My first Chromebook experience made me grumpy — here’s why

My first Chromebook experience made me grumpy — here'south why

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When I start learned I would finally be reviewing a Chromebook, I was intrigued and excited. I had merely seen one up close one time before at a friend'southward business firm. It was his nine-yr-sometime daughter's outset laptop, and she loved it. He said, "she thinks information technology's a real laptop, we even set her upwardly with an email account so she can email u.s. stuff, play games, and sentinel her favorite kids shows."

The fact that he said, "She thinks it's an actual laptop," never left me, and then I was inquisitive to see what my ain Chromebook experience would be like. Admittedly, some of my more experienced colleagues giggled at my excitement for reasons I wished non to know. I wanted to become in with virgin eyes and with kid-like wonderment and curiosity.

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Getting ready

The Lenovo ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook arrived, and I stopped everything I was doing to unbox it and get it charged upward. I did a piddling enquiry on which sketch apps I should download to fully experience the stylus that came with the particular ii-in-1 Chromebook I was spending the adjacent few days bonding with.

The Google Play Store ever feels like I'm in Candy Land. Many of the apps wait exciting, but in my experience with previous Android phones and tablets, information technology never impresses, and most of the apps are underdeveloped or complete trash. So I was leery of falling back into its abyss and getting lost. I sat there, contemplating which apps I would download, then compiled a listing. Finally, I was ready to open up the Chromebook and brainstorm my journey.

Setting up the Chromebook

Offset off, the Chromebook I reviewed is a sleek 13-inch notebook with an FHD brandish and solid specs, so I expected an instant kick up, and that's what I got; information technology'due south ever exciting to go what yous want; however, things would accept a plow for the annoying when I tried setting information technology up.

Because they are part of the Google ecosystem, Chromebooks require yous to sign in to your Google account with your password. You have to type information technology in to start the process, which I found disappointing. Existence a long-time member of the Google-verse, I'thou used to simply receiving a message on my telephone that asks me if I am signing in on a new device.

But nope, I had to sit in that location and attempt to recall a password I hadn't changed in forever. Information technology turns out, I had forgotten information technology.. So I had to battle with the determination of either creating a new account just for this Chromebook or changing my countersign. Fifty-fifty Microsoft moved to a quicker authentication format with the help of a phone app, why is this not a thing for Google?

Thoroughly frustrated, I changed my password then went into my phone apps to brand certain everything the change was made across the board (it wasn't). And finally, I had to make sure my old tablet was all good too. All told, it was an hour-long process, and I was annoyed. I simply wanted to play with this new Chromebook, just nope, Google didn't want me to be happy. They wanted me to dive deeper into the angrily into the completeness.

In one case the Chromebook was finally prepare, I put information technology aside because I had wasted nearly an hour and a half. I had work to do, so I shuffled over to my work area and got on my PC to piece of work in Google Docs, which fabricated me even angrier.

Downloading apps

Subsequently that dark, I went dorsum into the Chromebook, downloaded three sketch apps recommended on a few sites. To my chagrin, the kickoff two were awful. The final one was usable, so I got the pen out, took notes, and played a lilliputian with it. I scribbled some notes and doodled a bit. Still, with such a great stylus and the Chromebook actually functioning very well in tablet fashion, I pondered why better apps hadn't yet been adult? Maybe Google needs to reign in devs as Apple does.

Over the next few days, I used the Chromebook to check emails, sentinel some YouTube, edit a couple of docs in the Google Suite, and played with a coloring book app. I downloaded a Star Trek game from the Play Store, but information technology was terrible

I wanted to run into how the Chromebook handled editing photos and videos so I used Pixlr for photos and PowerDirector for video. Pixlr was fine for unproblematic cropping, light color adjustments, and other basic tasks, only my iPhone has better photo editing options. PowerDirector was annihilation but powerful, and over again, my iPhone does a improve task with its native app than CyberLink's creation.

Here I was with this all-aluminum gorgeous, sleek Chromebook, merely outside of Google Suite, most of the apps available are poor. Either the user interfaces are messy mindless maze-like misadventures, or they didn't practice what they're supposed to do. I stayed in my Google Suite lane and worked on documents for a whole mean solar day, and the unit was fine for that. Since it was lightweight and tiny, I could carry it everywhere quickly. But I honestly couldn't get all my piece of work washed because though I do a lot of writing I also edit a lot of photos and video and none of the apps I establish in the play store supplied the precise tools I need and utilize to practice and so.

The skilful, the bad, the not so ugly

My Chromebook has a crisp, colorful display, then I watched a movie with it in tent manner; however, the sound left a lot to desire, but it would do. It would make an outstanding laptop for a camping trip where I lied to my family about not checking in with my task to see what'southward happening at the role. Everything I could attain with this Chromebook I could do with my iPhone and, in well-nigh cases, do it better, which angered me even more. I was catching myself peeking at the Chromebook with disdain.

I think the lightweight Google Bone is fine. It's not bad for elementary schools, some remote classroom work, low-cal office piece of work, and emails. Just if Google means to compete with the likes of Apple and Microsoft, they've got a lot of piece of work to do. I've e'er disliked the idea of having to rely on the deject to store my piece of work or software. Leaving everything in the deject secretly disturbs me; it'southward the blind faith of information technology all equally I sit down hither reading the news about another data alienation.

In defense force of Chromebooks, what Google does get right, like email, Google Docs, Google Meet, heck, the entire Google Suite. Microsoft and Apple could learn a few things from Google. However, the company has to tighten upwardly the ship, make clean out the Play Shop, and agree developers accountable for the quality of their apps.

Final Thoughts

Would I purchase a Chromebook? Possibly to leave in a spare bedchamber whenever guests come over and want to check their emails and social media. I wouldn't even give one to my kids because I love them. In fact, earlier this yr, my 11-twelvemonth-old needed a new laptop for remote learning. The kickoff matter out of her rima oris was, "please arrive a PC, Chromebooks are annoying, and you can't exercise anything with them." Chromebooks may be affordable, but you accept to spend money to make money, and until Google cleans upwards its ecosystem, its laptops will go along to exist perceived past some equally toys.

Mark has spent 20 years headlining comedy shows around the country and fabricated appearances on ABC, MTV, Comedy Central, Howard Stern, Food Network, and Sirius XM Radio. He has written about every topic imaginable, from dating, family, politics, social issues, and tech. He wrote his first tech articles for the now-defunct Dads On Tech ten years ago, and his passion for combining humor and tech has grown under the tutelage of the Laptop Mag squad. His penchant for fierce things downwards and rebuilding them did non make Mark popular at home, even so, when he got his easily on the legendary Commodore 64, his passion for all things tech deepened. These days, when he is not filming, editing footage, tinkering with cameras and laptops, or on stage, he tin can be establish at his desk snacking, writing about everything tech, new jokes, or scripts he dreams of filming.