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Samsung Unveils Chromebook Plus V2 (betanews.com)

Posted by msmash on from the new-offerings dept.

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.

43 of 74 comments (clear)

  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.

    --
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    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 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.

    3. 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
    4. 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.

    5. 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!

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      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    6. 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.

    7. 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.

    8. 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.
    9. 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/...

    10. 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.

    11. 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
    12. 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
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.

    16. 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
    17. 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
    18. 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.
    19. 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.
    20. 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.

    21. 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.
    22. 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.

    23. 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.
    24. 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.

    25. 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.
    26. 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.

    27. 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.
    28. 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.

    29. 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.
    30. 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. 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.

    --
    Mimetics Inc. Twitter
    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 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.
    4. 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.

    5. 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.
    6. 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.
  3. 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
  4. 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.
  5. 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?

  6. 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.

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

    powered by Intel Celeron Processor

    More like "underpowered".

    --
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