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Google offering $99 Samsung Series 5 Chromebooks to public schools
Teachers will be able to purchase the already-cheap Samsung Series 5 Chromebook for $99 this holiday season, Google just announced on its blog. Mountain View will offer the Chromebook for that discounted price thanks to a partnership with the online charity DonorsChoose.org -- and that $99 covers management and support in addition to the hardware. Public-school teachers who qualify will need to head to the Donors Choose website and to put in a request for up to 30 units. Everyone else can simply admire that act of benevolence -- or head to the aforementioned URL to make a donation of their own.
Samsung Chromebook Series 5 550 review
More Info Samsung Chromebook Series 5 review Samsung is refreshing the Series 5 Chromebook, releasing the Chromebox in Q2 Chrome OS review (version 19) When the first Chromebooks hit the market last year, they were greeted with skepticism, curiosity and some noisy debate. Which makes sense: after all, who had ever heard of an operating system based entirely on a browser? Laptops that were only usable when you had an internet connection? It was a wild, ambitious idea, to be sure, but since then, we haven't heard much on that front save for the occasional price cut. Now, though, Samsung is selling the new Chromebook Series 5 550 (and Chromebox Series 3) it teased at CES, while Google is rolling out a new version of its operating system with offline doc editing, a basic photo editor and a desktop-like space that makes it easier to launch and switch between apps. Like last year's model, the Series 5 still has a matte, 300-nit, 12.1-inch display, 16GB of built-in flash storage and an optional Verizon Wireless 3G radio, but it's dressed in more conservative digs with a retooled touchpad and an Celeron -- not Atom -- processor. Accordingly, the starting price for the WiFi-only model is slightly higher ($449, up from $429), and the battery life is now rated for six hours, down from 10. Finally, the new model adds an Ethernet jack and DisplayPort -- both of which Google hopes will appeal to the schools and businesses considering using Chrome devices. Most interestingly of all, Google is planning on selling its new Chromebook in retail, signaling an intent to expand beyond geeky early adopters and one-to-one laptop programs in classrooms. If the idea is to win over more consumers, will a faster CPU and improved user experience be enough to make up for the drastically shortened battery life? Should folks in need of a portable machine with a keyboard spend their $450 on a Chromebook instead of a netbook or Transformer tablet? That's a tough one -- meet us past the break where we'll hash it all out. %Gallery-156312%
How would you change Samsung's Chromebook Series 5?
It's compact, it's cute and it's weird. But it might be your perfect netbook. Google's Chromebook family isn't apt to ever be an end-all solution -- particularly for those that aren't married to the company's suite of web-based products -- and we're pretty sure Samsung's taking notes on how to make the eventual followup to the Series 5 even better. Battery life was stellar, and the matte display was a joy to look at, but we still found plenty of quibbles. Are you one of the early adopters who picked one of these guys up? If given the chance, how would you tweak the design / software / whatever else? Go on and get crafty in comments below!
Samsung Series 5 Chrome OS laptop hands-on at Google I/O (update: video!)
We never had much doubt about what Samsung would be showcasing at tonight's finale event at Google I/O 2011, but now it's official -- the outfit's first-ever Chrome OS ultraportable is making its debut in San Francisco, and we've been fortunate enough to grab a bit of hands-on time. Slated to ship to consumers, businesses and educational institutions on June 15th, the 12.1-inch Series 5 is a strikingly svelte machine, and there's no doubt that holding a 0.79-inch rig gives us all kinds of chills. The company took a bit of time to play up its "Power Plus" battery technology, lasting up to 8.5 hours with "active use," or 5 hours of straight video. There's also a new hitch in the Verizon Wireless data deal -- 100MB will be tossed in each month on the 3G model, but contrary to what we'd heard earlier, that ends after two years (rather than lasting for the life of the product). The hardware feels tremendous -- stiff, solid and well appointed, much like Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 Limited Edition. It outclasses the other sub-$450 netbooks we've seen in both style and rigidity, and while we'll always have a special place in our heart for the CR-48, it's pretty clear that this particular unit was in the oven for some while. We've hoping to spend some serious time with this guy in the middle of next month, but for now, here's what we can tell you -- the 1280 x 800 display is both crisp and sharp, with shockingly great viewing angles for a machine of this price. The keyboard's far from cramped, and if you've had your doubts on the 12.1-inch form factor, we're guessing one touch of this would have those running for cover. Oh, and the trackpad? One of the best we've felt in the PC universe, and one that we hope crops up elsewhere in the near future. It's right about on par with the one found on the CR-48 (post update), which is also stellar compared to most netbooks. Obviously, we aren't here long enough to test the ultra-longevous battery (said to be good for over 1,000 cycles -- perfect for education and business users who are apt to adopt it), but we'll be sure to do our best once we settle down with a production unit. We're told that it'll be available in Titan Silver or Arctic White, provide a chiclet style keyboard, a multi-gesture trackpad (which supports two-finger scrolling) and "instant" wake from sleep. Update: More impressions and video are after the break, and a head-to-head with a current-gen 11-inch MacBook Air is below! %Gallery-123461% %Gallery-123464%
