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Samsung Unveils Chromebook Plus V2 (betanews.com)

Brian Fagioli, writing for BetaNews: Samsung announces its latest such laptop -- the premium, yet affordable, Chromebook Plus (V2). This is a refresh of the first-gen "Plus" model. It can run Android apps and doubles as a convertible tablet, making it very versatile. Best of all, you won't have to wait long to get it -- it will go on sale very soon. "The Samsung Chromebook Plus (V2) puts productivity and entertainment at consumers' fingertips and at the tip of the built-in pen. At 2.91 pounds, its thin design makes it easy to slip into a bag and carry all day -- or use throughout the day with its extended battery life. Flipping its 12.2-inch FHD 1920x1080 resolution screen transforms it from notebook to tablet to sketchbook -- and back -- with two cameras for making it easier to stay connected with friends and sharing with the world. Plus, Chrome OS helps users get more done by providing access to millions of Android apps on Google Play," says Samsung. The Chromebook Plus, powered by Intel Celeron Processor 3965Y and 4GB of RAM, goes on sale later this month at $499.

74 comments

  1. $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by afidel · · Score: 2

    Why would you buy this over any of the myriad of cheaper or better equipped options? It doesn't even have a killer screen which I could see paying a premium for from Samsung, 12" 1080p is just meh.

    --
    There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    1. Re: $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Please list your myriad

    2. Re: $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1K65E07907&cm_re=acer_spin_1-_-9SIA1K65E07907-_-Product

      32GB built-in storage on the Chromebook....

    3. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by jon3k · · Score: 2

      My last Chromebook was an Acer Chromebook 14 that has an all aluminum chassis, 14" IPS (!) display and a nice, huge trackpad, and also had 4GB of RAM and a quad core Celeron. And it cost me $275, it's even a little less expensive now. I've had it for well over a year. I can't imagine why anyone would choose this device. Maybe the tablet functionality? I certainly have no interest in that, personally.

    4. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What's sad is that this $500 chromebook has a better display than a $1000 MacBook Air.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    5. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As we seen with the previous story, Apple is dragging down its hardware and now other companies are trying to get away with it.

    6. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by joh · · Score: 3, Informative

      If you want to run Android apps (which you can now) having a touchscreen and tablet mode certainly makes sense. If you don't need any of that of course you'd need to be crazy to pay for it.

    7. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      Most android apps will work perfectly well with a keyboard/mouse. At lease from a UI standpoint. And technically, I would imagine the mouse/finger emulation is fine.

      Heck, most trackpads support multitouch too!

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    8. Re: $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, but.... 3.5 lbs.

    9. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Tough+Love · · Score: 0

      The Acer has Atom, which is pathetic. This Google thing has core arch, which is better.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    10. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by jon3k · · Score: 1
      No, it's not an Atom, it's a Celeron N3160. If you click on the link I posted you can read the specs. And the Samsung also has a celeron, it's right there in the summary:

      The Chromebook Plus, powered by Intel Celeron Processor 3965Y and 4GB of RAM, goes on sale later this month at $499.

    11. Re: $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, but.... 3.5 lbs.

      Good point. Ain't nobody able to lift three and a half pounds anymore.

    12. Re: $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by darkain · · Score: 1

      My Acer Aspire One for $300 at purchase in 2012 has comparable specs to this machine.

    13. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      how much is the chromebook option that allows you to run macos software?

    14. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      N3160 is an atom. Don't get sucked in by the marketspeak.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    15. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by darkain · · Score: 1

      At this point in time, Celerons and Atoms are pretty much the exact same CPU with different marketing, so the entire argument is moot anyways.

      "High powered Atom processors are now mostly branded as Celerons."
      - https://www.urtech.ca/2015/10/...

    16. Re: $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because zomg google is amazballs. Lol f*ckin idiot fan bois all over the place.

    17. Re: $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is much easier to lift a lightweight laptop with one hand (e.g. 1.1 Kg).

    18. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by jon3k · · Score: 1

      You can call it whatever you want, the literal name of the product is Celeron. I'm really not going to argue with you about it. The point is the Samsung has a Celeron processor as well.

    19. Re: $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is much easier to lift a lightweight laptop with one hand (e.g. 1.1 Kg).

      Good point. Ain't nobody got two hands.

    20. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      You already can run Mac OS, well it's only System 7. But VII is only III less than X.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    21. Re: $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My Acer Aspire One for $300 at purchase in 2012 has comparable specs to this machine.

      I call bullshit. The 3965Y was brought to market in Q2 of 2017. 2012 Acers has Intel Atoms. If you think Atoms and Celerons are comparable, you should shred your geek card right now.

