of the Cr48 is essentially a netbook. It can NOT handle 720p movies without serious stuttering.
Weight: It's less than 1" thick but almost 4lbs (3.8lb to be exact). It's not VERY heavy, but it's not light by any stretch of the imagination.
Wifi: The strange thing about this is that even though the system can sleep and wake up almost instantly, the wifi radio some times takes 5-7 seconds to wake up. Not terrible, but when you get used to the instant on, the delay seems longer that it actually is. This only happens when the laptop goes to sleep for a while. So not THAT big of an issue.
For those that are dying to get your hands on one of these, go do a search on ebay or craigslist. I see a couple locally that are going for only $500. Now, SHOULD you get it?
Well, if you want it for the collector value, go right ahead. If you want it for the 2 years worth of Verizon whisper-net, go right ahead. (Have not had a chance to test it out yet, but will soon.)
However, when you consider that if you replace a netbook's hard drive with a SSD and install chrome OS on it, you would essentially get a Cr48. Sure it won't be as sexy as a Cr48, but performance wise, you are 85% there.
Final Verdict:
Google created the Cr48 as a showcase/test bed for what the Chrome OS could be and to show how connected you can be to the internet through Google. I think it does that with flying colors. One evidence of this that my Droid X get VERY little use at home now, where as I used to use it quite a bit. I don't know how Google plans to resolve this obvious overlap of uses between Android and Chrome OS.
One thing is for sure, Cr48 gets used ALOT in my house.
Google Cr48
I'm sure everyone has seen all the professional reviews of this thing, so I'll give my personal take:
Pro:
Aesthetics: Design wise, this basically dispelled the myth that Google can't design hardware. It's pretty gorgeous, and the soft-touch coating is a joy to handle and easy to clean.
Instant on: This goes with the battery life, but the Chrome OS and the SSD hard drive really eliminates any lag between you and the internet.
Battery life: Serious 6-7 hour of use on a charge.
Packaging: One of the most hilarious packing + safety literature I've ever seen. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go look it up.
Speakers: The speakers are surprisingly good on the Cr48. They are not going to replace external speakers, but for essentially a netbook, it sounds not too bad.
Chrome: For me personally, the "browser" OS is perfect. If Google's goal was to eliminate any lag or delay between the user and the internet, Cr48 really demonstrate it as a proof of concept.
Cons:
Touch pad: Annoying as hell to get used to... I am finally starting to get used to it. Though "right clicking" is still hit and miss for me.
Screen: The 12" screen is basically a mid to low end LCD that one would find in a netbook. The vertical viewing angles are really poor, but at least brightness is decent.
Flash movies: I'm sure you all know by now, the guts of the Cr48 is essentially a netbook. It can NOT handle 720p movies without serious stuttering.
Weight: It's less than 1" thick but almost 4lbs (3.8lb to be exact). It's not VERY heavy, but it's not light by any stretch of the imagination.
Wifi: The strange thing about this is that even though the system can sleep and wake up almost instantly, the wifi radio some times takes 5-7 seconds to wake up. Not terrible, but when you get used to the instant on, the delay seems longer that it actually is. This only happens when the laptop goes to sleep for a while. So not THAT big of an issue.
For those that are dying to get your hands on one of these, go do a search on ebay or craigslist. I see a couple locally that are going for only $500. Now, SHOULD you get it?
Well, if you want it for the collector value, go right ahead. If you want it for the 2 years worth of Verizon whisper-net, go right ahead. (Have not had a chance to test it out yet, but will soon.)
However, when you consider that if you replace a netbook's hard drive with a SSD and install chrome OS on it, you would essentially get a Cr48. Sure it won't be as sexy as a Cr48, but performance wise, you are 85% there.
Final Verdict:
Google created the Cr48 as a showcase/test bed for what the Chrome OS could be and to show how connected you can be to the internet through Google. I think it does that with flying colors. One evidence of this that my Droid X get VERY little use at home now, where as I used to use it quite a bit. I don't know how Google plans to resolve this obvious overlap of uses between Android and Chrome OS.
One thing is for sure, Cr48 gets used ALOT in my house.