Day 2 with Cr-48

Today was my first real day using the Chrome netbook. I'm still on the fence as to whether or not I like it. Every time I say this my friends always offer to take it off my hands for me. I mean, who wouldn't want a free laptop? Here's a few of the pros/cons that I've noticed during my first day with the laptop. Note that I've basically spent the whole day typing notes in Google Docs on it, so I haven't really had a chance to play with the Web Apps yet.

Pro: Keyboard

Google has really re-designed the keyboard and added/removed several keys. It makes sense, this being a web browsing netbook, that the function keys are replaced by web browser specific keys like Forward/Backwards, Reload, Full Screen, and Switch Tab. Most people will notice that the Caps Lock key is missing. However, if you look closely at the Shift key, you'll notice a little spot for a tiny LED light. Does this mean future updates will allow for a key combo to bring back the ever-loved CAPS LOCK? Personally, I never used Caps, but to some people it's a big deal.

Pro: Battery Life

I only had to plug in the laptop once while using it today - and even then it had 2.5 hours of battery life left. The only reason I plugged it in was that I had to go somewhere and figured it couldn't hurt to charge it up for when I came back later. The real test will be to see how long it lasts while streaming video.

Pro: Lightweight

I thought that the Cr-48 was pretty lightweight. However, when I showed my friends, they seemed to think that it should be lighter. And honestly, I'm not sure why the netbook feels as heavy as it does considering it has fewer parts than any "normal" netbook. The exterior shell seems to be made of some type of metal or plastic and is part of the reason for the extra weight. But overall I can't tell the difference in my backpack when carrying this or my MacBook.

Con: Processor

The little 1.66GHz Intel Atom processor seems to lag at times. I noticed that after I booted up the laptop from a cold start it was having trouble keeping up with my clicks. I guess this is to be expected, but Google did boast about the quick sleep/wake-up time. But I am sure in future revisions that processor speed will increase, hopefully not at the expense of the battery life.

Pro: Size

The laptop is so small that it can fit comfortably in my lap. Now, I'm not a big person, so my small hands fit fine on the keyboard. For those of you who have larger fingers, it might take some getting used to. The netbook isn't that heavy either, but it's not terribly light. For a piece of hardware that just surfs the web, I think Google could have made it a lot lighter. Since this is by no means a final product, I am sure that hardware improvements will be forthcoming.

Con: Backlight

I'm not sure if it was the fact that I had been staring at a computer screen all day or if my eyes are going berzerk, but the backlight seemed to flicker from bright to dim. Also, call me a Mac user, but it would be nice if there were a visual that popped up when you changed the brightness so you know when you've hit max.

Pro: It's Different

Google has definitely come up with a very different product. I wasn't sure what to expect when I booted up their netbook for the first time, and I was definitely surprised. I think it will take a while before cloud computing really takes off. The average user, although they may spend most of their time on the web, still needs a computer that has the capability to run programs and save documents. But Google has always been one for innovative products, and this definitely fits that category. The idea of having a laptop that only runs a web browser may seem radical now, but wait a year or two and see how it catches on.

Con: Power Cord

Being a Mac user I am used to the cool power cord that my MacBook has. There's nothing wrong with the cord - it's just a little bulkier than what I'm used to carrying around. But then again, why would you need to carry the cord with you. The 10 hour battery life should be more than enough to get you through the day.

Pro: CloudPrint

I was skeptical of this at first. I had read some reviews about this and some people had lots of trouble setting up their computers to work with this. Once I realized that this is not yet supported on Linux or Mac, I was able to quickly get it working. Luckily I have a PC at work that I was able to test on. You just simply download the 10.0 Beta Version of Chrome (http://www.google.com/cloudprint), go to Options->Under the Hood, enable CloudPrint and voila! In less than 5 minutes I was able to configure Cloud Print and print out my notes that I had been typing in Google Docs. All in all, I must say it was pretty neat.

So overall this has been a good first day with the Chrome netbook. I don't have that much to complain about, and I definitely think that I am giving it a workout. Next I'm going to spend some time playing around with the Web apps and see if they're all Google hypes them up to be.