Asus chromebook c100 specs | Asus chromebook flip c100 review
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Review By Thecat1080
If you read the internet you will find alot of reviews on this device, go ahead and check i can wait. Ok now here is the deal and what most of those reviews are missing, what this little device actually is. Try not to think of this device as a desktop replacement, ultra portable laptop, or even a netbook. If that is what you are looking for all of those devices exist here on amazon, and there are some really nice options for even less than this device. What this device truly is, is a tablet alternative. This particular device fold in several ways including a tablet version, if you are willing to set chrome to beta mode it's possible to even activate android apps, you read that correctly. So the end result is a dual purpose machine. In chrome mode it offers a great internet experience and even has some offline functions, but with the power of android included you can now use this device to supplement or even replace a tablet. If you search for tablet from reputable companies, the ricing is in the ball park of his little device, but they do nt have a keyboard, mouse, or clam shell design to protect the unit.
Now that is straight and we have defined the device lets talk hardware, the processor gets the job done, it won't be the firs to finish processes but it does its job well and with out excess heat, mind you it accomplishes this with no fan. Screen is comfortable to look at and doesn't hurt your eyes, blacks are dark the letters are crisp. It's y no means a 4K screen but it's no slouch. the mouse pad is very nice, multi touch and turns off when typing so you're not clicking all over the screen, the mouse does work on android apps as well. Speaking of screens the touch on the is nice. it seems to touch where i am aiming regardless of android or chrome apps. Sound is adequate, the definition isn't the best but it's far better than the micro speakers in most tablets. the volume is acceptable for low noise areas but if the plan is to use the device as a dj station get some BT speakers, (i recommend the JBL charge 2+). Battey life is as little as 7 hours with full brightness, max volume, BT, wireless and processor all running.
It appears (I am unsure as I have not managed to kill the battery fully with normal use) that the battery will give you 9-12 hours of surfing the web with screen brightness low, BT off and music set to a reasonable level. Other features are 2 USB ports, it will recognize and work with a USB lan adapter (I tested with a Linksys etherfast 10/100 model USB100m), the flip recognized and connected instantly. This also has an HDMI micro port, and MicroSD. It's important to note the MicroSD at this time does not allow the install of programs to it.
Are you still reading? Yes AWESOME! so who is this for, this is perfect for someone who wants a android tablet and a external keyboard. IF you are concerned between the 2 or 4 GB of ram unit then just wait for the 4GB. Today it is likely more than is needed but with Android coming to Chrome, you will want it later on.
Review By EDL_Photographic
My title at work is Technology Architect. I have experience with Apple Mac, Windows PC, Android, Linux PC, Chromebook, Solaris PC, and various enterprise computer solutions. This may be more technical than most people want.
TL;DR/BLUF This thing will do everything your PC will do. And the battery lasts longer.
Details
* The body of this device is well built, the case is all metal. The only plastic is surrounding the hinge.
* I forget to plug this in all the time. I am using it all the time and it will easily last a work day for me.
* The Keyboard is a chiclet style which I love. It is a bit small for my fingers, but not overly uncomfortable. When it is in tablet mode it is disabled which is a nice feature. And an onscreen keyboard is available. the key presses are the right depth and response. It is not easy to get hair in between the keys.
* The screen is glass. I can see the screen all the way to 180 degrees. I have hairy pets and the screen collects fur almost as much as my couch. It also collects fingerprints because it is a capacitive touch screen. The touch screen has been very responsive. However, hitting the small little X to close a tab in chrome with my big fingers does not always work.
* Touchpad is responsive, but not too responsive. On the ASUS T100 hovering my thumbs over the keyboard caused mouse movements. That does not happen with this device. The multifunctions work well. Duel fingers for right clicking etc.
* I rarely use this as a tablet, but the function is there and the OS flips smoothly.
* Office tools I use the google tools found in the store. While on the plane or in places with not internet I use the offline mode which allows me to continue to work. And then I can share the documents easily with drive. Once I got used to this workflow I never want to go back to endlessly emailing documents back and forth.
* Citrix is able to be installed and I am able to use both Virtual Applications and Virtual Desktops. This means I can access all the applications and desktops that my company and the companies I advise provide me to work in their environments.
* VMware I have not tested this fully. I have just gotten it installed and will be testing with the new client that uses VMWare for virtualization
* Azure. Haven't test. I will for Ignite in the Spring.
* Kindle Since I travel a lot I like to read on the flights. I usually get a book for the trip. And the Kindle app works great even when there is no wifi on the flight. I haven't tested the google books app yet, because I really like Amazon's book system.
* ChromeOS The Chrome OS is simple to get used too. They have kept it similar to Windows. One thing I'm not sure I like or understand is only having apps on the taskbar and not on the desktop screen. I firmly believe this OS is one to watch. Most likely the new OS for Enterprise environments. Oh yeah I am on the google canary versions so I get to play with the latest OS versions. It is easy to setup. And I don't experience too many crashes.
* I have a network cable to USB adapter that I use to connect to wired internet access. Works great.
* I have a USB to serial adapter that I use to connect to console ports on Cisco routers and switches that works great with the Beagle app to administer network devices.
* I have google fiber and the built in AC wifi card will not give me full speed. I think this is a software restriction. Ping is 2mbs down is 155mbs up is 160mbs. On 5 ghz its range is about 15 ft. on 2.4 ghz it is considerably more. It is easy to proxy many easy to access features in the WIfi interface. I haven't tried changing the MAC address yet. May have to do that.
* I use google music with a bluetooth headset to listen to music and books to drown out the other cubes at work. I also connect my phone and my phones headset. I use Airdroid to control the phone and make phone calls. The pairing is easy to do. takes a couple of clicks to turn on and off. I keep it off when not in use for security reasons. The range is around 50 meters.
* Since my old profession as Photographer is now my hobby, I want to be able to edit photos. The built in gallery tool is OK. But the Polarr app is very very good. It can do almost the same as photoshop and gimp. There is also Pixl webversion. But I'm not as big of a fan. It is missing software that works like Lightroom. I am still learning things. It may be able to do it.
* Since I really like linux, I setup Kali Linux on Crouton on a micro-sdcard in the built in micro-sdcard slot. TF-card for those outside the US. The first time I did it, I used a slower 64gb card. It worked, but it had weird delays. The Lexar micro-sdcard 10 with the faster read writes fixed that.I also used the crouton extension and switching from chromeos to Kali is easy. One problem I did run into was adding external wifi cards. The Alfa AWUSO36NHA and the TP722 are not recognized. I haven't solved that problem yet.
* Chromecasting does work. Both on the new and old chromecast. But don't use those regularly. add the extension for the browser and away you go.
* an add on for ssh is there.
* ctl+alt+t gets a crosh shell which is good only to get to shell which is enabled in developer mode. Google developer mode to see if you want that.
* The Rockchip cpu is great. I've used it in the past.
* HDMI to VGA adapter works great with external montiors, projectors, and TV's.
* I highly recommend the 4 gb ram version.
* One drawback to the keyboard is that it is not backlit and that sucks surfing the web at night
* One really nice thing, is that once things are signed in all the google stuff integrates and pulls everything you setup with google. You don't have to spend days installing things that were setup on old workstations. Google takes care of that for you. Granted there is a price for that. The price is privacy. Google keeps track of everything. So far Google has a been a good steward of our data; so I am trusting.
* Mentioned a lot of technical stuff that this Chromebook can do because people think that is only able to connect to the internet and good for surfing the web. It does that ,and does that extremely well. But I wanted to point out that it is a fully functioning PC that can replace any PC out there. As a matter of fact, it will replace most PC's eventually.
