My husband and I are wanting to buy our 13 year old a laptop for Christmas. She will use it extensively for school so it needs to have CD drive and be compatible with standard software. She needs to research and write papers and print and browse the internet wirelessly. I know that a Chromebook is a different OS but I have not touched one or been taught about it. Would a Chromebook be sufficient for those needs or should we stick with the traditional laptop? Oh she also is getting into photography so we're going to end up adding photo software in the nearish future.
I am no computer expert, but I do not think you will be happy with a Chromebook right now. I have been using a Chromebook (myself) full time since July/August. On most levels, I love it. But there are some very frustrating aspects. The main one is that the operating system is basically Android - NOT Windows and NOT Apple O/S. I repeatedly run into web based applications that are partially or completely incompatible. For some I've found work arounds, but for others, I simply end up pulling out another machine. A work around example: Skype will NOT work with Chromebook (at least, not last I checked). Workaround: I can call landlines form Google Hangouts. GoTo Meeting will NOT work with Chromebook, Workaround: NONE. I have found other services that will partially work when I'm initiating the meeting, but if someone else plans a meeting and uses GoTo Meeting (which is very, very common), I HAVE to use a different machine. These are only two examples - even if your daughter doesn't use them, she will run into this issue with other softwares. My Chromebook has internal memory (hard drive); when I was shopping, many do not. The memory mine has is limited compared to a regular lap top, but more than sufficient for my needs. I don't know if you can get a Chromebook with a DVD drive or not. Since the device is designed more for cloud work, I would be doubtful, but again - I just don't know. The quality of the microphone has surprised me but the camera/video has been a big disappointment. That's saying a lot, since my "grand" needs for video is something as simple as video streaming during a meeting or call, or just recording a very very short clip. INCREDIBLY choppy. Just, frankly, awful. My cell phone (which is pretty cheap and has no autofocus) does an IMMENSELY better job. <shrugs> Hope that helps. I really like my Chromebook, but I'm not inclined to think it will do what you want.
Thank you Sandra! I was thinking that it would not be quite right but the price disparity was a huge tempter. Your review has helped me to go with my gut and put the extra cash down on a laptop.
I had the same struggle last year. But then I found a Toshiba on sale at Best Buy for under $300, and I'm a huge Toshiba laptop fan so that's what I got for the classroom. I'm very happy with it other than the fact that it has Windows 8 on it...yuck!
