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Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

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Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#31

Post by wishfish »

prvc wrote: post #12

That's nice, but Chromebooks are designed to become e-waste after a period of only a few years (updates stop after the device gets to be a few years old).

I guess it depends on how you define "few". These days, Chromebooks get 7 years from the day of release. Google seems to be fairly generous with some models and extends support beyond that.

This page lists all the models and their expiration dates:

https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366?hl=en

I personally have the original Lenovo Duet as a cheap tablet / laptop. Paid ~$200 in 2020 and support will officially end in 2028. Not bad. As good as Apple or Windows 11.

Once official support ends, there's still a couple of options left. Some old Chromebooks can use Chrome OS Flex. Some of the newer Chromebooks have the option of updating Chrome independently of the OS. Thus allowing full security updates in the browser even after the OS is no longer updated for that machine.

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#32

Post by Wowfunhappy »

morninglight wrote: post #10
shrubble wrote: post #4

https://www.microcenter.com/product/649971/evolve-iii-maestr... On sale $59.99 ; regular price $79.99. Smallish keyboard however...

Bought a couple of these for the kids, and they love them. Not a Chromebook, but surprisingly well made and priced like a Raspberry Pi. Even has an LTE modem. Comes with Windows 10 Pro Education installed, and I haven't seen any difference from our other Win 10 installations. Of course, you could also buy it from Microsoft. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/evolve-iii-maestro-e-book-...

It's also 300% more expensive than the computer in the GP...

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#33

Post by adrianmonk »

prvc wrote: post #12

That's nice, but Chromebooks are designed to become e-waste after a period of only a few years (updates stop after the device gets to be a few years old).

They are, but for this one, that date is pretty far in the future. From the Q&A section of the product listing ( https://www.bestbuy.com/site/questions/lenovo-chromebook-3-1... )

> This Lenovo Chromebook 3 11 model number 82BA001FUS, will continue to receive Google Automatic updates through June 2027.

> Answered by Lenovo Product Expert 2 months ago

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#34

Post by B1FF_PSUVM »

rwalle wrote: post #13
prvc wrote: post #12

That's nice, but Chromebooks are designed to become e-waste after a period of only a few years (updates stop after the device gets to be a few years old).

Most laptops become e-waste after a few years. Want an example? Macbooks before 2017 which no longer get any more major system updates and run as slow as turtle compared to the latest ones.

Amazingly, I herd a couple of 2013 Asus T-100 that run Win10 OK, on 2GB RAM I think. Mostly they only stand and wait nowadays.

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#35

Post by cagey »

prvc wrote: post #12

That's nice, but Chromebooks are designed to become e-waste after a period of only a few years (updates stop after the device gets to be a few years old).

I bought a ASUS CXB170CKA-212.BCLN6 Chromebook in March 2022 (for USD150; it's not a high-end model). According to ASUS, "The Chrome OS AUE(Auto Update Expiration) date [for this model] is June 2029."[0]

I consider 7 years to be many more than "a few years".

[0] https://www.bestbuy.com/site/questions/asus-17-3-chromebook-...

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#37

Post by stkdump »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #29

How are the keyboard and trackpad? IMO, bad trackpads are the biggest pitfall of cheap (and not-so-cheap) laptops, by far. At least with a bad screen you can still generally read the interface without too much trouble, but a bad trackpad can make a computer really frustrating to use!

Wouldn't be a huge problem for me. If I am merely operating a device, then the touchscreen is good enough. For serious work, I use external peripherals anyway.

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#38

Post by public_defender »

CameronNemo wrote: post #3
public_defender wrote: post #2

I love these cheap ARM laptops. I wish there was better support for the hardware, though. I have been using an Asus c101pa as a second laptop for so long that it's outlasted three thinkpads, but e.g. there is still no Linux support for the GPU and probably never will be.

This looks like an Intel Celeron based on this guy's link.

Thanks, I missed this on the first read-through. I wonder how it compares to similar-tier ARM computers.

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#39

Post by adrianmonk »

Hah, I bought this exact Chromebook (from the same store, too -- maybe a Best Buy exclusive model?) too.

I got an even better deal on it. Over the July 4th weekend, it was on sale for $79.

Overall, it works pretty well considering the cost. Keyboard is OK, build quality is OK, Wi-Fi works fine, USB C charging works fine (its bundled charger can rapid charge my phone, my phone's charger can charge the Chromebook), and performance is very livable for basic web browsing and watching TV shows.

The only thing that does suck is the display. If you stay within a few degrees of the ideal viewing angle, it's decent enough, but get even a little too far off axis and it looks really bad.

Re: Unboxing a $100 Chromebook

#40

Post by public_defender »

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #21

> Like, real Linux, not some weird virtualized or translated environment. Ah, no. It is very much specifically in a container inside a VM. Now, full credit where it's due: You're unlikely to notice. Performance is good, they've done work integrating it (filesystem integration, forwarding windows to the host display servers through Sommelier). But native it is not. (Details: https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromiumo…

This is correct, but also a lot of these machines can native boot Linux if you enable developer mode. It's not the most frictionless experience in the world, but it can work pretty well.
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