Photo/www.asus.com
Chromebooks are usually not very exciting machines. They’re so practical that they make Windows fun. I mean, how can you make a web browser exciting? Well, make it flip! At least, that’s what Asus has brought to the table with the Chromebook Flip.
Reversible laptops are all the rage these days. And for good reason: they can both be your bff while watching Netflix and a super serious work powerhouse. All work and play, as the old axiom goes. But deep down beneath lies a dark secret: compromise Sometimesthey’re more tablet than laptop, or much heavier and fatter than similar normal laptops, or contain a low resolution screen that’s perfectly fine as a laptop, but absolutely dreadful as a tablet. That’s not all going away with the Flip , but its finally takes the first steps in making the concept a reality.
Why a Chromebook?
Let’s first get the elephant out of the room first: Why should anyone buy a Chromebook, or for that matter what is a Chromebook? To put simply, they’re computers that are mainly focused in on browsing the web. You don’t have thousands of programs and virus scanners slowing things down, so everything is neat and fast on very modest hardware, no matter how long you use them. Unlike most PC’s they don’t start slowing down as more time passes. What you see is mostly what you get.
As Chromebooks have matured, so has the software. The last several years have seen a big revival in useful web apps that can really replace everything you do on your PC. Mirosoft Office, Google Docs, and even Adobe Photoshop have moved to the web just as functional as your PC. Chrome even has a plethera of apps that run just like your PC.
First Impressions:
The moment I took the Flip out of the box, I couldn’t believe how small it was. It wasn’t much bigger than a 1st generation iPad, which got me worried about the keyboard. Fortunately, Asus crammed in an almost full-sized keyboard that getsa surprisingly amount of traction on the keys (more than even my Macbook Pro) with quite a decent amount of action, giving the feeling more of a desktop keyboard than a laptop one. It is admitting a tad tight to accommodate a relatively roomy trackpad, but the adjustment time is fairly minimal due to how responsive the keys are. The trackpad is decent sized (especially for such a small machine) and offers extremely responsive multitouch input.
When using it, the build quality was striking as the body is composed of brushed-hairlinealuminum, something extremely unexpected for a $250 and somewhat disposable laptop. This thing could take a beating (though I wouldn’t recommend trying it). The brushed aluminum feels fantastic in the hand when travelling, yet so lightweight its easy to forget it’s a laptop.
Performance was predictably fast, as are most Chromebooks. The Operating System is so light that lower specs don’t detract much from the experience. Being a scatterbrain, I naturally open many different windows and tabs. During my normal workflow, I normally average about 12 different tabs on 2 different windows while streaming a Youtube video in the background along with Docs and a Ubuntu window with an email client open, and it took it like a champ. Bear in mind that I was using the $299 version with 4GB of RAM, which allows for more items to be open at once without slowing the laptop down. If you’re not much of a multitasker, the regular $249 version with 2 Gigs will more than suffice (though if you do, 4 Gigs of RAM is a requirement).
Insane Battery Life and Portability
Without needing a lot of power, Chromebooks can focus on things that are actually important: affordability, size, and longevity. The Flip meets all of these criteria. During my use, the lightweight body kept my use heavy of the Flip, bring it with me on all my adventures. It’s so easy to slip it into a backpack, and not even realize its there. On top of that, its battery life is immense: Asus claims 10 hours, but I’ve easily gone past that, lasting several days before needing to charge it. My only small gripe so far is that the aluminum body is a bit prone to scratches, so I suggest a thin Velcro case to protect it when in a bag (even if its in a laptop bag).
Amazingly Sharp Display
What really struck me about the Flip is its fantastic display. Colors are sharp and vivid, and the display gets bright very quickly. It may not be retina, but at 150ppi on a laptop, you really can’t distinguish pixels unless its uncomfortably close to your face.
Tablet Chomebook: A bit of Windows. A bit of Android.Lots of Chromium.
So, how does a Tablet Chromebook work exactly if its just a portal to the web browser? Surprisingly well. Google has borrowed a lot from Microsoft and its Android platform. Switching Browsers Windows or Apps is seamless: press the bottom corner of the screen, and all your apps come to life similar to Windows 10. Swiping right shows a suspiciously Android-looking notification bar, as does the virtual keyboard.
Google has also started to slowly roll out Android applications on Chromebooks. Since most Android apps are developed for laptops, its not the most friendly user experience. However, it becomes an entirely different story when you’ve got a touchscreen at your disposal. It makes the Tablet experience much more Tablet-Like. Since Google has dedicated resources to making Tablets work on Chromebooks, we will likely see a nice uptick of Apps on Chrome, which is a huge boon for the Flip.
The biggest question left hanging is: how does it fare as a full-fledged Tablet? Most convertible laptops are far too heavy and cumbersome for any kind of normal Tablet use. However, he Asus Transformer Flip is a bit different. At 2 lbs, its easily the lightest flippable laptop I’ve ever used, and its definitelyusable for 1 handed use. Reading PDF’s and scrolling through web pages on a lap is a great experience. Its still a bit too heavy for long-term one-handed Tablet use, but fantastic for almost all daily outings needing a Tablet.
Ubuntu: Adventurous Need Only Apply
Chromebooks also have one secret ammo that neither Apple nor Microsoft can touch: the ability to run Ubuntu. Yep, if you’re too limited by Chrome, you can expand your computing prowess and apps, letting in the ability to do video editing, full Office suite in LibreOffice, photo touchups, and much more. With that said, its not a strictly official thing. Google allows the ability to essentially ‘unlock’ your Chromebook and some amazing developers have come up with some brilliant ways in running both in tandem (or even a different windows). On top of that, the Flip uses an ARM-based processor, which is incompatible with certain applications on Ubuntu, but for the most part I was able to get most of what I needed working smoothly.
So…do you need one?
Well, that’s a bit of a tough question. With so much tech most likely sitting around in your living space, it’s a valid argument. However, this is the best convergence tablet/laptop hybrid I’ve seen yet, and it so amazingly affordable! If you’re looking for your only machine to do your laundry and make beautiful images pop, please look further at 5 Awesome Laptops for Video Editors. In the end of the day, it’s a Chromebook. A small and somewhat expendable computer to write documents, surf the web, read books, play with apps, and watch videos. But since that’s what 99% of what we all do, is that truly a bad thing? Cheap Chromebooks have garnered a deserved reputation as great concepts mired by cheap hardware. Nausea-inducing bad displays, plastic bodies that feels like a Fisher Price toy, and cheap hardware that can’t stand normal wear and tear. Not something you’re gonna want to show off at your local Starbucks, or even travel around the city with.
Which isexactly what makes the Flip special. The hardware is beautiful. Keyboard is fantastic (bearing in mind that it’s a smaller laptop). Its actually a pretty decent tablet.In the end, its a completely transformational experience at what a $250 computer is supposed to do. Is the hardware and software limited? Yep. And no one knows that more than its manufacturer Asus. It’s not pretending to be something its not.
It’s a Chomebook.
And its wonderful.
Click here to see our current stock of Asus Flip Chromebooks
