Chromebook looks at best an incomplete experiment
Some two years ago, Google had a crazy idea: We all spend so much of our computing time on the Web, yet most of the maintenance required by a personal Dell Vostro A860 Battery computer has little to do with that — so why not delete the non-Web parts of the PC?
So in 2009, Google announced an operating system called Chrome OS that would weld its Chrome browser to the simplest software needed to drive a screen and keyboard and get online. You’d rely on Web services to store your data and run your applications, and your new Dell Vostro A860n Battery would be immune to the usual viruses.
The first devices built from those blueprints emerged in June: “Chromebooks” from Samsung and Acer.
So you’re looking at hp laptop batteries that only functions while you’re on Wi-Fi or within range of Verizon Wireless’s 3G mobile broadband (3G-capable Chromebooks come with the thoughtful freebie of 100 megabytes of 3G use a month, with extra data available at reasonable rates).
The Series 5 Chromebook did live up to Google’s billing in its quick boot time — about eight seconds to reach the prompt to log into the Google Account it requires — and long Dell Winbook N4 Battery life, at nearly eight hours of nearly uninterrupted Web use.
But the Series 5’s Intel Atom processor looked underpowered; the computer took about seven seconds to display thumbnail images of photos taken with recent digital cameras when I popped an SD Card into its Dell XPS M1210 Battery slot.
(You can view files off memory cards and USB flash drives plugged into this laptop, but you’re expected to upload them to a Web service like Google’s Picasa for longer-term storage.)
And at 3.27 lbs., the Series 5 only weighed only an ounce less than the $500-ish Lenovo ThinkPad I bought in June, which is itself no slouch at DM4 battery life.
Much of Google’s Chromebook pitch, as I saw when I spoke at a cloud-computing conference organized by the Mountain View, Calif., company for government executives this summer, emphasizes how this concept can ease computing for large organizations. That could be true. But for individuals, the PA3399U-2BAS Chromebook looks at best an incomplete experiment.
The most interesting optional accessory is Motorola’s Lapdock, which allows the Atrix to function as a smartphone-powered laptop batteries when the phone is attached on the rear of the Lapdock.
When attached to the Lapdock, the Atrix screen is mirrored onto the Lapdock’s screen. It is initially the same size as appears on the phone, but the view can be maximised on the Lapdock to give a larger view.
The Lapdock has a 36Wh Lithium-ion MU06 battery claimed to be good for eight hours.
To check the Lapdock battery’s current charge state, you press a button on the front of the Lapdock, which lights up laptop battery status LEDs – five means fully charged, one means a recharge might be needed soon.
Motorola’s overlaid MotoBlur user interface also adds shortcuts to the phone dialler and contacts screens, and adds extras to the notification bar at the top of the screen, such as the battery charge state, wifi and mobile connectivity signal strength.
As well as improving interaction with social networking sites, MotoBlur also gives users several security features normally found only in enterprise handsets. Users can back up their content over the air to their MotoBlur site account, and also remote-wipe the PA3399U-1BRS handset if it is lost or stolen.
Atrix users can also set up POP3/IMAP email accounts and configure the phone for synchronising with corporate directories.
For Office productivity, the Atrix uses the QuickOffice productivity suite, and PA3399U-1BAS users can also use the onboard Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) application to share media content across DLNA-enabled devices.
We found that the battery life of the Atrix was exceptional due to the power rating (1.93Ah) of the Dell XPS M1330 Battery – compare this to the 1.4Ah rating of the 8GB iPhone.
We estimate that users should get 2-3 days’ use with the Atrix although, as with most smartphones, excessive usage will drive down CQ32 battery charge.
As with most Android devices, users can check which hardware or software is using the most power through the Atrix’s Dell XPS M140 Battery -check application.
The call quality on the Atrix was generally good for most of our calls, although we did have a few instances where callers appeared muffled, but this could be down to the network not the PA3395U-1BRS phone.
