Chromebook or other laptop?

I was looking for opinions on what I should do.

I have a recently built, pretty decent desktop machine. All my gaming, and intensive activities all occur on that machine. However, my laptop is about 7 years old and it's something I'm looking to upgrade fairly soon.

I'm pretty much committed to all google services (one hold out is Dropbox over Google Drive), so I was wondering what would be the SD opinion on the Chromebook versus another laptop. I really favor portability over something much heavier. I already have a tablet (HP TouchPad, which I'm running Cyanogenmod), so I not really looking for a tablet.

This laptop will be to check in on various graduate school work, or email, while on the road for work or on campus.

I'm torn between a Chromebook (its premise anyway), and another cheap laptop which may be heavier, and/or have a cheaper build quality.

Opinions?

Quote : This laptop will be to check in on various graduate school work, or email, while on the road for work or on campus.

The Chromebook depends on internet connectivity, so unless you plan on using a 3G dongle for internet while on the road, then you'd better get a Windows laptop.

yes windows laptop will be best for you right now, especially if you need to use any ms office product

There's lots of good small notebooks, but it might help if you said something about your budget.

I wouldn't bother with any crippled Chromebook... just get a cheap laptop and be done with it.

Quote from neteng101 : I wouldn't bother with any crippled Chromebook... just get a cheap laptop and be done with it.

Quote from Shadows292 : There's lots of good small notebooks, but it might help if you said something about your budget.

I was planning to spend less than $500 bucks. Any suggestions?

Lenovo Z580 (215127U)
TOSHIBA Satellite C855D-S5237
SAMSUNG Series 3 305V5A-A05

Something along these options.

You don't have much to pick from with that amount of money. 2nd Gen (Sandy Bridge) Core i3 / i5 with 4 / 6 GB of RAM and an integrated graphics.

I agree that a laptop is probably a better fit. The chrome books are a nice idea and fit in some use cases well. But they have never really been a good value and somewhat limited in what they can do. What is your budget? That is pretty important in a decision like this.

Quote from LiquidRetro : I agree that a laptop is probably a better fit. The chrome books are a nice idea and fit in some use cases well. But they have never really been a good value and somewhat limited in what they can do. What is your budget? That is pretty important in a decision like this.

Well, budget is around 500 bucks. I plan to use this laptop strictly on-the-go, and places I tend to go, and will use it will have some type of wifi. Such as on campus, in a hotel, or at home on the couch. So something small, but easy to type on, and light would be ideal.

All of my heavy lifting, such as games, programming, and such will be at home on my beefier desktop.

I thought about a tablet, such as an Ipad or a Galaxy Note, but I have a HP TouchPad at home, and I don't really use it much since it's hard to do lots of typing on it.

Quote from siul1979 : Well, budget is around 500 bucks. I plan to use this laptop strictly on-the-go, and places I tend to go, and will use it will have some type of wifi. Such as on campus, in a hotel, or at home on the couch. So something small, but easy to type on, and light would be ideal. All of my heavy lifting, such as games, programming, and such will be at home on my beefier desktop. I thought about a tablet, such as an Ipad or a Galaxy Note, but I have a HP TouchPad at home, and I don't really use it much since it's hard to do lots of typing on it.

You can get external full size keyboards for all the tablets you mentioned above, both wired and wireless. If your main complain is typing that will fix your problems and be the cheapest (Using the TP).

Quote from LiquidRetro : You can get external full size keyboards for all the tablets you mentioned above, both wired and wireless. If your main complain is typing that will fix your problems and be the cheapest (Using the TP).

You know, that's not a bad idea.

And it's definitely a SD way to look at it. Thanks!

I've occasionally seen ThinkPad X220s in the Lenovo Outlet in the $500 range. If you're not in a hurry, you might be able to get that price.

Quote from siul1979 : I was looking for opinions on what I should do. I have a recently built, pretty decent desktop machine. All my gaming, and intensive activities all occur on that machine. However, my laptop is about 7 years old and it's something I'm looking to upgrade fairly soon. I'm pretty much committed to all google services (one hold out is Dropbox over Google Drive), so I was wondering what would be the SD opinion on the Chromebook versus another laptop. I really favor portability over something much heavier. I already have a tablet (HP TouchPad, which I'm running Cyanogenmod), so I not really looking for a tablet. This laptop will be to check in on various graduate school work, or email, while on the road for work or on campus. I'm torn between a Chromebook (its premise anyway), and another cheap laptop which may be heavier, and/or have a cheaper build quality. Opinions?

For your needs....
Chromebooks are dead and overpriced for the few task they do.$320-$500 Lenovo X130 or X220 with i3- 4-6 hrs Lenovo Outlet [lenovo.com]
$269-$399 ASUS Transformer Tablet Book-12-20 hrs on a 38Wh battery
Newegg.com - ASUS/Tablets [newegg.com]
ASUS Transformer TF101 + KEYBOARD 16GB $269 32GB $299 - Slickdeals.net

I never would've thought I would be using a Chromebook, but I am. Much like you, I use a desktop for any heavy lifting I need to do. On the road however, I use a Series 550 99% of the time and I'm happy with it. I discovered Chromebooks as I was searching for practical computing solutions for my daughter's 2nd grade classroom last year. After a few months, I donated 12 Chromebooks to their classroom. Like most schools, they are very Apple-centric which is good but also very expensive. I was looking for a practical solution based on student usage and the dynamics that play within them. The kids like them just as much as the ipads and the teachers and IT staff can focus on more important things besides device maintenance. I have convinced the school to start moving away from Office and putting that licensing money to better use. Most importantly, because it uses the Chrome OS, it's fully cross platform. I use Macs at home but my everyday life is on Chrome and Google Drive. I just find it to be a practical solution for my everyday work/life needs. The school bought chromebooks for the entire 3rd grade based on our pilot program last year. I just never thought I would end up liking it as much as I do now. I am not biased against any platform. I use all of them. I don't believe there is a perfect OS for everything. What you buy should suit your needs. You may not regret buying one. It does take a different mindset to wrap this concept around your head. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Good luck with your decision.