The Battle for Data - Why Chromebook is still Winning - What You're Getting
| Article Index |
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| The Battle for Data - Why Chromebook is still Winning |
| What You're Getting |
| The Endgame |
What You Get:
The Acer CB5-311 Chromebook is a very slender 13.3-inch unit that is close to the entry-level version of the Tegra K1 Chromebook offering from Acer. This version has a full 1080p screen - up from the entry level 1366x768 screen on their lowest end systems. It has 2GB of DDR3L, powered by a 2.1GHz Quad Core Tegra K1 CPU. Connectivity is handled by 802.11ac wireless networking as well as the two USB 3.0 ports. If you don't have a Chromecast, you'll have to use the HDMI connection.
There is also an SD Card slot that allows you to plug in an SDXC memory card for an additional 256GB of storage. Audio input and output is handled by integrated speakers and microphone or the dual-purpose audio jack. Combined with the 720p webcam, there really isn't much more to this device - nor should there be. It's a simple, effective, affordable machine that is priced right. MSRP is $299, but I found this online for as little as $249 with free shipping.
USB 3.0 & SD Slot
Power & Headphone / Microphone Jack
Rear USB 3.0 & HDMI
What You Really Get:
Here's what you actually get. With Google's previous offering of 100GB of Drive storage for 2 years, this whole package is not that great of a deal. It's not bad, but the Microsoft-equipped low price machines with "unlimited" storage that were recently announced were a much better deal. Because of that, Google upped their storage offering to 1TB of space. Does 1TB really compete with "unlimited"? I'm not a mathematician, but unlimited sounds much better than 1TB to me. The difference is in the term. Google gives you 1TB for two years while Microsoft gives you "unlimited" for 1 year and then will require a minimum $60 Office 365 Personal subscription to continue to provide you storage.
- Google (1080p) Chromebook @ $249 = 1TB free for 2 years
- HP (720p) Stream PC @ $199 = Unlimited for 1 year + $60 for next year.
You have to make some choices. For the same price, the Chromebook offers a better screen at this moment and the Google ecosystem with 1TB of Drive storage for 2 years. On the Microsoft side of things, you get the familiar Windows experience and unlimited storage for 1 year. You'll need to update your subscription and pay another $60 (minimum currently) in order to keep your files in the Microsoft ecosystem.
