Samsung - Chromebook 3 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 4GB Memory - 32GB eMMC Flash Memory - Metallic Black

I did some serious comparing before choosing this Chromebook. Read to the end if you want to know what I compared this to before buying it. Pros: - Syncs with your Google/GMail account. - Solid, durable case - Small, compact, lightweight - Micro SD Card slot allows for expanding storage. (I tested this theory with a 16GB Micro SD, and it allows read/write permission. I’m going to buy a 200GB Micro SD). - The 4GB of RAM seems plenty fast even when multitasking. Opening and closing programs has a .5 second lag, only noticeable if you’re used to a faster device. - Samsung makes quality electronics - The 11” screen (not touch screen) is well encased in the plastic shell, giving me confidence it won’t be easily punctured nor shattered. - The 11” screen is not touch-screen (because this is not a 2-in-1 like most other laptops) - If you have access to the internet, this Chromebook has it all; GoogleDocs is your word processor instead of having to install one. There’s a Chrome Web Store which works just like an Apps store, but the apps you are used to probably aren’t going to work on the Chromebook. - The “Taskbar” is traditional and you can pin your favorite programs to it. - 7 hours of battery life (under constant use with a 75% screen brightness). It sleeps very well, so as long as nothing is plugged into the USB while it sleeps, your battery should hold its charge wherever you left it. You can also disable WiFi in sleep mode. And if you dim the screen while in use, you can get 10 hours of continual use - even if connected to WiFi the whole time. - This device is very user-friendly. It’s bare-bones and great for a kid’s first laptop (with the exception of the power supply being fragile - read the “cons”) - The keys are individual, sturdy plastic. They feel easy to press .They’re evenly spaced so I rarely hit 2 keys at the same time, and the spacing makes it easy to type in the dark. The F and J key have a bump for reference. - Everything is easily saved to Google Drive. If you download or save something, it goes in your Download folder, and as you’re looking at it, the next folder in the window is your Google Drive. Click and drag it to the Google Drive, and it’ll be there (if you’re online and have a Google Drive). - I like the touchpad. I hate Apple with the one huge button and no right-click function. This touchpad responds to a tap or a click anywhere on the pad! To ‘right-click,’ use 2 fingers to press the pad. - It’s an Energy Star product, which means it’s power efficient both unplugged and plugged in. - If going idle or leaving your workstation, you can lock the device manually, or set it to lock when the lid is shut. Unlock it with your Gmail password, or create a PIN if you have an arduous password. - Bluetooth capability. Connect to a Bluetooth speaker to play music, or to a headset, etc. - Can Cast to a Chromecast device or Smart TV. - 2 USB ports (one is an eSATA for certain external drives, and the other is a USB 2.0) - HDMI port Cons: - It doesn't come charged out of the box. and the instructions say allow it to fully charge before its first use. It takes maybe 2-4 hours to fully charge. - You need a Gmail account to use many of the functions (Gmail is great, so just make one!) - The power supply is very small and looks fragile. When plugged in, it looks like a small amount of force, twist, or impact will break the plug off in the slot. - The screen can't open more than 180 degrees - The keyboard is not backlit - which is great for power and price reasons, but inconvenient if you work in the dark. - The speakers are underneath and they don't get very loud. I mean, they barely reach normal speech volume at full blast (maybe because they’re pointing to your lap). In a quiet/normal room, it sounds good enough. Luckily, there's a headphone jack, or use a bluetooth speaker/stereo/smart tv. - 32GB internal storage. Luckily, you can buy a 200GB Micro SD Card and use that as expansive memory (I tested it with my 16GB Micro SD card and it allows read/write permission). - When in sleep mode with the lid closed, I don’t think it continues to download nor will it run programs such as an alarm clock. - If you don’t have internet 100% of the time, then you might feel limited in the functions of this device. Like I said, use the SD Card to store movies, music, and programs, and you won’t feel limited when offline. - There’s a learning curve because some of the traditional keys are absent and there isn’t a “start” or “explore” button. Even CAPS Lock is replaced with a search key (which acts as the “Start” or “Explore” button.) And there’s no Right Click button; instead, use two fingers when you click, and that’s the ‘right click’ function. - Personalizing the settings isn’t as quick and has fewer possibilities than most laptops. - Not all Apps will work. You can’t visit the App Store and find anything you want. There’s a Chrome Web Store which has basically what you need, but not everything you might need. What I was looking for: 11-inch, lightweight, compact, built-in camera, at least 1 USB but preferably 2, (large storage capacity - I wish), under or around $250, factory warranty. None of these end up having more than a 32GB capacity, but all of them have an SD card slot and a USB which can be used for an external drive. I narrowed the comparison down to 3 devices: 1)This one 2) Acer 2-in1 Chromebook 11" touch-screen with Intel Celeron 4GB Memory, 32GB EMMC with 1 USB 2.0, 1 USB 3.0, HDMI, headphone jack, SD card slot, 1-year factory warranty for $299 3) Asus 11" Chromebook, Rockchip Cortex A17, 4GB Memory, 16GB SSD, HDMI, headphone jack, SD Card slot, 2 USB 2.0, 1-year factory warranty, $199. HINT: To take a Screenshot, hit CTRL+the small key above the 6. (It’s got a square and 2 vertical lines).

