Samsung Refreshes Series 5 Chromebook, Announces Chromebox Desktop PC - smithrecognot40

Samsung Tuesday announced a faster Serial 5 Chromebook netbook and, at interminable cobbler's last, the Chromebox — a mini-Microcomputer that as wel runs the web-centric Google Chromium-plate OS.

Rested Chromebook

The new Samsung Chromebook Series 5 550 looks the same as its predecessor, the Chromebook Series 5 from lowest yr. However, the 550 has a few primary upgrades. The netbook retains its 12.1-inch 1280 by 800 pel display and 3.3-pound weight, but doubles its RAM from 2GB to 4GB. The 550 also gets a central processor kick upstairs — an Intel Celeron dual-nucleus processor, or else of last year's Intel Atom processor.

These hardware upgrades should help oneself the 550 overcome some of the lethargy we saw in our Series 5 Chromebook review.

Samsung says the new Chromebook is 2.5 multiplication faster than the previous model, with a boot-time of 7 seconds instead of 10. The Chromebook's instant-on potentiality may be even more astonishing now.

Connected the downside, the new Series 5 Chromebook has a shorter battery life rating: 6 hours versus the previous generation's 8.5 hours. Pricing is a bit higher too: $449 for the Wi-Fi version (versus $430 last year) Beaver State $549 if you want inherent 3G ($499 last class).

You'll as wel get some new functionality from Google's Chromium-plate OS updates, which include a new app rocket launcher, customizable backdrop, multi-window support, Google Drive integration and Google Docs offline redaction, and a remote desktop app.

In short, the laptop hardware is still jolly basic but updated for amended execution, and the Chromebook's cloud capabilities have been improved. A laptops designed solely to get you online, Chromebooks were never meant to comprise powerhouses — merely working on the web with a Chromebook should be much quicker and more respondent. With budget laptops priced almost the same As, or even lower than, these online-only laptops, however, Chromebooks may placid be a tough sell.

New Samsung Chromebox

Samsung also introduced a new desktop PC running Chrome Oculus sinister, the Samsung Chromebox Serial 3.

Like the Serial 5 Chromebook, this mini-Microcomputer has an Intel Celeron double-core processor and 4GB of RAM. For connectivity, the Series 3 Chromebox offers wireless-N, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 3.0, DVI, six USB 2.0 ports, and two DisplayPort++ outputs. The DisplayPorts are miscible with HDMI, DVI, and VGA.

The whole thing weighs just 2.45 pounds and is a 1.3-inch jellylike, 7.6-inch square.

Priced at $329 (no monitor, keyboard, or mouse enclosed), the Series 3 Chromebox is an inexpensive alternative to the $599 Mac mini. The Chromebox, however, lacks an HDMI port, more powerful Intel Core i5/i7 processors, and discrete artwork.

Over again, because the operational system is designed primarily for online applications, the Chromebox doesn't really postulate more influential ironware — but it's hard to imagine many consumers buying these when for a trifle more they could get ahead a more powerful miniskirt desktop PC. Chrome OS devices have shown their usefulness, nonetheless, in businesses and schools.

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