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$149 Chromebooks

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Re: $149 Chromebooks

#161

Post by hyperpallium »

eli wrote: post #121
cardine wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A disruptive innovation is an innovation that creates a new market. What market does the Chromebook create that a $200 netbook didn't already create?

These things are only obvious in retrospect. Why did the iPod create a new market when the Nomad MP3 Player already existed?

I agree Christensen often seems a bit post hoc, but I think at least trying to see if there's a new market can help (as opposed to attacking the fortified hill of an established market).

One could argue the Nomad's market was much smaller (most people who bought iPods had never heard of it), partly because of Apple's aggressive advertising... which certainly helps "create" a market.

Re: $149 Chromebooks

#162

Post by coke12 »

ams6110 wrote: post #147
Kevguy wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a cheap Samsung Chromebook ($250 in 2013). I've never had a problem browsing with 10+ tabs open and watching hulu at the same time. It is not going to run Visual Studio of course, but it is quite capable for browsing/videos/word processing/etc.

How usable/practical is it without a WiFi connection?

It's basically just a web browser with some tweaks for convenient offline Google Docs. You can unlock a full shell and download some decent editors (Caret is one that I've used), if you want to do JS or Python development. Unfortunately the third-party package manager ("chromebrew") does not have a very robust offering, so you're pretty limited in what you're able to do. You can try building binaries yourself but you'll need to build your toolchain as well.

Re: $149 Chromebooks

#163

Post by andmalc »

kelukelugames wrote: post #106
mariusmg wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The middle class can afford to pluck down a few more bucks and get a device with a real OS...

I've never had a chromebook. How bad is it? What if I just want to browse the web and watch hulu, netflix, and youtube?

I also have a cheap, late 2012 Samsung Chromebook with an ARM processor and 2GB RAM, the kind the reviewers like to get down on as horribly underpowered. But over time updates have improved the performance and at this point it's really fine.

And yes, Netflix, YouTube etc., no problem.

Re: $149 Chromebooks

#164

Post by Chefkoochooloo »

I think this product will do well especially for students, start-up businesses, or even for leisure use. Google's goal is to be able to address the affordability and at the same time not sacrificing quality. It definitely isn't the best machine out there but it is sufficient for daily use of middle-income consumers and students. On their video ad, it's obvious that they are also focusing on an international market where it's not focused on first-world countries only. I think it's a great step for Google to create something very affordable that has a good quality for their product to reach all facets of the world.

Re: $149 Chromebooks

#165

Post by Animats »

Can you run those things as a pure Linux system, without any tie to Google? I have an application where I run a Python program that needs WiFi and a USB port, but nothing else. I'm using old EEEpc 2G Surfs now, but they're getting old.

Re: $149 Chromebooks

#166

Post by newsreader »

ctz wrote: post #48
josefresco wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$149 is ridiculously cheap and I don't think Microsoft wants, or should want to operate in that market. At the $200-$300 price range there are many Windows choices - most with significantly better hardware and features. Microsoft: Leave the sub $200 market to others and leverage your online services to sell to those consumers.

Well, just this week a purchased a HP Stream 7 Signature edition for £50 (~=$50). Microsoft is definitely in the market.

I got one for my wife about a month ago. Paid about $100 dollars for it, she uses it almost every day for email, Facebook, and browsing the internet.

Re: $149 Chromebooks

#167

Post by nashashmi »

kakisoop wrote: post #159

I was hearing about $100 laptops from the time, I joined college. Finally, I see it happen. Every developing nation should award highest civilian honour to Sundar Pichai for making this happen. Thanks Google for making this happen.

You just reminded me about the OLPC program, or the 100$ laptop.

We are getting pretty close, aren't we.

Re: $149 Chromebooks

#168

Post by TheTaO »

jdietrich wrote: post #94

This is a colossal, market-moving play from Google. Look at the brand names. TRUE, XOLO, Nexian. Recognise them? Consumers in Thailand, India and Indonesia do - they are local smartphone brands. Look at the promo video. Notice how many Asian faces there are? This isn't about cheap Chromebooks, it's about a major strategic effort to court the global middle class. As with the Android One initiative, Google are seeking…

> This is a colossal, market-moving play from Google.

Is it that or is it just an effort to stay relevant? If you can get a laptop/tablet that can do the same thing that this Chromebook does and has a full OS for a few bucks more, would you do it? There are tons of tablets from HP/Dell that cost 100-200$ and run full windows OS and have comparable specs to the Chromebooks. As far as I know they are selling quite well. I am wondering if this is Google responding to that pressure.

Re: $149 Chromebooks

#169

Post by [deleted] »

maaku wrote: post #119
mariusmg wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The middle class can afford to pluck down a few more bucks and get a device with a real OS...

The middle class in first world countries, maybe. Try spending some time in the developing world. Lower cost of living means that "middle income" families can live comfortably on less income. But the costs of large capital goods, e.g. computers and cars, is not lower. Imagine your average laptop cost $5k - $15k. Would you consider it a big deal if you could get a decent <$1k laptop? That's the equivalent situation.

[deleted]

Re: $149 Chromebooks

#170

Post by Sanddancer »

na85 wrote: post #11

I'd definitely consider using a Chromebook if the offline functionality works. My understanding from people I know working at Google is that the offline Docs and Gmail experience is pretty sub-par at the moment. I guess if you pop out their SSD for a larger one it'd make a decent BSD netbook. Bitrig[0] is slowly but surely getting better. [0] https://www.bitrig.org/

Even then, you'll probably have a pain in the butt time. It uses coreboot to startup, and the coreboot devs don't seem to care about any OS that isn't Linux, so you have to go through a somewhat painful process to get to the point where you can install a BSD.
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