... it's not just the hardware that's left us a bit underwhelmed. Though Chrome OS has improved over the past year, it still seems ambitious of Samsung to price its newest Chromebook at $449 and up. This seems like a lofty figure, given how relatively little devices like this can actually do.
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60
Conclusion: Pass on it
Google's Chrome OS may have improved over the last year, to the point where it may be usable as an alternative to standard desktop operating systems. But the allure of Chrome OS was its potential integration with lightweight, inexpensive, simple computers. While Samsung's Series 5 550 Chromebooks are indeed lightweight, at about 3 pounds, and simple, in that their functionality is limited by Chrome OS, they're far too expensive for what they actually provide. For the price of a Series 5 550 Chromebook, you can get a full-featured budget laptop like the HP Pavilion G6s, a netbook, or even a tablet with a keyboard, like the Asus Transformer Pad 300. All will provide more functionality, flexibility, and versatility than the Chromebook.
90-Day Price History
Critic reviews
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Given the quality of Samsung’s hardware, I can still recommend it, even at around $500. But beware — it’s only a smart buy for people who want the comfort and performance of a nice laptop and won’t be inconvenienced by an entirely cloud-based environment
Read the full review →The bottom line: Despite solid hardware and a slightly improved Chrome OS, the Samsung Chromebook Series 5 550 comes with far too many caveats and compromises compared with similarly priced but more-capable tablets and laptops.
Read the full review →There's not much wrong with the Chromebook hardware. It's actually a pretty decent machine, it has better connectivity than most Ultrabooks and is certainly a lot cheaper. That said, it's not as powerful as a normal laptop - many costing little more than the £380 of this machine - and it is still...
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njashanmal
Software It really is simply a browser in a box. That's it. I've been intrigued with Chrome OS (and hence Chromebooks) since it was announced but skipped the first gen hardware due to weak internals, poor trackpads and mediocre screens. Most of these points have been addressed in this second...
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ChazClout
Why Chromebook? I've been contemplating getting a Chromebook ever since the first generation Samsung Series 5 Chromebooks were released but the netbook internals and some of the poor reviews of the first Chromebooks stopped me from taking the plunge. When I saw the better specced Samsung...
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scrod
As I write this review I am typing this on the samsung chromebook 550 I would say they did a good job of making this like a macbook air,Being a gear nut I do have apple and google products that I like to use and play with it has been interesting using the chrome book while I do have and use some...
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