Samsung Spreads Holiday Cheer with Introduction of New 5 Series Chromebook

[btarunr]

Just in time for holiday giving, Samsung is introducing a Piano Black version of its WiFi-only Series 5 Chromebook. At a price of $349, the updated Series 5 is even more giftable than the original.

Chromebook, based on Google's Chrome operating system, is designed to provide people a faster, simpler and more secure computing experience. Due to automatic software updates, Google has continued to release new features and improvements on an ongoing basis. These new features coupled with the Samsung design aesthetic creates a technology device that gets better over time, offering the best possible web experience in one device for the internet-enthusiasts in all our lives.



Fans in the New York City-area can test drive the Series 5 Chromebook at the Samsung Experience at Columbus Circle and even borrow one for up to seven days to get a feel for the device.

The new Series 5 Chromebook is available now at BestBuy.com, Amazon.com, Tigerdirect.com and NewEgg.com. For a full list of availability call 1-800-SAMSUNG or visit http://www.samsung.com.

MSRP:$349 - WiFi only
Key Specs:

• 0.79-inch thin case designed for comfort and mobility
• Full-size Chrome keyboard
• Oversized multi-touch trackpad
• Intel Dual-core Processor
• 16:10 resolution
• 12.1-inch SuperBright Display - 36% brighter than standard display
• Starts up in less than 10-seconds
• Resumes instantly from standby
• Up to 6 hours battery life
• Webcam, built-in digital microphone and stereo speakers
• Two USB ports capable of charging mobile phones and accessories, connecting digital cameras and media storage devices
• Support for removable media cards (SD, SDHC, MMC) for photos, videos, music and documents

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[cheesy999]

2.1-inch SuperBright Display – 36% brighter than standard display

that's smaller then the screen on my phone

 

[Completely Bonkers]

^LOL. Typo for 12.1"

The keyboard sucks. WHO, yes, WHO, designs the cursors in the C21st like that!

And don't panic, I think "wifi only" actually does include RJ45 wired network... nope, it doesnt. What a washout. No good for diagnosing or administering a router then! Pretty pathetic since this is an internet only device... but what if your internet/router is misconfigured... well tough! You need another machine to go fix that.

Shame they didnt include a Windows compatible keyb. I understand this device is designed for Google Chrome OS, but the ability to install what you want on it would have been nice.

Nice sized trackpad. Yucky reflective mirror screen.

 

[mtosev]

that's just 280EUR.too bad the price here won't be that low

 

[RejZoR]

For that money you can get a C-50 powered Windows 7 netbook...

 

[FreedomEclipse]

^LOL. Typo for 12.1"

The keyboard sucks. WHO, yes, WHO, designs the cursors in the C21st like that!

If you look carefully, they arent the only ones that use this keyboard. the HP DM1 and DM1z series of laptops use it.

Its just the way it works. its not much of a problem anyway as a gamer uses wasd keys anyhoo.

 

[Completely Bonkers]

Thanks for the tip off... Fortunately, my netbook has a proper cursor layout! I had never realised it was so often cut up like in the picture of the samsung above. Never mind gaming awsd, if you do a lot of scrolling around Excel or pdf documents or webpages, etc... the arrow keys are used MORE than ALT or TAB or squiggle (tilde) etc... and for ergonomic reasons should be bigger and not chopped like the Samsung.

(Apologies for size of pictures... they are direct links from amazon)

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I dont use Cursor keys anyway - I tend to use a Logitech M215 for scrolling around. though I do admit, if im mobile and i havent got the mouse with me. it does make me a little irate. but hey, thats what you pay for when you get a 11.6" netbook/laptop. I havent used it much 'on the road' yet.

 

[mediasorcerer]

I just dont see the point of an internet only device like this, dont get me wrong, i appreciate the article and all, but yeh, a completely hamstrung device in my opinion, whats the point in buying this, ?when one can have so much more for a similar price,[even a mobile phone has a dedicated os] thats not dependent on "the cloud" or google.
The last lot of chromebooks were not received very well, so why are they pushing this again?

