Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

NOTE: Please be aware that I am reviewing the Intel Core i3-5015U model which is not the same as the Intel Celeron 3215U. Amazon sometimes bundles reviews for what they believe are similar products into one pile of reviews, probably because they believe that 'more reviews' is better but, in my view, this can be confusing. NOTE ON THE VIDEO: It's probably not the best quality video ever but I am only trying to show how this Chromebook can stream and play videos from 3 different sources simultaneously: Netflix, Yahoo and a news channel without breaking a sweat. The clicks come from the wireless mouse. Also note how quickly it loads my Amazon page while three other videos are running. Quite impressive. By the way, the Octane score for this Chromebook is 21,453 (average of 5 runs) ___________________________________________________________ I am not in the habit of writing over-enthusiastic reviews and I totally believe that my mission as a Vine reviewer is to help my fellow customers (I don't like the term 'consumers') make better informed decisions by helping them cut through the fog of marketing and presenting a product's qualities and defects as they are. So, these being said, I was a little skeptical when I agreed to review Toshiba's latest Chromebook 2 because 'Chromebooks' to me translate into 'about $200' when it comes to price and this one sells for twice as much but, here I am, absolutely wow'ed if that's a word, by what seems to be one of the most amazing Chromebooks ever or at least the best I've had the opportunity to try so far. But, let me explain why I believe that this Chromebook is worth its high price. MIND-BLOWING: - Backlit keyboard: yes, I place this as the 'number one' feature because I've always wished that my Chromebooks had one so this is a dream come true. I keep a Chromebook on my bedside table and often I work on emails late at night and I just love the ability to simply press Alt+Screen_brightness key to light it up and let me do the work. - The display: yes, it's a true 1920x1080. I was and I still am happy with the standard 1366x768 found on most Chromebooks so the better resolution makes me... more than happy? But it's not just resolution. This is the crispest, most brilliant, color rich screens I've seen in a Chromebook. And that's not all. The viewing angle is close to the perfect 180 degrees. It's probably 170 degrees but, you get the idea. This Chromebook's display is beautiful. - Speed: a 2.1 GHz Intel Core i3-5015U is not the fastest Intel has ever made but on a Chromebook, because of its natively low overhead it translates into satisfyingly 'fast'. It simply runs rings around the other Chromebooks we keep in the house. GREAT: - 802.11ac: if 300Mbps is not fast enough then... 802.11ac can get a little faster, to about 450Mbps. This is our second Chromebook that supports 802.11ac standard and, thanks to the faster processor, it can take better advantage of it. - 13.3" screen: (vs. 11.6" for 'classic' Chromebooks) bigger is not always better but, in this case, given the excellent resolution and display quality, it's just great. - Skin: it's probably plastic but it's good quality, with a titanium-like, rugged finish that's totally fingerprint-proof and looks super-cool. AS EXPECTED: - 4GB or RAM: it's okay and Chromebooks work well with this amount of memory. - I/O: USB 2.0, USB 3.0, HDMI out (full size), headphone jack, memory card reader. No complaints whatsoever. - Keyboard: as expected. Good for doing emails, probably not good enough if you are planning to write a 300-page novel. - Trackpad: is good. Most Chromebooks have good trackpads. - Battery life: 8 hours claimed, more like 5-6 hours in my 'real life' tests and that's good enough. - Camera, internal stereo mic: good, no complaints. - Bluetooth: doesn't everybody? - Weight: at 2.9 lbs is where a 13.3" Chromebook is expected to be. - Google incentives: 100GB in the cloud for 2 years, some complimentary airplane usage deal. DISAPPOINTING: - Dedicated charger: I am still spoiled by that HP Chromebook 11 of a couple of years ago that could be charged through a USB port which, by the way, my wife is still using and she just loves it. This Toshiba, like most other Chromebooks comes with its own, dedicated (little) power brick so it's a small disappointment. As far as my experience with the product, the first adjective that comes to mind is 'flawless'. I didn't time it but I'm sure it took less than 5 minutes between pressing the power button, connecting to Wi-Fi and entering my email address and password for the Chromebook to be activated, fully updated to the latest Chrome OS version and to have all my extensions and shortcuts loaded and ready to go, giving me my full, familiar Chromebook interface, only faster and brighter in this case. It is able to handle Netflix, Youtube and some streaming news channel and it's like is asking for more. The keyboard is what it is: chiclets but well made and the backlit makes all the difference in the world. Without a doubt in my mind, Google's own Pixel aside (which is way overdone) this is the best Chromebook I've ever experienced and this is coming from someone who, if anything, is not a friend of Toshiba as I had some issue with a laptop under warranty a few years ago and I did not appreciate how I was treated. But I have to be objective so, yes, it's a great product. ___________________________________________________________ THOUGHTS ON CHROMEBOOKS Those who already use Chromebooks probably don't need to read this but for anyone new to Chromebooks, please be aware that this is NOT a Windows laptop. It's probably worth Googling (or Binging) 'Chromebook' before deciding on getting one but, here are some of my thoughts on the matter. Why a Chromebook? There's so much to say here but let me make a quick summary. And never forget that we are talking about a not so expensive device here because, yes, anything that costs 3-4-5 times as much should do SOMETHING better or very few of us would pay more for such devices. ' My Chromebooks is by far my most used computers in the house excluding work hours and by 'computer' I mean PCs, laptops and tablets. ' They are malware, spyware, adware-free. Since nothing is really 'installed' on a Chromebook and not much is physically stored on it, it would be very hard for one to be infected. It is now my habit to open suspicious emails or click on dubious URLs on Chromebooks only, never on a phone, laptop or tablet. ' Extremely safe OS. I don't know if this is common knowledge but Google is constantly challenging hackers to crack their OS. As far as I know, Chrome OS wasn't cracked yet. ' Easy to share among any number of users without any concerns of compromising privacy. If you have a Google account, you simply sign in and you are going to be within your own, personal environment in seconds and it all goes away once you sign out or turn your Chromebook off. ' Constantly updated and upgraded. Google updates Chrome OS every few weeks and I found my Chromebooks actually getting better all the time rather than slowly fall into obsolescence. ' Nearly maintenance free. Whenever I don't use a tablet or even a laptop for a while, they tend to get very busy once I turn them back on, downloading and installing various patches, updates and upgrades. Not the case for Chromebooks. Whatever upgrades may take place they don't hit my Chromebook. Whenever I call up an app, I get it in its latest version. ' The attached keyboard helps a lot. Yes, you can pair a keyboard and even a mouse to a tablet but the Chromebook's keyboard is always there, it negates the need of a stand or even some protecting case. ' Chrome OS is streamlined and efficiently focused where it matters, on the everyday uses most of us need a 'computer' most of the time. ' Chrome OS being such a streamlined one, browsing and running apps on a Chromebook is faster than off a PC/laptop/tablet of equivalent specs. ' Relatively low price, excellent display and lightweight seem to be just about right for something that typically you'd be using to browse the Web while watching TV or take to and from school. Why not a Chromebook? Yes, Chromebooks can't do everything. Google's productivity suites notwithstanding, Chromebooks are best at media consumption rather than production. Nobody should buy a Chromebook and expect to be able to edit video for a living or do some hard-core gaming. There are other machines and devices better suited for such tasks. My experience is that a Chromebook can't do 'everything'. Tablets are more portable, PCs and laptops are more powerful and versatile but, to me, my Chromebook is the most fun to use and it's likely to stay this way. I am not going to call it my 'second' or 'third' or 'first' computer but, objectively, it's the one I most use outside business hours if what we measure is 'hours'.