Hybrid Theory : HP ChromeBook

You mix up a laptop,a tablet and a smartphone...the outcome would be the new Chromebook 11. Hewlett-Packard's new Chromebook 11 is a laptop at heart, but it's light and portable enough to work well in places where you'd normally prefer a tablet.



I'm thinking cramped buses and airplanes, the waiting area of a doctor's office or even the cushiony couch in your living room. The Chromebook is small enough to rest comfortably on your lap and easy to carry when you need to pick up and go.

The charger alone is a great feature. Instead of a proprietary charger like most laptops, the new HP uses a MicroUSB cable to charge, just like all Android phones and most other phones and tables . That means you don’t need to carry a separate charger for your Chromebook and your phone and it also means that it’s cheap and easy to find a replacement if you leave your charger at home.

The new screen is bright and easy on the eyes and is viewable from 176 degrees, so you don’t have to be sitting directly in front of it.  Google says you’ll get 6 hours of battery life.Although it comes with a tiny amount of storage Google offers 100 GB of free Google drive storage for two years and gives you 12 free GoGo Inflight sessions to use the Chromebook while aloft. 

 

The device has two USB ports. Unfotunately there is no SD card reader and the only way to hook it up to an HDMI TV or monitor is with a special cable.

The Chromebook is plastic but has a magnesium frame for stability and strength. The one Google loaned me is white and is reminiscent of the old White Apple MacBooks.

On its website, Google promotes the HP Chromebook “for everyone,” but it’s not for everyone.  A lot of people need to use a Windows or Mac PC because they need the software that only a full fledged laptop can run.But, for many people, the Chromebook might be all they need, at least in a portable device. If they don’t need desktop software but mostly want to surf the web, watch streaming video, do their email and use web apps, than the Chromebook might be all they need. 

But even for those of us who need a full featured laptop, a $279 investment in a Chromebook like this might make sense. I’m tempted to use mine around the house, in the living room and even on trips as an adjunct to my desktop and laptop.