Introduction
First of all, I'd like to thank Google for making this machine free to so many people. Not many vendors (if any) have gone to the trouble to get their machines out to so many people totally free of charge.
Just out of the box...
When I first pulled it out of the box, I was surprised that the machine booted up in around 8-10 seconds. Because I had no network configured yet, I logged in as a guest and attempted to connect to our WPA2 enterprise WiFi at work, but it was unsupported. Next, I noticed there is no Ethernet jack for wired connectivity, so I then attempted several times to connect to Verizon 3g, and after entering my credit card information I received an error screen to call Verizon to continue, and was unable to activate the service. I was finally able to get on an open WiFi and run a software update as the system was running a much older version of Chrome OS. Once updates were completed I was able to easily connect to the WPA2 network. Rockin!
Hardware
While the point of this machine is not the hardware - its the Google Chrome OS that is the star of the show - its hard not to mention it. The flat black finish of the machine is very handsome, the 12" display is just about the perfect size for portability while being easy on the eyes, the keyboard is not too cramped and the weight is perfect for traveling light. However, when comparing to the original Asus EEE PC, lots of I/O ports are missing. The Asus had three USB ports, an Ethernet port and an SD card slot while having only a 7" display. It would have been nice if Google included an extra USB port and an Ethernet port as there is definitely space for it, but this was most likely a cost issue.
Web Surfing
During the first few days of use, I had found that despite the little Atom processor, the machine has a very "snappy" response. I was never presented with an hourglass or found myself waiting. The speed of the Atom only becomes noticeable when several tabs are open with flash content, which is understandable. The fact that this machine even has flash support is awesome. While surfing the web, I did find that the two finger scrolling gesture of the CR-48 needs some serious work; trackpad scrolling is very jumpy and unpredictable.
Google Apps
I soon discovered the Google app store. I found tons of games, utilities, office software, you name it. I found what appeared to be a great app for SSH, but was unable to run it due to lack of Java support. For me, this presents two problems, 1: Google actually allows apps in the app store that the Chrome OS can not run, 2: no Java support. Lack of Java is huge, because there are a large number of games, and applications (especially corporate applications) that require a JVM to run. Google is hoping that the Corporate world will embrace this machine, but without Java, I do not see that happening. I installed many applications, the free Angry Birds, Tetris, and a web based Microsoft office, which is excellent. When attempting to run Google Earth, I hit another wall - Chrome OS is not supported yet. I did however get hooked on one game in
particular, "Entanglement" - a board game where one must manipulate tiles to make the path of a red line as long and tangled as possible, and has a very cool, zen-like soundtrack that seems to help with concentration.
Documents
Documents were one thing I had concerns about when using a browser based machine. Fortunately, there is a Google docs application as well as a free web-based Microsoft office suite. The one issue I had with documents is when downloading from the web, its not possible to go to the file manager and click to open your file - Chrome just does not know what to do with it. Instead of opening your document directly, one must upload the file to their web-based service of their choice. It would be nice if there was better integration here so that the file would automatically be uploaded to Google Docs or Microsoft office.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I really love this laptop. Its would be a great travel alternative to my MacBook, which is much heavier, and far to expensive to risk damage during trips, and Chrome OS could certainly handle my personal travel needs. I find its great for home use too for checking e-mail, surfing the web and playing casual games when I don't want to wait for my MacBook to boot or deal with the smaller screen on my iPhone. I can also do something I have never been able to do with my other machines - leave the house without the battery charger! There are a few flaws though, the lack of Java support is HUGE for me, documents could be better integrated, some Chrome app store apps won't run on the Chrome OS, and the Verizon 3G activation process needs some serious work. A full bash terminal in normal mode would also be nice. Fortunately these issues can all be corrected with software updates which Google frequently releases. In short, this is a great little machine that will only get better with time.
