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people found this helpful, as of 2023
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★★★★★
Here is some information that I wish I had when making the purchase decision
I bought this to be my main ultra portable travel machine and so far I love it. Here's information that isn't readily available online or in the product literature (circa October 2017):
1. Out of the box you need to manually go to system settings and trigger an update in order to get Android app support
2. You can only load apps purchased via Google Play for your currently signed in Google account. For example, if you bought XCom using your personal Google account, and Grand Theft Auto using your work account, you can only install and play XCom when signed into the Chromebook on your personal account, and you can only install/ play GTA when logged into your business account. This is different from a phone where you can access multiple accounts from within the Play store and have apps from multiple accounts coexisting
3. That said, for apps like Gmail that allow you to use multiple Google accounts within the app, that seems to work fine
4. While the Chromebook allows multiple account sign in, Android apps only work for one profile at a time. Using the above example, if I'm playing XCom while logged into my personal account, I have to sign out/ reboot the device before I can open up GTA on my business account
4b. Related to this, it's a bummer to have to install key apps like Docs, Sheets, etc. separately on each profile. With 16gb total storage, every byte counts! (Why install the Google Android apps vs. using the web interface? Way better offline support, that's why)
5. All of the ports are on the right side of the device, which is opposite to convention (my main machine is a MacBook pro and most of the commonly used ports are on the left)
6. As of this writing, Android apps have no ability to access the MicroSD slot for any reason (data storage or app installs.) This is a problem because I'm already down to about 1gb free on my internal storage after having loaded up a few favored Android apps and games
7. Little known fact: Microsoft Office apps for Android can only be installed on devices 10" and smaller, making this the only Chromebook that can use MS Office Android apps
Other thoughts:
- For general browsing, it's way faster than I expected
- Performance in Android apps feels on par with my 1st gen Google Pixel, which is high praise
- Wifi reception isn't as strong as my (5x more expensive) MacBook Pro, and network doesn't switch automatically when I move between floors in my home where there are different access points
- Is it wrong that I prefer typing on this keyboard to my MacBook Pro?
October 2017 · Electronics · verified purchase