Samsung - Geek Squad Certified Refurbished 11.6" Chromebook - 2GB Memory - 16GB Flash (eMMc) Memory - Silver

Chromebook has it's place and it's in the average person's hands. The machine boats up incredibly quick, is secure not only in protecting the user's information but also because Google provides the updates to the OS that it pushes out when available. Security software is not needed as it is all sand boxed and will not run nefarious software. For most people who use a computer to access the internet, this machine is great. With Google's suit of web services on Google Drive, Google Plus, Picasa/Google Plus Photos and Hangouts most needs are covered. Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Photo enhancing, cropping, and sharing can all easily be done with in the Chrome Web browser. Communication with Hangouts works flawlessly offering video conferencing with the built in microphone, speakers, and webcam. This is not a power machine so if you need something on the go for editing audio, graphic files, video, or programming this machine will not accomplish that. If you want to watch Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, surf the internet, create documents, spreadsheets, read eBooks and the like this machine is quick and travels easily. The battery life is exceptional lasting over 8 hours. The keyboard is decent and reminds me of the Apple iMac keyboard in general feel and use. The track pad is ok and operates well. There are laptops with better keyboards and trackpads but there is also allot of laptops that have far worse keyboards and trackpads then this budget machine. Considering the low cost, this machine is great for students, travelers, and folks that predominately use their computers to access the web. If you are new to computers and a little intimidated by them, this machine is a pleasure to use with out all the settings and security worries. Not to forget this machine also comes with 2 years of 100GB Google Drive Cloud storage a $120.00 value.

I bought this out of curiosity and a need for a little more convenience. I have a smartphone, a laptop, two desktops, and a Kindle Fire. My wife has taken over the laptop, and I don't do well keyboarding on my smartphone and Kindle. Often I want to use the Internet for things that require keyboarding and I don't want to wait for the desktops to boot up. So I see this great deal from Best Buy for a Samsung Chromebook for $169 + tax, and I thought, "How can I lose?". I was already doing stuff in Google Drive and Microsoft Skydrive, so working mostly in the cloud was no big deal to me. The keyboard is as advertised, Great. You'll love it, even without the delete and end keys. The touchpad was a surprise. I've always been a mouse person, but the touchpad on the Chromebook is good enough so I don't miss the mouse. You don't have to wait for this thing to boot. Open it and you're there instantly. Close it and it''s off. Can't get more convenient than that. The display is better than a tablet, but not as good as a desktop. It's good enough not to annoy you. It streams YouTube, Amazon, and Netflix without a hitch. The sound is fairly decent too, but of course plugging in headphones is better. The Chromebook is considerably lighter and smaller than a laptop, so you can grab it easily and carry it around about like a large tablet. You can print from the Chromebook, but not directly. It has to be done through the cloud. Since I have a network enabled printer, I just connected the Chromebook to it through Google Cloudprint and my wireless network the same as I do my laptop. I'm very pleased with the Chromebook. If lightening strikes it tomorrow, I'll get another one.

This is a good computer for what it is, and refurb pricing of around $180 made it an even better deal. This is a handy computer for Web browsing - it's super-light and the battery can last all day. The keyboard is comfortable for working on emails (Webmail only) or short documents (Google Drive or other online editor only), and the trackpad is surprisingly excellent - just short of the venerable MacBook trackpad. I find myself reaching for this over my iPad - it's lighter, it's easier to navigate with keyboard and trackpad, and it basically has a built-in adjustable stand. However, the ChromeOS could be a dealbreaker for many people. The only application on the laptop is the Chrome browser and you can't install other software. If you're not aware of the limitations of ChromeOS or aren't sure if you can live with them, stay away. The experience of ChromeOS is still being polished. The camera on my Chromebook didn't seem to be working at first, and I had to switch to a beta version of the OS to enable Netflix, but the core functions (Web browsing and Google Apps) are pretty solid.

Excellent choice for a child, or anyone who wants a laptop with internet access with a decent screen, good keyboard and good battery life, and who is OK with the limitation of Chrome OS. Generally performs well. It is unfortunate that the SD card remains sticking out a lot when properly inserted. It's just not safe sticking out like that. Otherwise, it's a great value. It's perfect for my teen-aged granddaughter. She loves it, and already had her school work in her Google account in the cloud.

For the cost, this is a great machine for browsing the internet. I have not used it for many apps to see how well they will perform, but just browsing around on the internet, checking email, streaming music, and displaying on and HD TV through the HDMI port works just fine. It does have a quick boot up time as well. Picking it up on the Deal of the Day was worth the money. My only complaint is that the period button has fallen off twice. Both times I've been able to just snap it back into place without any issues, but I feel that this might be a repetitive pattern.

If all you need is something to surf the web, use email, and simple document editing, this is perfect. It's very light, the battery lasts hours, the keyboard is comfortable to use, and the screen is fine. You can watch videos on it but it's limited in the formats it will play back. You can't upgrade it in anyway so keep that in mind. What you get is what you get. Using Google Docs, you can work on your documents offline and it's compatible with Word which is great.

Let's be honest - 99% of what most people do on their computers involves the internet. Watching video, looking at Facebook, checking scores, looking up general information. This device does all of these things and does them well. As a programmer, it even offers some great functionality for coding but it just wasn't enough for me based on the existing software titles I currently use.

I bought this refurbished from Best Buy for $180. For that price it's an excellent deal. I knew going into this that it wouldn't be the fastest machine, but sadly it feels a bit slower than I had thought it would. That's my primary criticism. The positives are much more extensive. I think Samsung has done a very nice job with the keyboard. I have a much more expensive Lenovo ultraportable that has a much less accurate keyboard. This machine is also very light and easy to port around. It has a matte screen which I prefer over glossy reflective screens. This computer is also super easy to share with my wife since we can switch accounts quickly. I can't wait for the next iteration of this machine, a little more speed and this will replace my Lenovo except when I need to use desktop software such as Excel. I linked to a helpful group of chromebook help videos created by Google. These are helpful for chromebook beginners.