Image credit: Acer

The Chromebook, as the name suggests, is one of the brainchildren of Google. It runs on the Chrome OS and it relies heavily on the Internet to run most of its applications and documents.

Quick history lesson

Google piloted its Chromebook project in 2010 and it went on sale in 2011 through laptop manufacturers such as Samsung and Acer. In the following few years, many other manufacturers like Toshiba, ASUS, HP and Lenovo, also jumped onto the Chrome OS bandwagon in coming out with their own Chromebooks.

Why do I need a Chromebook?

To tell you the truth, I do not have a really good reason to buy a Chromebook. You see, I have a laptop with pretty high-end specifications and an iMac that allows me to do my creative work on. Then why do I need a Chromebook?

I have been asking myself the same question over and over again for the past weeks. And finally, after reading through many top tech review sites and watching many tech review YouTubers, I concluded that I will buy a Chromebook for the following reasons.

• It is cheap. You do not need to break a bank or rob them to get the Chromebook. Most of them are in affordable range i.e. below SGD500.
• It is light. Most Chromebooks weigh less than 1kg or at most slightly more than 1kg. So it is ultra portable and you do not have to worry about lugging heavier laptops around for meetings.
• It is small. The screen size of the Chromebooks varies. It depends on the manufacturers. The smallest that I have heard is about 11.6″. Hence, you should not have a problem fitting it into the average bags.
• It is for work. I do enjoy writing notes on my notebooks. But I do not have the discipline to write it from the start to finish. Hence, very often than not, I stop writing midway during meetings. I tried using my phone as my notetaker but it too failed me because I basically have to look at the screen while I type. Every once in a while, people will question if I am taking notes or surfing Facebook. A Chromebook should solve this problem. 1) I can type while I “pretend” to listen to people. 2) I can save the notes to the cloud, which allows me to carry notes from my meetings to another location and access them in no time if needed.

Which Chromebook am I getting?

I have not decided on which Chromebook to buy. So far, I have heard great reviews about the Acer Chromebook R11. But that is last year’s news. There are rumours that Google will be releasing several devices that combine Chrome OS and Android. So I should probably wait out a little more until May when they have the Google I/O. Of course, if there is a cheap deal out there, I will definitely grab it before Google’s announcement. Their product will not be at the R11’s price range anyway.

What are your thoughts on Google Chromebook? Will you want to bring one home too?