Toshiba Chromebook 2 13" HD

[rockymtnhigh]

So, I needed a throw-away laptop. I am traveling abroad this winter (back to Israel), and federal export control regulations do not allow me to bring my normal laptop, since it has state data (nothing of any consequence, but university stuff). So I started thinking about ways around it. And I also liked the idea of not having my primary macbook with me on such a trip.

So, I looked at CHromebooks and the sub-compact Win 10 machines. THere were machines to be had for $150. I looked first at a Lenovo WIn 10 ideapad for $159, but could not pull the trigger on Microsoft. Been out of that world too long. So I started exploring the chromebooks. Debated between an Acer 11.6" machine for $159, a Samsung 11.6" for $199, and a Toshiba Chromebook 2 13" for $269. the Toshiba had the advantage of a 13" screen, 4GB of ram, instead of 2GB, a full SD card reader rather than a micro-SD reader, and a full 1080p resolution. THe keyboard feels a lot like my mac. The trackpad is mac-like. Chrome is easy to use. It feels just like I am using chrome on a mac.

Yesterday I bought it. And so far, I am impressed. This thing is fast. Boots in 8 seconds. Has 80211AC wireless, Bluetooth 4, a USB3 port, a HDMI output. SKullcandy sound. And decent onboard speakers. Fanless intel celeron machine.

I turned it on, it asked me to login with my google account. I did, and all of my chrome on OSX extensions and setup transferred. The first ten minutes or so was a little sluggish, but it was downloading stuff to do my setup. Now, it is lightning fast.

Is it limited? Sure. But dang, it is a nice little machine, that I think will get much more use than just when I am travelling. Sure, its not a mac. But for $269 (and really I had some rewards, so it cost me $50 less), it is a steal. Highly recommend it. And the screen on this bad boy is stunning.

 

[lparsons21]

I've got one of those that my live in is using. Works well for her and keeps her from getting malware and crap since she clicks on everything. It was previously used by me and I liked it. Liked ChromeOS + Linux installation so much I got a Pixel 2015.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

The Pixel must be one heck of a fast machine for Chrome, as this little old celeron does a great job.

I am remarkably pleased with this, and thing I will use it much more than I anticipated.

 

[lparsons21]

Yeah, the Pixel is really fast. Mine is the base model, 8Gb RAM, 32Gb SSD and an i5.

But what really sets it apart from the rest is the UHD IPS touchscreen, backlit keyboard, Apple like trackpad and Apple like build. Of course that all comes at a price. I run a full Linux in a tab and it is quite responsive even doing that. You can do the same thing on the other Chromebooks but they aren't really fast enough for it imo.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

The IPS 1080 screen on the Toshiba is truly remarkable. No touchscreen, and I miss not having backlit keys. But I'll take the price of the Toshiba over the Pixel, and save that money for my next macbook pro.

 

[lparsons21]

Yes, that Tosh screen is great. I thought Tosh had a model with backlit keys now, but guess not.

The Pixel ain't cheap, that's for sure. But it is worth it imo. As to a MacBook Pro, well I doubt I'll ever get one again as my needs just aren't that great. So I bought the new 12" Macbook instead. I'll be selling my rMBP 13" on the local craigslist after Christmas.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Yes, that Tosh screen is great. I thought Tosh had a model with backlit keys now, but guess not.

The Pixel ain't cheap, that's for sure. But it is worth it imo. As to a MacBook Pro, well I doubt I'll ever get one again as my needs just aren't that great. So I bought the new 12" Macbook instead. I'll be selling my rMBP 13" on the local craigslist after Christmas.

I need the macbook for a variety of things, including Statistics software (Stata), photography, and much of the productivity software I use for my research and writing. I'll get a new macbook eventually, but until I have the funds, the Toshiba will do what I need for browsing and non-technical work.

I have to say I like Chrome OS a LOT more than I thought I would. Love the simplicity of it. I am sure, if I were an Android user, that it would have even more appeal.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I just realized I could swap the ALT and CTL keys so Alt, which is in the typical place of the APPLE CMD key, will function as a command or control key, and not cause me to re-think very well ingrained keyboard shortcuts.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I am definitely glad I bought the 4GB machine though. I have been multi-tasking the hell out of this, and it doesn't seem to skip a beat. I am doubtful I'd have the same experience on those 2GB models.

I also have opted to drop the resolution down one notch. 1080p is crisp, but it means extremely small text. Going down a bit still maintains the crispness, but I can actually read the screen. Old eye syndrome.

 

[lparsons21]

Check your zoom settings in ChromeOS, you might find something you like better and the zoom functions quite well in ChromeOS. Or you can change the resolution to something that might fit you better too. Both work quite well.

