I'm looking to getting my parents a new computer for Christmas for when they travel and want to go cheap, since they are not good with tech and I don't have much money. I am debating on the $199 or $249 Chromebooks and a $199 Nexus Tablet. They will have Wi-fi access at the places they go so I don't need cellular service They would mostly use it to check email, go on Facebook and check on a few websites for business so I don't think they need something really powerful ether. One problem i have is they occasionally need to edit a word or excel doc and I don't want them to convert files to Google docs format since that would only confuse them more. I don't think there is any way to edit .docx files on ether device so maybe I should just expect that they cant edit documents directly on the device.
I would like to get them a tablet but I am not sure the websites they go to would work on mobile chrome, such as Comcast E-Mail which does not function right, at lest on my iPod touch, and billing websites that might have a bad time running on a mobile web browser.
Right now I am liking a Chromebook since it has a full keyboard and I know it will work with the websites they go on. It would also be familiar since they use chrome at home. Anyone thinks a Nexus 7 would be the right way to go? Hopefully Tested will test out one of these Chromebooks but from what Will was saying on the podcast, Chromebooks are not so good.
Would this be their main computer, or just something for when they travel and a secondary machine around the house?
My first guess would be to say tha even though I think the Chromebook is much, much more interesting the Nexus 7 is a lot safer. There's just such a big ecosystem around Android that it seems likely they'll be able to find something that suits their needs. Office is coming to Android; though for a fee so if they need that and get a bluetooth keyboard they'll probably be in better shape if they need to do some heavier lifting.
Like I find the chromebook fascinating and would love to own one just to see how it works out--but getting a Nexus 7, maybe even a N7 with a bluetooth keyboard seems far safer.
My mother is very much your typical anti-geek, just wanting whatever she's using to work and not caring how it works. When she asked for my opinion on a good laptop, I recommended an iPad 2 (the most current at the time) with a bluetooth keyboard. She's never been happier with a piece of tech and didn't require much hand-holding.
Tablet with keyboard seems to be an all-around good combo, the more intuitive the controls the better.
Neither. Get a netbook, they're not bad machines I don't know why they get so much hate from Will. Especially now that there's higher specced ones out there. I had one of the Atom ION netbooks about 2 years ago and thought it was a great little device, plenty speedy with 2GB of RAM.
At least with a netbook you don't have to worry about any compatibility issues or lack of software.
I can't recommend a netbook unless it has a AMD CPU. They are much faster, but typically more expensive. Atom is a complete pass for me.
Personally, I think if they travel quite a bit I might go for the Nexus 7 32GB so they can store local content on the device. The Chromebook is great if you use cellular data, but if it doesn't I don't know if it would be worth it.
I own a Chromebook as well as a Nexus 7, and I'd say go with the Chromebook. Don't buy the newer Acer model, though--no SSD, low battery life--buy the Samsung instead.
I'm looking to getting my parents a new computer for Christmas for when they travel and want to go cheap, since they are not good with tech and I don't have much money. I am debating on the $199 or $249 Chromebooks and a $199 Nexus Tablet. They will have Wi-fi access at the places they go so I don't need cellular service They would mostly use it to check email, go on Facebook and check on a few websites for business so I don't think they need something really powerful ether. One problem i have is they occasionally need to edit a word or excel doc and I don't want them to convert files to Google docs format since that would only confuse them more. I don't think there is any way to edit .docx files on ether device so maybe I should just expect that they cant edit documents directly on the device.
I would like to get them a tablet but I am not sure the websites they go to would work on mobile chrome, such as Comcast E-Mail which does not function right, at lest on my iPod touch, and billing websites that might have a bad time running on a mobile web browser.
Right now I am liking a Chromebook since it has a full keyboard and I know it will work with the websites they go on. It would also be familiar since they use chrome at home. Anyone thinks a Nexus 7 would be the right way to go? Hopefully Tested will test out one of these Chromebooks but from what Will was saying on the podcast, Chromebooks are not so good.
Would this be their main computer, or just something for when they travel and a secondary machine around the house?
My first guess would be to say tha even though I think the Chromebook is much, much more interesting the Nexus 7 is a lot safer. There's just such a big ecosystem around Android that it seems likely they'll be able to find something that suits their needs. Office is coming to Android; though for a fee so if they need that and get a bluetooth keyboard they'll probably be in better shape if they need to do some heavier lifting.
Like I find the chromebook fascinating and would love to own one just to see how it works out--but getting a Nexus 7, maybe even a N7 with a bluetooth keyboard seems far safer.
My mother is very much your typical anti-geek, just wanting whatever she's using to work and not caring how it works. When she asked for my opinion on a good laptop, I recommended an iPad 2 (the most current at the time) with a bluetooth keyboard. She's never been happier with a piece of tech and didn't require much hand-holding.
Tablet with keyboard seems to be an all-around good combo, the more intuitive the controls the better.
Neither. Get a netbook, they're not bad machines I don't know why they get so much hate from Will. Especially now that there's higher specced ones out there. I had one of the Atom ION netbooks about 2 years ago and thought it was a great little device, plenty speedy with 2GB of RAM.
At least with a netbook you don't have to worry about any compatibility issues or lack of software.
I can't recommend a netbook unless it has a AMD CPU. They are much faster, but typically more expensive. Atom is a complete pass for me.
Personally, I think if they travel quite a bit I might go for the Nexus 7 32GB so they can store local content on the device. The Chromebook is great if you use cellular data, but if it doesn't I don't know if it would be worth it.
My 2 cents.
I own a Chromebook as well as a Nexus 7, and I'd say go with the Chromebook. Don't buy the newer Acer model, though--no SSD, low battery life--buy the Samsung instead.