Samsung has announced the Series 5 Chromebook – a thin, 12.1 inch Chrome OS laptop. And it's now on sale.
Google's Chrome OS is the company's take on a cloud-centric operating system that will compete with Windows, primarily in the mobile computing market - check out ourSamsung Chromebook reviewand read on for the lowdown on Samsung's new baby.
1. Samsung Chromebook operating system
The first and most notable thing about the Chromebook is that – rather unsurprisingly – it runs Chrome OS, an operating system made by Google that is completely based around its Chrome browser. There's no desktop as such, just a browser window.
Chrome OS is designed to be a cloud OS – meaning that it functions as a device to access the internet and use software and tools that exist on server farms rather than on your actual device.
2. Samsung Chromebook screen
The Chromebook comes with a 12.1-inch screen. "The 12.1-inch Super Bright display is both anti-reflective and anti-glare for a consistently vibrant visual experience across a variety of light conditions, from outdoors to dimly lit environments," said Samsung.
"The Series 5 display's 300nit brightness brings all forms of media alive in vibrant colour."
3. Samsung Chromebook processor
Intel's Atom N570 1.66Ghz Dual Core processor is under the hood of the Samsung Chromebook. This processor brings HyperThreading and, as an Atom chip, is designed to use as little power as possible – with a TDP of 8.5 Watts.
4.Samsung Chromebook memory
The Chromebook has 2GB of DDR3 memory – more than the vast majority of netbooks on the market, which typically have 1GB.
5. Samsung Chromebook battery life
Describing an 8.5 hour battery life as "all day" is a bit rich – but that's what's being cited here with Samsung stating: "The Series 5 has a battery life of up to 8.5 hours, including five hours of video play, for all day use without the need to recharge."
6. Samsung Chromebook weight
With mobility central to any small form factor laptop or netbook, Samsung has kept the weight of the Chromebook down to 3.2lbs – or 1.45kg for those who prefer things little more metric.
To put that in context, a (significantly more powerful) 13.3-inch MacBook weighs 2.1kg, an iPad 2 weighs 601g and an Acer Aspire One netbook weighs in at around 1.2kg.
7. Samsung Chromebook updates
Being a cloud computer brings several benefits – one of which is that software will always be updated automatically. So in theory, you won't need updates for the apps that you use – they will simply be updated when you access them.
In theory this means that you should have a more secure computer – because the anti-virus process goes on in the cloud and you have no or little data stored locally.
As Samsung puts it: "The Chrome OS has eliminated concerns about security and data loss by moving everything to the cloud.
"With nothing stored directly on the Series 5, malicious spyware, trojans and viruses are a thing of the past. If the notebook is ever broken or lost, all of your files are saved online."
8. Samsung Chromebook storage
The Samsung Chromebook has just 16GB of storage – with most of your data meant to be left in the cloud. That 16GB drive is an SSD – solid state drive – which benefits from much faster read/write times.
However, this is also feasibly one of the problems with the Chrome OS principle – in that the moment you're offline, your laptop has no or little access to your data.
Plus – as the Sony PSN debacle has shown – no network is infallible, and people still have trust issues with keeping all of their work and personal information online rather than locally.
9. Samsung Chromebook boot time
Faster read-write times means a much faster boot time. In fact, part of the theory around the Chromebook laptops is that, like your tablet or phone, they will spend more time in sleep mode than completely off.
Samsung suggests that the boot time for the Series 5 Chromebook is 10 seconds – our tests with the prototype CR-48 Chromebook suggest that this is perfectly reasonable.
"When waking from sleep mode, it's ready to go within one second," adds Samsung. "This means that wherever you are and whatever you're doing, your computer won't slow you down."
10. Samsung Chromebook style
With a small form factor and thickness of around 2cm, the Chromebook is aiming to be stylish as well as functional.
11. Other Samsung Chromebook specifications
The rest of the specs are fairly netbook/laptop standard – with the Chromebook bringing Wi-Fi, an optional VGA adaptor for a second monitor or TV, an audio input and an HD webcam, as well as a card reader.
Chromebooks also have a SIM card slot, so you can use mobile broadband directly on the device. And you'll need to, with your data stored in the cloud.
12. Samsung Chromebook UK release date and price
The Samsung Chromebook's prices are likely to raise a few eyebrows from those aware of how much they are paying stateside – with a direct currency conversion suggesting the UK is paying significantly more for both the 3G ($499 in the US, which is around £305 in today's currency market) and Wi-Fi ($429, or £262) versions.
The Samsung Chromebook 5 series has a UK release date of 1 July, but you can preorder it already - it's priced at £399 for the 3G version and £349 for the Wi-Fi only flavour.
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Liked this? Then check out Google: 'We want to strip out operating system frustration'
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