Pros: It's $170. With Crouton you can run Ubuntu and full Linux which makes it a great dev machine. The 4GB of RAM instead of 2 is a plus, the screen is nice and big (13.3" is big for a Chromebook). Fairly nice looking computer, also has 2 USB 3's, SD slot and HDMI. Keyboard is pretty good. The battery lasts for a full 12 hours for me even when running Ubuntu and taxing the CPU, it's incredible. By far the best point.
Cons: Lots of small things to pick at but since it's only $170 I'm still giving it five stars. First off, know that Chrome OS is pretty useless for all but the most basic users. Definitely plan on installing Crouton and running Ubuntu if you're any kind of tech person. Once you do that though, you're gonna need an SD card as you'll quickly run out of the 16GB of space. The CPU is also painfully slow but that's to be expected. There's no delete key on the keyboard so that takes getting used to. Also the computer as a whole seems to be made out of some very soft plastic that not only is a fingerprint/oil magnet and quickly starts looking gross, the outside cover is extremely easily scratched. I left it in a backpack with the charger and it came out completely scratched and horrible looking. Don't plan on setting anything on top of it, even anything plastic because it'll leave deep scratches.
Overall Review: I would recommend this for people who know what they want and know what they're getting into. If you're looking for just a basic machine to browse the internet and use gmail, it's fantastic. Chrome OS is super fast and responsive even with this computer. 12 hours of battery life. If you're more into tech and willing to go through the process of installing Ubuntu alongside Chrome using Crouton, it's also a great machine. If you're looking for something for rendering and games, this is not it (although it can play minecraft). It's not fast, but it can do everything a regular Linux machine can (yay x86 and 4GB RAM) while also getting 12 hours of battery life and only costing $170. Makes a great development machine. I'm a college student who bought this to carry around all day between classes/work to send emails, do dev when I'm out, view lecture slides etc. and the battery life is the best part. Good supplement to my 17" i7 Lenovo that only gets 1.5-2 hours of battery life. For $200 I got this and a 128GB Flash Drive which is a pretty good deal.
Anonymous
Ownership: 1 week to 1 month
Verified Owner
Really good for the price12/19/2016 6:45:37 PM
Pros: Super cheap! I got mine on sale for $169.00. Battery life is good. It's quite thin and very light. Chrome OS can do more than I thought. Runs silent and cool. Barely heats up at all.
Cons: My Chromebook will randomly restart about 10 min after unplugging the charging cable and starting to run off of the battery. I'm not sure why it does this but once it does it, it doesn't do it again. I usually keep it plugged in anyway so this is only a minor annoyance. It's not very fast but it's good enough for general web browsing. The screen isn't great either. Low res and bad viewing angles. For the price though, these can all be forgiven.
Overall Review: This is my first Chromebook so I don't know how it compares to others. If you can get it for under $200 go for it. You get a LOT of capability for a very low price.
Very good touchpad but poor keyboard and poor display5/7/2017 4:20:55 AM
Pros: The touchpad is very good and responsive. The Chrome OS gestures are almost as good as a Macbook.
The charger is compact.
Both chromebook and charger are very light.
Cons: The keyboard feels bad and sometimes a keystroke doesn't register.
The display has bad viewing angles depending on the ambient light.
The bottom is too slippery for holding in your hands. I fixed it with grip tape in the areas I touch.
Pros: Great little machine, would be perfect for a child EXCEPT...
As on Jan 2018. Google has suspended support for Supervised Users. DO NOT buy a Chromebook for a child expecting to use this feature.
Cons: As on Jan 2018. Google has suspended support for Supervised Users. DO NOT buy a Chromebook for a child expecting to use this feature.
Overall Review: As on Jan 2018. Google has suspended support for Supervised Users. DO NOT buy a Chromebook for a child expecting to use this feature.
Manufacturer Response:
Dear Jason,
It's good to know that you find the Chromebook as a great little machine. I certainly understand your concern regarding OS feature. ASUS carries a wide range of computer that will definitely meet your computing needs. Should you need further assistance with ASUS products, please email me at cl-rodel@asus.com and I would be more than happy to help. Or, you can speak to an ASUS live support agent 24/7 at http://bit.ly/AsusLiveChat.
Thank you for choosing an ASUS product.
Regards,
Rodel
ASUS Customer Loyalty
Pros: It's $170. With Crouton you can run Ubuntu and full Linux which makes it a great dev machine. The 4GB of RAM instead of 2 is a plus, the screen is nice and big (13.3" is big for a Chromebook). Fairly nice looking computer, also has 2 USB 3's, SD slot and HDMI. Keyboard is pretty good. The battery lasts for a full 12 hours for me even when running Ubuntu and taxing the CPU, it's incredible. By far the best point.
Cons: Lots of small things to pick at but since it's only $170 I'm still giving it five stars. First off, know that Chrome OS is pretty useless for all but the most basic users. Definitely plan on installing Crouton and running Ubuntu if you're any kind of tech person. Once you do that though, you're gonna need an SD card as you'll quickly run out of the 16GB of space. The CPU is also painfully slow but that's to be expected. There's no delete key on the keyboard so that takes getting used to. Also the computer as a whole seems to be made out of some very soft plastic that not only is a fingerprint/oil magnet and quickly starts looking gross, the outside cover is extremely easily scratched. I left it in a backpack with the charger and it came out completely scratched and horrible looking. Don't plan on setting anything on top of it, even anything plastic because it'll leave deep scratches.
Overall Review: I would recommend this for people who know what they want and know what they're getting into. If you're looking for just a basic machine to browse the internet and use gmail, it's fantastic. Chrome OS is super fast and responsive even with this computer. 12 hours of battery life. If you're more into tech and willing to go through the process of installing Ubuntu alongside Chrome using Crouton, it's also a great machine. If you're looking for something for rendering and games, this is not it (although it can play minecraft). It's not fast, but it can do everything a regular Linux machine can (yay x86 and 4GB RAM) while also getting 12 hours of battery life and only costing $170. Makes a great development machine. I'm a college student who bought this to carry around all day between classes/work to send emails, do dev when I'm out, view lecture slides etc. and the battery life is the best part. Good supplement to my 17" i7 Lenovo that only gets 1.5-2 hours of battery life. For $200 I got this and a 128GB Flash Drive which is a pretty good deal.