    22. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Tough+Love · · Score: 0

      You are an idiot. There is a distinct difference between Atom arch and Core arch. Executive summary: Atom has crappy instructions per clock and power/performance.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    23. Re: $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by ichthus · · Score: 1

      If you think Atoms and Celerons are comparable, you should shred your geek card right now.

      Both are low-end processors from Intel. Beyond that, I really have no idea. I'm keeping my geek card, though.

      --
      sig: sauer
    24. Re: $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      But the Atom sucks more than the core arch Celeron. Intel keeps tricking me into buying Atoms and I keep regretting it. No more of that.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    25. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      how much is the chromebook option that allows you to run macos software?

      My experience with Macos software is, I would pay not to use it. It's made for single button minds.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    26. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by mcl630 · · Score: 1

      True, but the 3965Y used in the Samsung is built on the Core arch (specifically Kaby Lake), not the Atom arch. The Acer referred to uses the N3160, which is built on the Atom arch (Braswell). The 3965Y outperforms the N3160 handily in most applications despite the 3965Y being only a dual-core while the N3160 is quad-core.

    27. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      That does not explain why my second mouse button works, my scrollwheel works and the OS allowed me to assign a function to the third button of my old non-wireless USB Logitech mouse from nearly two decades ago.

      The "single button mouse" meme died when Apple dropped Mac OS Classic.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    28. Re: $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Acer spin 13 blows it out of the water for about the same price. I can wait a few months.

    29. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Intel has pretty much discontinued the Atom, it still appears in branding, but if it's sold as Atom it shares the same architecture as the same year's i7.

    30. Re: $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      The only thing the latest Celeron CPUs share with their ancestor is the name. Think "trimmed-down i5", not "Atom".

      My gaming PC used a Celeron before I upgraded to an i5. In most games, the upgrade didn't do anything at all.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    31. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Tough+Love · · Score: 0

      The Acer has Atom, which is pathetic. This Google thing has core arch, which is better.

      Some knuckledragger with mod points does not understand what a chip arch is. Mod points should be kept out of the hands of knuckledraggers.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    32. Re: $500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      I know that of course. If you want to get down to basics, think "Pentium 3" or even "Pentium Pro". Obviously a lot of evolution happened, but it's a direct line and the design philosophy didn't change.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    33. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      The Macbook here (which I hate, not only because of the common screen speckle problem) is clearly one button. And your mind is one-button. Everybody knows what we mean when we say one-button mind.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    34. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It doesn't even have a killer screen

      Right, they took it away.

      before:

      • $430 (plus) -- ARM CPU, killer screen
      • $490 (pro) -- Intel CPU, killer screen

      after:

      • $430 (plus v2) -- Intel CPU, lousy screen
      • $490 (pro v1) -- Intel CPU, killer screen

      This is bad. I prefer Rockchip to Intel because of security. Rockchip was half as fast, but the option was there. And I'm not interested in lousy screens any more, especially on something that lasts 5 years.

      However so long as they sell the Pro v1 that remains the best Chromebook option.

      One thing to keep in mind is TCO. Chromebooks last 5 years from start of sale, so they effectively get more expensive after they come out.

    35. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by chaotixx · · Score: 1

      You already can run Mac OS, well it's only System 7. But VII is only III less than X.

      System 7.0 and not 7.6.1, the best Mac OS? For shame.

    36. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      The Acer has Atom, which is pathetic. This Google thing has core arch, which is better.

      Some knuckledragger with mod points does not understand what a chip arch is. Mod points should be kept out of the hands of knuckledraggers.

      Another knuckledragger showed up. Like roaches, there's never just one.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    37. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by jon3k · · Score: 1

      I never claimed there wasn't a difference between the two. Read the thread again. And the name calling is really unnecessary. The argument you were trying to make was a comparison between Celeron and Atom, which isn't even relevant to the discussion.

      You claimed the Samsung had a Core-based CPU, it doesn't. It says right in the summary it is a Celeron.

    38. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Tough+Love · · Score: 2

      You are confused. Celeron is a marketing term, it does not describe the chip architecture. Some celerons are core arch and some (sucky ones like the one in this thread) are Atoms. Just avoid the latter.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    39. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by jon3k · · Score: 1

      I'm not confused at all, there's nothing in this reply I disagree with. Your original post claimed the Samsung device had a "Core" based CPU and that the Acer Chromebook 14 had a poor "Atom" CPU. They both have Celeron CPU.

    40. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      I erred in saying the Acer Chromebook 14 has an Atom-based celeron, in fact it has a Braswell-based N3160, which is Core arch. You erred in claiming that "Celeron" implies not Atom. This is false. There are Silvermont and Goldmont Celerons that are Atoms. So Celeron is a marketing term, not a processor architecture, as I said multiple times. Clear now?

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    41. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by jon3k · · Score: 1

      Whether or not it is a marketing term is not relevant. That's what it is, a Celeron branded CPU, not an Atom branded CPU. You can argue over how different it is from an Atom processor (because it's obviously different) but that doesn't mean they aren't different.