And you are correct about the 2 vs 4Gb ram. The 2Gb machines are a little constrained as you add tabs and/or windows and can get quite doggy. My first Chromebook was one of those and was really only suitable for fairly light uses. The 4Gb version like you have can run a full Linux too, even inside a tab. If you find yourself needing something that just isn't there for ChromeOS, google 'crouton' and do a little research. It isn't difficult to do and works quite well.

 

[EarDemon]

I purchased an HP Chromebook about 2 1/2 years ago. 14" 1366 x 768 display, Celeron 1.1 GHz I think, 8GB RAM, 16 GB SSD, full size SD and a couple USB ports. I turned it on for the first time in almost a year last night to do some updates. I never really use browser extensions, most of the Chrome 'apps' are just icons that take you to that 'apps' specific website. Not a big fan of small laptops, the HP was one of the biggest Chromebooks offered at the time, and I find it too small to do anything with. It's fine for basic viewing of Word or Excel files with Docs or Sheets but I really don't enjoy typing on something so small and the lack of a dedicated number pad is annoying. Sure it boots up in a few seconds, but my desktop with an SSD, Intel Ivy Bridge-E hex core and 32GB of DDR3 doesn't take that much longer and that with fast boot disabled in Windows 10, and my desktop is much more capable.

I mainly purchased the thing as a toy and to see if Google would ever merge Android and ChromeOS. But a while back I saw Dell released a ChromeOS 'app' for SonicWall SSL VPN. If I can connect to my VPN at work, and use a VNC app, that will give me more options to work from home, if I get snowed in again and lose power. Battery life is the least important thing to me in laptops, and my normal laptop only gives me about 90 minutes of run time and that's with the extended battery. The chromebook can give me about 6 hours last time I checked. I can't remember what I paid for it, but I got it when HP had a $50 off sale if it was purchased directly though them. In retrospect I probably should have used that money for the new Pixel C tablet...maybe...

It didn't bother me since I had nothing stored on the internal drive of the Chromebook but this is something keep in mind. Like I said it was almost a year since I last used it, and between then and now I changed my Google password and couldn't remember my old one. It knew my password was changed and wanted me to enter both my previous password and my new one, since I didn't remember my old one, all of the data on the drive had to be deleted.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I purchased an HP Chromebook about 2 1/2 years ago. 14" 1366 x 768 display, Celeron 1.1 GHz I think, 8GB RAM, 16 GB SSD, full size SD and a couple USB ports. I turned it on for the first time in almost a year last night to do some updates. I never really use browser extensions, most of the Chrome 'apps' are just icons that take you to that 'apps' specific website. Not a big fan of small laptops, the HP was one of the biggest Chromebooks offered at the time, and I find it too small to do anything with. It's fine for basic viewing of Word or Excel files with Docs or Sheets but I really don't enjoy typing on something so small and the lack of a dedicated number pad is annoying. Sure it boots up in a few seconds, but my desktop with an SSD, Intel Ivy Bridge-E hex core and 32GB of DDR3 doesn't take that much longer and that with fast boot disabled in Windows 10, and my desktop is much more capable.

I mainly purchased the thing as a toy and to see if Google would ever merge Android and ChromeOS. But a while back I saw Dell released a ChromeOS 'app' for SonicWall SSL VPN. If I can connect to my VPN at work, and use a VNC app, that will give me more options to work from home, if I get snowed in again and lose power. Battery life is the least important thing to me in laptops, and my normal laptop only gives me about 90 minutes of run time and that's with the extended battery. The chromebook can give me about 6 hours last time I checked. I can't remember what I paid for it, but I got it when HP had a $50 off sale if it was purchased directly though them. In retrospect I probably should have used that money for the new Pixel C tablet...maybe...

It didn't bother me since I had nothing stored on the internal drive of the Chromebook but this is something keep in mind. Like I said it was almost a year since I last used it, and between then and now I changed my Google password and couldn't remember my old one. It knew my password was changed and wanted me to enter both my previous password and my new one, since I didn't remember my old one, all of the data on the drive had to be deleted.

Well, I'd say there has been a massive change in the machines being used for chromebooks in the last 2-3 years. And this has a 13" display, so it isn't a tiny screen or keyboard. But I'm not certain the comparisons with a desktop with 32GB of ram is telling much. Sure this is not a work horse. But as I said in my first post, I bought it as a throw-away laptop for travel. And it is demonstrating to me that I can get a lot more out of if. Plus the apps are not just extensions anymore. There are real applications.

My google password is not in jeopardy of being forgotten, as I have used gmail for more than a decade.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Check your zoom settings in ChromeOS, you might find something you like better and the zoom functions quite well in ChromeOS. Or you can change the resolution to something that might fit you better too. Both work quite well.