If you are looking at a Chromebook, you should know what to expect - lightweight, speedy, internet/cloud use, fast boots, google ecosystem. This device is fantastic at all of those areas. Additionally, this model is the ONLY model I have found that has the 32gb/4gb configuration which is great. That extra ram and double flash memory will give this device much longer life. The size and form factor are relatively standard, but feel and look better then the cheap plastic you see on some other chromebook models. This Samsung is beautiful, the keyboard is laid out well, the keys feel good to type on - they aren't clicky/clacky (I game on a mechanical keyboard). The camera is discrete and quality is good for video chats. The touchpad is standard, nothing too crazy, it works. I connected my bluetooth mouse to this easy. I like the row of additional keys at the top (back button, forward button, media keys). However, no caps lock. Device synced my Google account in seconds. All my bookmarks/saves/accounts linked right in. Device is very fast to boot as ChromeOS just loads so fast (beats my Samsung EVO 850 SSD loading Windows by 6-7 seconds). It has one 3.0usb port which works well. I have a 4-port hub in case I need extra ports. For the HDMI, I had to reboot it while it's plugged in to get it to send to the signal to the TV. Not a big deal. Screen does not have all the greatest viewing angles (again, I'm coming from a 27" IPS) so you can't have huge angles with this screen, but it's good enough. Colors are good. Performance is great (for a Chromebook). No matter what Os you are running, a celeron is still a celeron so some top-heavy webpages can take a few extra seconds to load sometimes. Videos might not start cleanly, but will quickly catch up. This easily can handle netflix, youtube, social media. I use it with my Office365 account to link into Word/PowerPoint/Excel --- again, not as fast as my i7, but perfectly acceptable for what I need it for. I did not expect miracles. Using GoogleDocs is a breeze as well. Battery life holds well, as it should for chromebooks. The charging port is actually pretty bad on this, it's not as snug as it should be (I've thought I had it charging but I didn't a few times). Overall I am very happy with this. I paid $150 during the CyberMonday deal and feel that this chromebook is worth the additional $$$ over the lower-priced ones. It feels good, performs great, and looks excellent. If you need a chromebook, I highly recommend this. Additionally, I installed the (beta) PlayStore on this without an issue. This allows you to use any apps from the PlayStore (instead of the Webstore) onto the chromebook! A+++ Highly recommended.

