Samsung - 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 4GB Memory - 32GB eMMC Flash Memory - Night Charcoal

This was my first Chromebook. I needed something that would "just work", but I wanted at least 4GB RAM, 32GB local storage, and an SD slot to expand storage. The Samsung 3 fits the bill, especially on sale. I'm using the Micro-SD slot to increase storage by 128GB (not that I've really needed it yet). Besides typical Chrome usage, I've installed several Android apps that all work pretty well. The screen is okay if the brightness is turned up, but it tends to flicker (almost like an interlaced CRT screen) on lower brightness. Even on inexpensive laptops, I've not experienced such a "cheap" feeling screen. It's a super cheap machine, though, so I can accept that trade-off. The resolution is fine, and for casual usage it's not an issue. The keys are large, and the lettering on them is very large; I almost feel like I'm using a device meant for someone with vision problems -- like the TV remote controls with the super large numbers -- but functionally it's great. Better that, than a tiny squished keyboard. I've used it on battery for 5-7 hours without charge, on w/ screen on & at mid-brightness, before feeling as though I needed to plug it in (I typically get the itch to plug in anytime I fall under 40%, particularly around 30%); I've closed it and left it on the coffee table for several days, picked it up, opened it, and had over half the battery still left. It's not going to last as long as, say, an iPad, which is a shame... but it's certainly an acceptable battery life. Pros: - Lightweight; - Simple to use, once you become familiar with ChromeOS; - Powerful enough most of the time (see last "con" bullet point); - Battery life is good (not great, but good); - The speakers are surprisingly decent. Cons: - Screen flickers when brightness is down (increasing brightness seems to reduce the effect, but it also drains the battery faster); - Feels very cheap and plastic-y, but, it's a sub-$200 system, so that's fine; - Sometimes the processor seems to struggle a bit upon first opening it up (especially if it's been hibernating/sleeping, vs fresh boot). I'd recommend closing any open Chrome tabs or doing a fresh reboot if you open it up and it's slow or hesitant to respond. I'd recommend this little Chromebook for the following: - Kids - it's cheap, doesn't need to be patched or run antivirus, will do pretty much anything short of bonafide gaming (web-based games and some Android games should be fine); - Anyone needing a casual, secondary device with a keyboard (it's not a touch screen) for light productivity or entertainment (YouTube, Netflix, etc). Not recommended for: - Full time "laptop"/productivity - if there's an option, spend a bit more and get something with higher quality materials; - Any sort of gaming or heavy entertainment use. I'm rating it 4 out of 5 stars. I've purchased $279 laptops before that have a better quality screen and more functionality (since they can run any OS & application you want), so the screen quality being a bit below par is worth deducting one star. I got the Chromebook during a sale for $159, but it's normally closer to $199; if its regular price was ~$159, I'd give it 5 stars, but for $200... I'd rather Samsung had put a bit more quality into the screen and charged $220 or $230, OR price this laptop no higher than $179 as a truly "budget" laptop. At $200 it seems just a bit too "cheap" for the money, but just barely. If you're shopping Chromebooks and your next option is over $100 difference, and you're on a strict budget, don't be afraid to buy this. It'll get the job done. If you can afford higher quality materials, and/or want to use it extensively, look at something with better quality hardware. (My background: IT professional for 20+ years; extensive experience with PC's, laptops, Mac's (MacBooks, iPad's, Mini's, etc), iPads & mobile devices.)

Ordered one during the Black Friday sale as a second device primarily for online classes. I was looking for something that would get the job done for a low price. So far, this has met and exceeded my expectations, knowing that I would be getting limited space, RAM, and cheaper components. So far, everything I need to do on the day to day works so well on this ChromeBook, I have stopped using my other computer for it and only use it for heavy projects (editing/filming/music production/etc). Using ChromeOS works out really well overall, considering I am in the Google ecosystem overall. Using Docs to write a term paper while having a YouTube Stream in the background has worked really well overall. Battery life is overall excellent, and gives me all the mileage I need when doing long school projects and I am moving locations constantly through the day. I actually REALLY like the throw and range of the keyboard. It is by no means perfect, but I found myself pleasantly surprised at my ability to maintain long typing sessions and accuracy with something so portable. It is light and extremely user friendly. However let me go through my Cons, as they may be a make/break for some. 1. The screen is horrible. Bad viewing angles and everything always looking dirty was a really hard transition from a much higher end computer. You can mitigate some of this if you plug into a monitor or TV via the HDMI onboard. It definitely will help, but cannot solve the problem when you take it out on the road with you. 2. Speakers are placed oddly and sound horrible. Putting the speakers on the base/underneath doesn't work well at all. It sounds horrible and extremely quiet. Not sure if they ran out of space, or why this design choice was made that way. Workaround is using a cheap bluetooth speaker or headphones with the ChromeBook. 3. The charging port does not consistently stay in and is extremely particular. I barely touch the port with the charger plugged in and it stops charging. It is really frustrating and leads to longer charge times because I have to constantly check to make sure it's charging, even with extremely minor shifts. 4. No Spotify support. This isn't a deal breaker as a smartphone is usually on me and can be used in it's place. It would just be a nice app/support for it if it wouldn't suffocate the RAM and system resources. Everything else about this ChromeBook meets expectations. I made sure when I researched that I had tempered expectations and that I was not going to try and do heavy duty work with this device. So far, it has exceeded in every way in all my uses, except one time when I had 9 tabs open in Chrome, which was my own fault knowing the 4GB of RAM and OS could not handle the workload. If you use the work arounds I provided, your at home experience should be adequate with the correct expectations. On the road use is primarily hindered by the screen quality more than anything else. I find myself reaching for this ChromeBook for day to day uses over my other computers available to me in the household. It has become the daily driver for simple tasks. If you don't ask too much of it, it'll work well and take you far in the basics. It has helped me keep my school tasks and assignments in one place, and helped maintain my sanity through most days.