And you are correct about the 2 vs 4Gb ram. The 2Gb machines are a little constrained as you add tabs and/or windows and can get quite doggy. My first Chromebook was one of those and was really only suitable for fairly light uses. The 4Gb version like you have can run a full Linux too, even inside a tab. If you find yourself needing something that just isn't there for ChromeOS, google 'crouton' and do a little research. It isn't difficult to do and works quite well.

I've tried the zoom settings. The problem is it doesn't work for everything, and some of the apps seem to have their own settings. The 1536x864 seems to be a bit better in general. But I'll keep playing with it. THANKS!

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I am amazed by the battery of this thing. My macbook air is 4 years old, and I can get maybe 4 hours out of it. I have basically been running this on battery since yesterday, even watched Netflix for an hour on it, and still have 40%.

 

[EarDemon]

Well, I'd say there has been a massive change in the machines being used for chromebooks in the last 2-3 years. And this has a 13" display, so it isn't a tiny screen or keyboard. But I'm not certain the comparisons with a desktop with 32GB of ram is telling much. Sure this is not a work horse. But as I said in my first post, I bought it as a throw-away laptop for travel. And it is demonstrating to me that I can get a lot more out of if. Plus the apps are not just extensions anymore. There are real applications.

My google password is not in jeopardy of being forgotten, as I have used gmail for more than a decade.

Wow, you don't think 13" is tiny? I can barley stand to use my 17.3" laptop as that's too small for my liking, using my 14" Chromebook is a massive downgrade, which is why I probably don't use it much. It doesn't sound like the hardware that drives Chromebooks has changed much. I lack a 1080p display, 802.11ac, and USB 3 compared to the more current versions, and that sounds like that is it. Which makes sense since ChromeOS and it's actual apps aren't that demanding What are some good real apps to check out? The stuff I installed when I first got it, like The Weather Channel, IMDB and Google Map apps just took you to their websites. A calculator app just took me to a web page that had a calculator on it. I'd love to find a use for this thing.

And yes, I've been using GMail since the very beginning as well. A guy that I went to college with had a relative that somehow was involved with Google and was part of the inital beta. As soon as he could he invited me and a few of our classmates in. But, with GMail, my other webmail services that I use and my online banking, I change my passwords twice a year. Super Bowl Sunday and the final game of the Stanley Cup, and would hope you change yours every so often as well. My point was if you change your Google password in between longer periods of inactivity of the Chromebook, you better remember your previous password.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Wow, you don't think 13" is tiny? I can barley stand to use my 17.3" laptop as that's too small for my liking, using my 14" Chromebook is a massive downgrade, which is why I probably don't use it much. It doesn't sound like the hardware that drives Chromebooks has changed much. I lack a 1080p display, 802.11ac, and USB 3 compared to the more current versions, and that sounds like that is it. Which makes sense since ChromeOS and it's actual apps aren't that demanding What are some good real apps to check out? The stuff I installed when I first got it, like The Weather Channel, IMDB and Google Map apps just took you to their websites. A calculator app just took me to a web page that had a calculator on it. I'd love to find a use for this thing.

And yes, I've been using GMail since the very beginning as well. A guy that I went to college with had a relative that somehow was involved with Google and was part of the inital beta. As soon as he could he invited me and a few of our classmates in. But, with GMail, my other webmail services that I use and my online banking, I change my passwords twice a year. Super Bowl Sunday and the final game of the Stanley Cup, and would hope you change yours every so often as well. My point was if you change your Google password in between longer periods of inactivity of the Chromebook, you better remember your previous password.

Some apps take you to websites, many do not today. Lots of decent apps out there. Its not the same world from when Chromebooks first came out. I am remarkably pleased with the capabilities of this device. The calculator app is an app. Not particularly high end, but an app. And the main google page now has voice search.

I only use a 13.3" macbook. So, nah, I don't think it is tiny. I use it on my lap too. The only difference between the Chromebook screen and the macbook, in terms of size is the Chromebook is 16x9, whereas the macbook is 4:3. Very similar. I do connect the macbook to a 27" monitor at the office. But spend far more time just on the laptop itself.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I realized that the Chromebook 2 from Toshiba was the 2014 model, and the 2015 model includes both a backlit keyboard, and an actual celeron processor, plus its speed ratings about about 30% faster than the 2014 model (both devices are called the Chromebook 2). I was still in the return window from Best Buy, and had a $55 gift card from Amazon, from a christmas return, which covered the difference, so I made the switch. A couple days in, and wow, I am really happy I did. The keyboard is not only backlit, but it has such an incredible feel.

A month of chromebook usage has also convinced me that this is a very useful device, sure it isn't my macbook pro, but it does a lot, and I could not be more pleased with it. Even more so with the new device.