Samsung - 11.6" Chromebook - Intel Celeron - 4GB Memory - 32GB eMMC Flash Memory I own a top of the line gaming laptop... I'd never even used a Chromebook before, so I purchased this purely out of curiosity - I could not be happier! I've been so impressed, I'm looking at purchasing more of them to give out as gifts for friends and family. I use this all the time now... I know they will too! Highlights: - Small size makes it incredibly lightweight and ultra portable... Great for checking email first thing in the morning while still in bed. Small footprint takes up very little of the precious space on my desk at work. - Touchpad gestures are awesome! A little booklet comes with it to explain them all, take the time to learn them, you'll be glad you did! - 32Gb memory (usually only 16GB for this model, BestBuy exclusive?) - WAY faster than expected: Browsing the web, playing browser based games and streaming (music and videos) all work flawlessly... Just don't open too many windows at once. - Outer Housing: Nice textured quality, sturdy solid feel and gun metal gray color looks great! - Chrome Store: Tons of free apps, themes, games and extensions... (I recommend AdBlocker). - Battery life!!!! Get 10-13 hours on a full charge... Browsing, gaming, streaming the whole time, not just sitting idle! (Power went out at my house for over 7 hours during a thunderstorm, I watched a movie on USB and played an offline game to pass the time, still had 3.5+ hours of battery life when the power came back on - LOVE THIS THING!) Lowlights: - Screen isn't IPS, so you really need to be looking directly at it for best picture... It has an 80-90% viewing angle, any less and the screen starts to bleed out as the angle gets more extreme. Other Thoughts: This Chromebook has two available USB ports, as well as a port for HDMI, headphones, and an SD card reader. For additional storage, I recommend the Sandisk UltraFit 128GB USB (Available @ BestBuy!). Huge capacity and incredibly fast speeds, all packed into the smallest possible footprint, making it realistically possible to plug it in and never have to remove it!

This thing was rather interesting. If you can remember back when netbooks were a thing, this is the netbook done totally right. Sure, it doesnt have beefy specs or a lot of memory, but it doesn't need them due to it's unique operating system. It's called Chrome OS, and it has a similar feel to android with a desktop skin/format. Of course it takes a while to get used to but its perfectly adaptable to most people. Now keep in mind. this thing can't replace a laptop, because it's too much like a tablet. It can only run two things, the chrome browser and android apps. And yet, this non-touchscreen chromebook can run android apps. Now, it doesn't make too much sense to run too many of them, since the full desktop version of every website that has an app is available on the chrome browser. And yes, every website can be viewed in the browser, there are no flash incompatibilities that most smartphones and tablets are plagued with. In fact, this is better than a tablet, because tablets were sort of meant to bridge the gap between smartphones and laptops, but they never really did, they just did the same thing that your phone could, just on a larger screen. In fact, most tablets tend to be weaker than their smaller counterparts. Not to mention that if you need it, you'll have to pay extra for a keyboard, which this book comes with pre-attached. But this chromebook bridges the gap properly, the way a tablet should have. Not to mention how thin and light it is. This thing even has full sized usb ports and hdmi output, most tablets need expensive dongles for that kind of connectivity. Now of course, I HIGHLY recommend pairing this chromebook with a micro sd card, you can get a 128gb for a good price in most places, but other than that, this is the gap bridger that some have been asking for, just don't expect it to run photoshop or edit 4k 60fps videos on it, because it wasn't designed for that. In fact, some android games can't even launch on it. If you need to write a quick paper or need something light to watch youtube on, this is the new-age netbook you need.

I have to be honest, I hesitated when considering a chromebook, mainly because I though it was just the mediocre netbook, just for 2017. Thankfully I was wrong in some respects. No, this doesnt run Windows, which made me second guess my purchase. However, Google has made a fairly nice operating system based off of their web browser of the same name. Sure, you cant really dig too deep into the file system and you can't run .exe files and so on, but, if most of your work can be done in a browser, this is the machine for you. Like I mentioned before, this is basically a netbook with a tablet-like OS. But the best part of this one in particular, you dont have to pay the price of either. And, dont think the 32gb is small, because this one also comes with a micro sd card slot, so expansion is simple. Plus, you can use most usb based accessories like thumb drives and mice. And in spite of its small size, the keyboard is actually not bad. I have had few mistypes on it, so writing your essays on it wont be problematic. Sure, there is a bit of a learning curve because of the new OS, but the best part is that you can sync it with your Chrome browser info from your desktop and android devices, which I find pretty awesome. Highly recommend for anyone that needs a simple laptop and doesnt want to buy a 10 inch tablet and pair it with an expensive bluetooth keyboard. Would be made better if Play Store was available on non-touchscreen Chromebooks.

