Samsung Chromebook Plus

[rockymtnhigh]

The Anker does charge the CHromebook, but in "low power mode" and pretty much that means the device has to be closed. And then it is a slow charge. But it will charge it.

 

[Foxbat]

Yesterday, I was experimenting with the Anker providing power to my MBP while trying to record via my BlackMagic Design Intensity Mini. It was like the Jay Leno joke from ages back where he goes to the full-service gas station in his 1958 Buick Roadmaster. They ask if he can shut off the engine since the gas pump can't keep up! I watched the battery percentage go from 100% down to 85% even though it was "charging". I'd hate to think what the MBP meter would have read if I wasn't supplementing it with the Anker.

I'll use the 61W USB-C charger that came with my MBP if I play with the Intensity Mini in the future. But the Anker is used to extend the battery life in the MBP (when I first got it, it was like an iPad and it could go days without a recharge. Then Apple release the macOS update that got rid of the "hours left" indication and it seems that it cut my battery life in half.) Like with the ChromeBook, it works best if the MBP is off or asleep when charging from the PowerCore 21000+.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Yesterday, I was experimenting with the Anker providing power to my MBP while trying to record via my BlackMagic Design Intensity Mini. It was like the Jay Leno joke from ages back where he goes to the full-service gas station in his 1958 Buick Roadmaster. They ask if he can shut off the engine since the gas pump can't keep up! I watched the battery percentage go from 100% down to 85% even though it was "charging". I'd hate to think what the MBP meter would have read if I wasn't supplementing it with the Anker.

I'll use the 61W USB-C charger that came with my MBP if I play with the Intensity Mini in the future. But the Anker is used to extend the battery life in the MBP (when I first got it, it was like an iPad and it could go days without a recharge. Then Apple release the macOS update that got rid of the "hours left" indication and it seems that it cut my battery life in half.) Like with the ChromeBook, it works best if the MBP is off or asleep when charging from the PowerCore 21000+.

I think it was doing what the RavPower does --- reverse charging.

The Anker works in "low power" mode for charging the Chromebook, but that would take probably 8-10 hours to charge it.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I successfully used my chromebook plus for a 3 week trip. The only disappointment is photo management. It is just so slow loading photos from a SD card. I basically gave up and used the camera's wifi to connect to the iOS Canon Connect on my iPad. But it didn't result in creating the backups I wanted to make.

Also noticed that the latest update to Chrome OS seems to have fixed the glitches with running Android apps full screen in tablet mode. They would load, using 1/3 of the screen. Now it seems to work as designed, and the 12" screen makes for a honking large tablet app. Which is funny since I have a 10.5" iPad, but side by side the chromebook plus looks huge.

I can also really distinguish the latency of the stylus compared with the iPad Pro. On the chromebook, the stylus is pretty much still a toy.

 

[Foxbat]

While not a Samsung, a friend of mine was looking for a laptop to use to surf while watching TV or sitting in her 3-Seasons room. Looking around, I found an Acer 14" Full HD screen Chromebook which had 79% 4 & 5 Star ratings on Amazon. 4GB of RAM, 32 GB of Flash, 802.11/a/b/c/g/n/ac, all for $269. Unfortunately, it was pretty much a Dud out of the box. The battery charged to indicate full, but the unit would not power up. Found the <Esc><Refresh><Power> sequence which put the Acer into Developer mode and reset the unit. She was able to get a Google account set up and we customized the Desktop and some Apps. It seemed okay, but if it sat for more than 20 minutes, it went into Bricked mode again. So it's going back to Amazon.

It's a real shame because the Acer's form factor was perfect for what she wanted, and the price was right. I've been looking around for a 14" 1920x1080 screen Chromebook but no one else seems to address that market, only Acer, and they seem to have quality issues.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Ah... get the Samsung Chromebook plus. I use it throughout the week, and and a very pleased with it.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Me too... well except for the damn backspace button.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Me too... well except for the damn backspace button.

Ha! I’ve forgotten about it!

 

[Foxbat]

Samsung's biggest screen is 12"? Plus, the price is outside her budgeted amount.

I found a similar Chromebook notebook made by ASUS (we have lots of their monitors at work) and none of the Amazon reviews complained about DoA units like the Acer. It's slightly smaller at 13.3" instead of 14". This one they have at our local Staples so she can get hands on with it, too.

Being Tech Support for friends is a double-edged sword...

 

[Foxbat]

Update: the Acer went back to Amazon, and she picked up the HP 14" Chromebook at BestBuys for under $200. It has a microSD card and an additional USB port, but 16 GB Flash eMMC and HD versus FullHD display. The Chromebook setup complete, and after synching with the Google cloud she had everything set up just like the Acer, except for the wallpaper. She found a different background she liked, so she's happy.