    42. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      So I got it right the first time, you are an idiot.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    43. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by jon3k · · Score: 1

      At least previously you were trying to twist this into some other argument that you could try to win, now you're just resorting to name calling. Grow up, admit you were wrong, move on with your life. This is just sad.

    44. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      I'm not the one regurgitating Intel marketspeak as if it were technical specs. BTW, you come across as a 14 year old, I would suggest not trying to tell others to grow up.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    45. Re:$500 for 4GB and a Celeron? by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      This page suggests they're both in the same ballpark in terms of performance. The passmark for the N3160 (which you describe as an "Atom") is slightly higher (better) than the 3965Y, but there's not much to it.

      I would suggest that concluding one processor is worse than another just because of architecture is as dumb as making the same conclusion based upon clock speed, bitiness, or number of cores. The N3160 is a fast, optimized, Braswell. The 3965Y is a painfully slow Kaby Lake. Intel is using the Celeron branding for both because they're comparable.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  2. Why not ARM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They have various Rockchip, MediaTek, and Nvidia options available. Given the current BS going on with spectre, they could probably put a slower in-order arm chip

    1. Re:Why not ARM? by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      Nvidia, MediaTek and Rockchip are all listed as being vulnerable for some if not all of their ARM chips to at least Spectre, if not also Meltdown.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  3. Chromebooks as Home Computers by mykepredko · · Score: 1

    I love Chromebooks and think that Google really has a nice approach to a thin client that would be excellent in the home as suggested in TFA.

    However, I never see that happening in a big way. Storing data on "The Cloud" is going to be scary for people used to working with hard drives and I think that applications that access large amounts of data for phones, tablets, cameras and video recorders such as iTunes, (Android) Transfer and video editing software will be a sticking point for most users.

    Thinking about it, Linux would be the best for everyone's desktops, Chromebooks would be best for everybody's laptops and both are only five years away from becoming the most popular platform.

    1. Re:Chromebooks as Home Computers by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      Thinking about it, Linux would be the best for everyone's desktops, Chromebooks would be best for everybody's laptops

      Chromebooks running Linux, except for the pathetically limited amount of flash, designed to frogmarch you into Google's cloud whether you want that or not.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    2. Re:Chromebooks as Home Computers by jon3k · · Score: 1

      With Chrome you can use flash drives, your own "cloud" storage (ie Seafile, NextCloud, etc) or NAS. Personally, I need very little local storage on my Chromebook. I recommend using something like a very low profile USB drive. They aren't extremely high performance, but are plenty fast to stream music or movies, or copy documents back and forth. You can also leave it in the device for the most part because it barely protrudes from the side, and it's curved, so it doesn't catch on edges as easily getting it in and out of bags.

      But if your laptop supports it, MicroSD cards are a great option as well.

    3. Re:Chromebooks as Home Computers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is the reason for cutting USB-A and SD slot from Apple laptops, they would rather you spend $1000 or something on getting the 512GB version instead of the 128GB version, don't want you to cheap out by installing a "rogue" drive like this.

    4. Re:Chromebooks as Home Computers by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      Good suggestion, with caveats. 1) Only two usb ports, is that enough when one is gone for storage? 2) You need a usb-c stick, does anybody make that in low profile?

      Anyway, it has a micro sd slot, so that's ok. Now the issue is, the price is a bit high for only 4GB ram and HD resolution. Not stupidly overpriced, but no great deal either.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    5. Re:Chromebooks as Home Computers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good suggestion, with caveats. 1) Only two usb ports, is that enough when one is gone for storage?

      whiny baby has tremendous difficulty understanding the concept of "inexpensive means compromises"

    6. Re:Chromebooks as Home Computers by jon3k · · Score: 1

      $500 is definitely more than I'm willing to pay for a Celeron with 4GB of RAM.

    7. Re:Chromebooks as Home Computers by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      blah blah tremendous difficulty understanding the concept of "inexpensive means compromises"

      That might make sense if it was inexpensive.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
    8. Re:Chromebooks as Home Computers by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      Storing data on "The Cloud" is going to be scary for people used to working with hard drives...

      Scary and stupid, according to me, unless you have no other option and your data is throwaway. Never mind the rampant privacy risk.

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  4. It comes with a Nazi rocket?!? COOL!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow, you can get a Chromebook and a Nazi V2 ballistic missile to boot!

    Where do I get one?

    Hell, where do I get 1,000!

    Now we know why the batteries were exploding.

  5. The Nazi SRBM adds to the cost by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Adding a Nazi-designed SRBM such as the V2 to the package adds a lot to the cost.

    It probably doesn't come with a warhead, though. Samsung doesn't have a good track record with things that go boom.