I bought this for my pre-teen's Christmas since all of her school work is not only computer-based, but Google products based. I have absolutely no knowledge of Chromebooks, so keep that in mind. First, the screen quality is pretty laughable, but for the Black Friday price and who it's for, it'll do. My major issue with this machine is that straight out the box, I had charging issues. It seems that the only way to get it to hold the connection with the charger is to plug it in on a desk and NOT MOVE THE CORD AT ALL. The slightest movement will cause it to disconnect. I don't mean the cord comes out of the port. It's still in there, it's just that the slightest rotation of the plug or any movement at all breaks the charging connection. Thinking this mustn't be right and that's not how charging brand new electronics should work, I exchanged it for the same product. The second Samsung Chromebook had the SAME ISSUE, only slightly worse!! It's not feasible to have a device that you have to create the perfect setup just to charge and forget trying to use it while charging. These are brand new products. They should charge like champs! I'll try with one more and actually check the charging in-store, but this is ridiculous. I'm not asking for miracles. I just want it to plug in the charger and have it charge the machine without disconnecting until I physically remove the plug. If the plug is in the charging port, it should charge. Right??

First let me say Best Buy is a great store to buy electronics at. Their online shopping and in store pickup are the best. I do not purchase electronics without having an in store pickup option. My local Best Buy pick up service is the best. Now to this Chromebook purchase. It is great for the price, got it at $129 on sale. It is definitely worth every penny. It is fast and responsive. It includes the Google Play Store and more importantly support for Linux apps as well. With Linux apps support the future is going to be limitless for Chromebooks. With Linux apps support you can install Firefox, a full office suite and run those apps without an internet connection when necessary. Linux apps and access to the Play Store make Chromebooks an unbeatable value. Linux runs better on budget hardware and that is what Chromebooks have. This Chromebook is a great deal and I am happy with my purchase, the only reason for the 4 star rating is the screen is not the best, but for $129 I will live without an ultra HD screen on this machine. If you catch a deal on this machine and you need a computer with great performance you should definitely buy one of these. Thank you Best Buy!

Aside from different RAM (2 GB vs 4) and local storage (16GB SSD vs 32), all 500/501 series have the same features and screen. Bought this for the standard Chrombook uses: email, web browsing, streaming, cloud documents, etc. I've had multiple tabs open while streaming and a few apps in the background and this shows zero hiccups. Resolution is lower than some other brands, but the screen size is limited to 11.6" so it looks crisp and clear. Two small speakers on the bottom front sound like, well, two small speakers on the bottom front... Definitely enough sound to fill a small-to-medium sized room, but don't expect to get a ton of bass or depth - for everyday listening or something to listen to while working though, it's fine. Fit and finish are good all-around; I wouldn't want to intentionally drop it or toss it around, but it also doesn't feel the least bit flimsy. Lid opens and closes with a reassuring smoothness and the hinges show zero wobble when doing so. It's nice having a USB port on both sides. Would have liked to see a model with a backlit keyboard and 180* lid movement, but those are minor issues. Hope the next model uses USB-C for charging.

This is my first experience with the Chromebook. I purchased a lap top with Windows 10, and I have to say I wish window 7 is still around. That's the main reason why I was looking into a Chromebook and I love google. I use everything Google, including google docs. I need this Chromebook specifically for school so I don't need anything fancy, just something portable and would last me a long time. This one fits the bill. The non-touch screen is nice for me because that throws off my kiddos who are used to the touch screen to stay away from it. It's a perfect size, slightly on the heavy size ( more than I expected but not a deal breaker because my co-worker has a pixel and weigh about the same.), long-lasting battery. The only thing that would make it nicer if it has a backlit function on the keyboard.

LOVE my Chromebook 3. Had no idea that besides the various apps written specifically for Chrome OS, this runs ANDROID apps too! Talk about a game-changer! So besides being a terrific computing workhorse, there are lots of great games I can play on this too. Granted, since this isn't a tablet and doesn't have a touch screen, any games you play will either need to be played with a keyboard and/or mouse OR a gamepad, and thankfully, many do support gamepads (I think there are over 1,000 that do). My favorite is Real Racing 3, and being able to play with a gamepad and with it plugged into my TV via the HDMI port, I'm in heaven. I'm writing this review on my Chromebook now with a wireless keyboard & mouse. I also have a USB gamepad plugged in as well as a flash drive. It only has 2 USB ports, so I picked up a cheap $5 USB hub so I can have 5 USB devices plugged in at a time. Really, all the computer 99% will ever need.

This is actually a revision to a previous Samsung Chromebook 3. I have now owned both I honestly feel like the previous model ran better and slightly smoother/faster. Everything loads slowly. Graphics on webpages in chrome, text-entry fields in webpages, etc. You will repeatedly click hyperlinks because you won't be sure if your click registered or if this chromebook is just "thinking about it". The screen is borderline unusable. The off-axis viewing is such that if you're +/- a degree or two from center, you lose all color. Seriously. If you're not looking almost directly at the center of the screen it will wash out and at extreme angles the colors will appear inverted. The speakers are on the bottom of this- so if you use it in bed with this chromebook propped up on your legs you'll dampen all the audio. The build quality is like one greyish colored plastic brick. Feels cheap. Keys feel wobbly. Charging port feels cheaply designed with a fragile and thin charger. This is wack. 100% wack. Cannot recommend.