The promise of Chrome OS
Before talking about equipment, it should mention the operating system (OS) and its promises. Among them, starting the PC in 8 to 10 seconds to be quickly connected to the Net. Chrome OS is more fully turned to the Web, with a fine integration of Google services (Gmail, Calendar, Picasa, etc..) And others - music sites Pandora and Netflix videos available in the U.S., is expected see for Europe - with priority for storing data online ( cloud ).
Limitations, alleged and proven, the OS
Chrome OS is not compatible with Windows and Mac software. Everything is here "apps" , applications for download through the browser. You can already try out the operating mode by connecting to the Chrome Web Store from the browser Chrome. Point of Photoshop, Lightroom, Winzip, Office software ... the park is under the control of the U.S. publisher. It can cool more than one.
Then, the interest of the machine may take a hit in areas not connected, and they are numerous. Manage offline will also a key element of success or failure of these Chromebook. Google says there have been working hard, including providing a file browser. We are waiting to see before judging.
A very basic technical
399 euros Wi-Fi version and 449 euro model Wi-Fi/3G: in light of the fact sheet, classical, it is reasonable to wonder about the price: frame 12 inches (1280 x 800 dots ) of 1.3 kg with Atom processor and equipped with double heart (like most netbooks ) a webcam, a microphone, a memory card reader, two USB ports, Wi-Fi, etc.). and a special keyboard Chrome. The hard drive is a 16 GB SSD, as saying that the external storage unit is almost mandatory.
A set that boasts the final 8 hours and 30 minutes remaining, we will not fail to be tested. But when we see that Acer offers its Aspire One 722 to 299 euros, a 11.6-inch AMD Fusion (more powerful Intel Atom) running Windows, you wonder if the Samsung Chromebook is good business, the OS is supposed to be open source , what happened to the economy of a license for Windows 7?
Different distribution
Sold through normal channels in France, Amazon initially, the Samsung Series 5 has a partnership with SFR, which offers 1GB of 3G data for use within two months of purchase. Remains to be seen whether the operator will also distribute ... When the United States, the Chromebook is proposed to rent the machine, $ 28 per month, $ 20 / month for students. No information about a similar offer in France.
Available from June 15, the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook will face model from Acer, cheaper, lighter and well equipped. The battle will be fierce ...