    1. Re:The Nazi SRBM adds to the cost by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      V2 sucks anyway, they should at least add a Hwasong-9 or one of these things from Yemen.

    2. Re:The Nazi SRBM adds to the cost by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those Germans are so evil. So evil. They cheated on their (death) cars' emissions because they wanted to gas us all. They hate us so much, so much. Because we're not Aryans.

  6. Looks like a good Celeron by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    check it on ark.intel.com, it's a Core-M variant as the "Y" in the name Celeron 3965Y tells. So, that's a 1.5GHz Kaby Lake Core-M, with Hyperthreading disabled (two cores/two threads) and stuck at 1.5GHz.

    Apple Macbook 12" (third model) uses the same CPU, but configured better two cores/four threads, 1.2GHz with turbo to 3.0GHz.
    Well, that won't do good to convince you it's a good CPU probably! But it's desktop CPU technology, at 1.5GHz, slowed enough that it can be used in a fanless machine.

    It's the 4GB RAM I don't like, for sure.
    The article is a bit poor, it falls short of mentioning it has a pen. And the pen slides inside. The full HD screen is revealed to be a 16:10 screen in the specs table, so this should be 1920x1200 12.2 inches. Well who knows, Chromebook Plus v1 is 3:2 2400x1600.
    Pen is a rare thing! (and mightier than the sword). It's got the Galaxy Note 8's pen basically. Pen is found on iPad (Pro or latest regular), on Surface Pro, on Surface Studio. Not much else at all.
    This is the only Linux pen computer (sort of), the only cheap pen computer (save iPad for dummies)

    Pen, cheap and not Windows. But not having RAM options is a shame. Perhaps V3 will have 8GB (I want 16)

    1. Re:Looks like a good Celeron by Tough+Love · · Score: 1

      Mod up informative AC! (and log in you lazy ass)

      --
      When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
  7. I don't understand expensive ChromeBooks? by schweini · · Score: 1

    I really like my chromebooks - some run ChromeOS (with full Linux via crouton), and some even run Windows 10 - but I buy them for less than 200$, and I see them as kind of disposable, which is great for my use case.

    But what's the point of these expensive ChromeBooks? The super duper expensive Pixel books I can kind of understand - it's just Google showing of how nice things could be.
    But these 500$ ones?

  8. Too expensive by walterbyrd · · Score: 1

    The one I especially like about my old Chromebook is that's it's cheap. It cost me about $150 when I bought it, years ago, I could replace it for $75 today.

    I take it with me travelling, it's small and light, the batteries last like ten hours, and if anything happens to it, it's no great loss.

    $500, when I can get a decent windows laptop for $300, seems a bit much.

  9. Long Term Support by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Intel chip will likely still work fine and be supported enough by the linux kernel in 10-15 years. Same can't be said of a random Rockchip, Mediatek or other although there is some movement in the ARM world, still early, to have (some of the) chips supported in mainline linux kernel.

  10. Still playing catchup to ASUS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The C302 has the same or better specs and features plus cost $100 less (on sale). Plus the Asus had been available for like a year.

  11. The 499 Dollar Question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can I kick out the Chrome OS and replace it for something decent?

  12. Chromebooks Need to Step It Up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am a fan of the chromebook, but good options for developers aren't available. We need more 15" screen options and more than 4gigs of memory. Particularly with the ability to run Linux in a window, these machines would be great for developers and old-school grandparents alike.

  13. That's another hot device from Samsung by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    With explosive devices like this, Samsung is proving to be a company on fire, hell-bent on taking the market by storm, rekindling the public's interest, and singeing the competition in the process.

  14. Nobody wanted the ChromeOS crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is version 2, how many did version 1 sell?.....

    Slapping a crappy WIMP designed to be mouse operated around a touch screen OS, does not fix the issues with Android on the tablet. No Android user wanted ChromeOS.

    FFS, Google, sack Pichai, focus on Android, it needs a clear 'exit', it needs to keep apps loaded in ram, it needs to just run the f**ing Android app in a window in landscape without requiring it specifically support 'resizable'. Every new version needlessly breaks stuff, F.O. already.
    Enough damage already. Start making products designed around customer needs, not your internal politics.

  15. Try Google maps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Most android apps will work perfectly well with a keyboard/mouse"

    Bullshit, Google maps can't even zoom out. Double click to zoom in, but no zoom out.

    "most trackpads support multitouch too!"
    They suck as mice, and they suck^2 as interactive zoom where you can't even see the point your zooming into.

    The only reason trackpads are still on laptops, is because there's space below the keyboard to fill with something and nobody can think of anything better.

  16. Heh, Celeron? by LordWabbit2 · · Score: 1

    powered by Intel Celeron Processor

    More like "underpowered".

    --
    There are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third is statistics.