No wonder theyre "lending " them to people, haha. probably cant give them away, what is the point in this type of concept.

 

[Completely Bonkers]

At $199 I might argue with you, but at EUR 400 I have to agree! LOL. Way overpriced for an internet-only closed device. I guess the product develop thought "if Apple can get away with it...then..."

If this could do skype and if it had an RJ45 then I might be tempted. But it cant and it doesnt.

 

[Red_Machine]

The keyboard sucks. WHO, yes, WHO, designs the cursors in the C21st like that!

Apple.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Apple.

wrong - Apple designed the style of the keyboard (chiclet or 'island' style keyboard) the shape of the keys however are up to the OEM themselves.

 

[mediasorcerer]

Actually i believe apple copied the chiclet style originally from sony who introduced it first, incidentally i believe it was sony who also developed the first thin and light too, far as i know.

 

[ktr]

Yucky reflective mirror screen.

It comes with a matte screen, not a glossy "reflective" screen.

 

[Completely Bonkers]

^ Yes and no. There might be more than one spec. Just look at the first pic I posted... an OFFICIAL pic of the laptop. And it has a yucky reflective mirror screen?! So let's hope the one that hits market is the matte screen. We all love matte screens and hate reflectors.

 

[ktr]

^ Yes and no. There might be more than one spec. Just look at the first pic I posted... an OFFICIAL pic of the laptop. And it has a yucky reflective mirror screen?! So let's hope the one that hits market is the matte screen. We all love matte screens and hate reflectors.

This is the official picture.

The only two SKUs are WIFI & WIFI+3G. Both have Non-Gloss screens.

Now, how am I so sure? Because I own a Samsung Series 5 Chromebook (Piano Black WIFI+3G) for over a month now.

 

[Wile E]

This is the official picture.

http://www.google.com/chromebook/static/images/samsung-td-640x485.png

The only two SKUs are WIFI & WIFI+3G. Both have Non-Gloss screens.

Now, how am I so sure? Because I own a Samsung Series 5 Chromebook (Piano Black WIFI+3G) for over a month now.

http://i.imgur.com/8TfAEl.jpg

What's your opinion on it?

 

[ktr]

Opinion on the hardware or Chrome OS or both?

 

[Wile E]

On both.

 

[ktr]

There is not much to say. Hardware wise, it is an excellent netbook (great screen, great keyboard, great mouse, great battery life). Software wise, ChromeOS is Chrome Browser. There is nothing wrong with having an operating system solely dedicated to a browser (fast boot, less things to go wrong), considering that for the majority; the most time spent on a computer is surfing the web and that there is so much that can be done using web powered (cloud) applications.

The tablet market has destroyed netbook market. Honeycomb's browser is extremely close to Chrome browser (tabs w/ incognito, Flash w/ better performance, bookmark sync) and you can rely on native Android applications rather than cloud applications.

 

[mediasorcerer]

There is not much to say. Hardware wise, it is an excellent netbook (great screen, great keyboard, great mouse, great battery life). Software wise, ChromeOS is Chrome Browser. There is nothing wrong with having an operating system solely dedicated to a browser (fast boot, less things to go wrong), considering that for the majority; the most time spent on a computer is surfing the web and that there is so much that can be done using web powered (cloud) applications.

The tablet market has destroyed netbook market. Honeycomb's browser is extremely close to Chrome browser (tabs w/ incognito, Flash w/ better performance, bookmark sync) and you can rely on native Android applications rather than cloud applications.

Perhaps my view of the chromebook is somewhat slanted, after reading this post, i have decided to re evaluate my perception of them a little bit.
What happens if the net goes down, or is out of range etc etc?

Why wouldnt you want your digital media on your own harddrive? Why wouldnt you want the full functionality and control of a dedicated os of sorts?

Laptops are so cheap these days, that have all of this and more, for hardly much more if not the same as price wise.
And one can still use the "cloud" as well on a regular machine if need be.
It may be an ok machine for what its worth, but instinctively it still feels like they are flogging a dead horse with the overall concept.