I bought this as a Black Friday special and at BF pricing it is an excellent value. At regular price it is not as great a value but still a solid choice for your first Chromebook. What do I like about it? For starters, the size, weight, and appearance are all great. It has a pretty good keyboard although it feels slightly cramped but I'm not sure it could be much better for an 11.6" notebook. The touchpad works well. The 4GB RAM is good for keeping multiple browser tabs open at once, I wouldn't buy any machine with any less these days. The 32GB of storage seems to be enough for a Chromebook, again I wouldn't want any less. It also runs Android apps! And I'm pleasantly surprised at how useful a Chromebook can be and it's fun to learn your way around the system. It's certainly not for everyone but if you do not use any Windows specific apps and do most of your work online this will be good. Now for the bad. The screen is the weakest element of this Chromebook. Viewing angles are limited and if you are not looking at the screen head on, text will not appear very sharp. It is acceptable for a cheap notebook however. The other weak point is the CPU. It's not very fast but again for an inexpensive computer, it is acceptable. One thing I think Samsung overlooked is the lack of a lock slot. If you travel with your Chromebook you may want to lock it to the desk in your hotel room or at a coffee shop but it's not possible with this model due to the lack of a lock slot. Something so simple you'd think would be a no-brainer to add and shouldn't add much, if any, cost. So I couldn't really recommend this as a travel computer if you're at all concerned with the possibility of theft. Otherwise, I'm happy with my purchase and would definitely buy it again, especially at BF prices. I'm also impressed enough with the Chromebook concept that I will recommend one to my father who never quite got to master Windows and could use something easier that requires less maintenance.

This is the PERFECT gift for someone or yourself if you're looking for something lightweight, sturdy, and just wanting to do admin work or for school projects/papers. I would have given this a 5 but there are feature lacking like being able to add Microsoft Office and a few programs that could be used for work or school. (Before you comment and tell me that's why this is a CHROMEBOOK. I KNOW....) there are ways to get Office or the other programs on this device through some digging and changing of the OS, however, it wasn't something I absolutely needed just yet. Keeping that in mind you might be asking "what's the big deal?" Well because this is a Chromebook, you are primarily using Google Applications. Meaning for work or school- Google drive, docs, presentations etc. Of course these aren't bad, but we all know how finicky the layouts can be and when converting to Word or powerpoint, they might be different. Other than that, the Chromebook is a perfect device and small enough to fit anywhere. I use this when I want to be mobile vs. My 17' Alienware I have at my desk (try lugging that around or even find a bag to put it in...) I would definitely recommend this and again keep in mind this device doesn't have a lot of memory and it's NOT MEANT FOR GAMING... too many low reviews because of that.. c'mon people... Pricing- always look for price matching or when BBY has sales on it but overall $200 is a steal (especially if you do some backdoor work to unlock it's full potential).

I like portability, and I have 3 "main" regular notebook computers, and 3 different chromebooks (They are the Acer, Samsung Chromebook Plus, and this one.) The main drawing point for this model is that support of Andriod apps. For new chromebook user, please be aware that most chromebooks DO NOT support Andriod app, like my Acer dated 3 yr ago. The lack of apps is mainly what frustrated me. So, this model solved the problem. Otherwise, I believe this model is good for travel and light-weight user, who mainly use online apps. I opened like 10 tabs in Chrome, I don't feel much slow down. I watch HD Netflix and MKV file on USB, it runs without lag. Screen quality is on par to the resolution, color is accurate enough. Speaker is a littke weak. However, there is one BIG draw back. It is the power/battery conservation drain. Even I use "shutdown", it seems that it won't retain the power much longer than just closing the screen. If I just close the screen, and let it go to sleep mode, it would last may be 1 to 2 days before the batter completely drain. If I put it in sleep mode, it would last like 3 - 4 days. it is a quite a problem. Because I expect that in "shutdown" mode, no power or very very minimum of power is being drain, and it last over 1 month. At least that's what my Macbook Pro does. After 1 month of not using my Macbook pro, it shows I still has 82% full from 90%. Another disadvantage is that it does not have USB-C charging, and require Samsung's own charger. It is a problematic, giving USB-C has been out since 2016... I am not it is Samsung problem, and the OS problem. Hope they would fix it soon.. Until they fix this problem, It is hard for me to recommend to a friend.