gdgt

I believe that the Cr-48 should be judged more on what it represents for the future than on its own merits, as it is a beta device provided for free. The single-core processor struggles to keep up with complicated websites and Youtube content above 360p is generally unplayable, but these issues will be rectified in commercially-available Chromebooks. The idea of a browser-based OS is a good one for companies, although I believe it is still a few of years away from being truly viable for most people. Web apps have come a long way and many great ones are available, but they often do not have the features or polish of native applications. I have yet to find a spreadsheet editor as capable as Microsoft Excel for complex data analysis, which, being a college student, is necessary for me. Other programs required for students, companies, etc, may not currently be available as web apps, relegating the Cr-48 (and future Chromebooks) to 'second computer status' for now. I believe that in time computing will move online and Google will have a head-start as others build cloud-centric operating systems, but for the foreseeable future, consumers will continue to purchase mainly Windows PCs and Macs as primary computing devices, as they provide more functionality. The 'second computer' status puts Chromebooks in direct opposition with devices such as the iPad, Android tablets and even the Macbook Air. It will be difficult for Chromebooks to compete with these devices on the consumer front, although I believe the low cost of upkeep and high security will lure businesses into using them.

Back to the Cr-48 itself, the somewhat sluggish performance is not an annoyance during casual browsing and basic web apps, but becomes a nuisance when several tabs are open or when running complex web apps (I found SlideRocket to be a poor experience). The trackpad issue does not ruin the experience, although it is certainly not as smooth as using an Apple trackpad. Flash runs very poorly on the Cr-48 and Hulu is virtually unusable, although a Chrome OS update this summer should fix this issue. The Cr-48 has a great chiclet keyboard, although the keys are not backlit. There is one USB port, although it does not currently support storage devices (this, too, should be fixed this summer). I would like to once more stress how much I like the appearance and feel of the Cr-48. Personally, it has the best aesthetics of any computer I have used, edging out the aluminum MacBook Pros.