Chromebooks still aren't for everyone: There will always be people who need stronger performance. Who need full offline access. Who need to install Skype. If that's you, no Chromebook will do, even if it is wrapped in fake leather. For a certain kind of customer, though -- schools, students on a budget, a traveler in need of a lighter laptop -- Chrome OS could be compelling. Those people need a sturdy keyboard for typing, but can get by doing almost everything online. If that's you, we recommend the Samsung Chromebook 2 over everything else in its class. Yes, it's pricier than its rivals, but for the money you get a sharp screen, a premium-looking design, long battery life and a keyboard-trackpad combo so good even "regular" PC makers should take note. At $400, it doesn't feel like a netbook; it feels like a proper laptop. And we dare say, it's nicer than any Windows notebook you'll find at this price. Keep that in mind the next time you're perusing the budget shelf at Best Buy.
It's easy to make fun of Samsung for its apparent leather fetish. I mean, if I wore pleather with everything, you'd laugh at me, too. But, as they say, don't knock it till you try it. Aside from the corny "stitches" lining the perimeter of the lid, the fake leather (available in gray only on the 13-inch model) actually gives the device a premium feel. That's partly because of the resemblance to real leather, but there's something else at work, too: The textured material does a good job masking fingerprints. Scratches, too. Even now that I've been using it a week, the machine still looks fresh. Not bad for a laptop that only costs $320.
Of course, your opinion might change once you flip the machine over. Whereas the lid has been done up to look like a car seat, the bottom is made of plain gray plastic. Not that there's anything wrong with that; plenty of pricier PCs are made of this stuff. It's just that the pleather and plastic look mismatched, especially since the underside is more prone to picking up finger grease. Oh well. Not a big deal -- it's not like you have to look at the bottom that often, right?
Lift the lid and the Chromebook 2 looks like other recent Samsung laptops -- save for the Chrome OS hotkeys, of course. That same gray plastic clothes the palm rest, keyboard deck and bezels, with few embellishments, except for some subtle chrome trim around the trackpad. It's not fancy, but it doesn't look cheap, either. That's the most you can ask for at this price, really.
In-hand, the Chromebook 2 is about as heavy as a 13-inch Ultrabook, which is to say it weighs around three pounds (3.06, to be precise). As a bonus, it's noticeably thinner and lighter than the Toshiba CB30 Chromebook, one of the only other 13-inch Chrome OS devices available right now. That guy comes in at 3.3 pounds and 0.8 inch thick, compared with 0.65 inch for Samsung's model.
Sometimes, though, the Chromebook 2 feels heavy for what it is: a laptop with a browser for an OS. If it can't do as much as a proper Ultrabook, it probably shouldn't weigh as much, right? The thing is, that's not really a fair comparison. For one, 13-inch Ultrabooks cost way more. In fact, you'll be hard-pressed to find a Windows laptop at this size and this price that's this well-made (or has this nice a screen). And while a tablet would weigh less, you'd be stuck with an inferior typing experience (because let's not pretend keyboard cases are the real thing). It's all about your priorities, I suppose. That said, if you're bothered by the weight here, you should look into the 11-inch Chromebook 2; that weighs 2.65 pounds.
Whichever version you get -- the 11- or 13-incher -- the selection of ports will be the same. On board, there are two USB connections (one 3.0, the other 2.0), a full-sized HDMI socket, a headphone jack, a standard lock slot and a microSD reader to complement the industry-standard 16GB of storage. Like all Chromebooks, this one comes with 100GB of Google Drive space, so perhaps local storage will be a moot point. That said, the microSD slot thing is a bit of a shame, because it means you can't insert the full-sized memory card you might be using in your standalone camera. If you've gotten used to taking shots on a phone or tablet, though, being able to swap in a microSD card could actually be a convenient setup.
I've got some good news and bad news. On one hand, the Samsung Chromebook 2 has a full HD, 1,920 x 1,080 display, making it sharper than most other Chrome OS devices (not to mention my aging MacBook Air). And that's not just me reciting the spec sheet: The screen is noticeably sharper than other 13-inch laptops, especially those you're likely to find in this price range. It's great if you're streaming movies; it's great if you want to browse photos; it's great if you want to see more of your Gmail inbox on the screen at one time. Basically, it's great all the time.
The problem is that while the pixel count has improved, the quality of the screen still has a ways to go. The LED panel doesn't make use of any wide-angle viewing technology, which means you'll have to fiddle with the screen position to get the white balance right. Tilt the display forward even a little and the colors will start to wash out, making on-screen text harder to read. (This can be an especially big challenge if you're typing with the machine in your lap.) Thankfully, viewing angles are a bit better from the sides, so you could, if you wanted, have a Netflix-viewing party with a couple friends. In any case, the viewing angles aren't much better on competing devices, so perhaps this is all a moot point.
On a positive note, the screen is brighter than on the last-gen model: 250 nits, up from 200. As it is, the screen has a near-matte, anti-glare finish that cuts down on reflections, but you'll notice even fewer artifacts if you bump up the brightness. For me, this came in handy when I was working near a window, with lots of natural light pouring in; in situations like that, I needed all the backlight I could get. Same goes if you find yourself working outside on a patio (lucky you!). My only warning -- and this goes without saying -- is that the higher brightness setting drains the battery faster. At max brightness, for instance, the battery-life tray said I had 88 percent, or three and a half hours, left. With more moderate brightness settings, an 88 percent charge would actually mean I had nearly seven hours remaining.
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