A look at Samsung's Series 5 550 Chromebook

Indeed, the name "Chromebook" comes from the fact that the laptop is running the so-called Chrome OS - basically an embedded version of Google's Chrome Web browser. If you've used the Chrome browser on Windows or Mac, you know that it asks you to log in, and then it syncs your bookmarks, Google identity, Google Docs, and Google Drive files. The Chromebook works the same way, except there's no way out of that browser. Apps can run on a Chromebook, but they're Web apps; they load through the browser.

That's not to say the Chromebook can't do anything offline: it can read files and play movies and music anytime. And Chrome OS has gotten better at file compatibility PowerPoint, Word docs, Excel files, ZIP files, and PDFs all load well and look great. You can't edit documents without first uploading to Google Docs, though. Photos can be viewed and even lightly edited with brightness and contrast adjustments, rotation, and cropping. The files can be resaved or uploaded to Picasa.

Our experience with the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook last year left us underwhelmed: it had smoothly running hardware and a clean operating system, but with such a limited set of uses compared with Windows, a high sticker price of over $400, and the requirement of being online to use most apps like Google Docs, the Chromebook didn't add up to a logical choice for anyone other than a Google cloud devotee. A year later, the new Samsung Chromebook Series 5 550 has slightly improved hardware and improved Chrome OS software, but its price - a whopping $449, or $549 with a Verizon 3G wireless antenna - is flat-out crazy.

Here's the biggest problem with the Chromebook: the hardware's fine, and the simplified Web-based OS is clever, and even versatile if you don't mind its limitations. Still, it's a radically reduced subset of what you can get on a Windows or Mac laptop...or even an iPad or Android tablet, for that matter. Yet, it costs more than a new iPad 2, a thinner, keyboard-enabled Android tablet like the Asus Transformer Pad, or a fully featured 11-inch ultraportable laptop like the AMD-powered HP dm1z. If the Chromebook were $99, this could have been a revolutionary product. As it currently stands, it's merely an invitation to pay a lot of money to be part of a Google experiment.

Asus Promotion with Teases Transformer Video Technology

Asus Teases Transformer Technology in Video for Computex 2012. Computer maker Asus has released a YouTube teaser video for its Transformer family of products, though the video offers few hints at to what sort of Transformer offerings it is preparing us for, save for a vague refererence to “the shape of the cloud”, which the video describes as “ever-changing beyond time and boundaries. This has led to some speculation that the company is preparing to launch a cloud-based storage or file synching service during the Computex 2012 conference in Taipei.

The video may also be related to new hardware in the company’s Transformers line of Android-based tablets, or perhaps a Transformer tablet running Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system. At the end of the video, which half-mimics the music and visuals of a Hollywood blockbuster’s teaser trailer (complete with gravelly-voiced narrator) Asus suggests further announcements will be made on May 31, in advance of the conference, which runs from June 5 to June 9. Three additional videos are in the works, judging by a landing page for the video on Techinstyle.tv.

While the company is playing coy at the moment, Asus has yet to reveal release dates for its Eee Pad Transformer Infinity, first shown back in February at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) convention in Barcelona, or the PadFone, an Android device that snaps inside a PadFone Station tablet, also first shown at MWC. The next three videos may give viewers a bigger clue as to what Asus is up to.

The PadFone features a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S processor, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a front-facing camera and a quarter-high-definition (qHD) 960 by 540 Super AMOLED (active-matrix organic LED) display with a capacitive multi-touch panel and Gorilla Glass. The PadFone was expected to begin shipping in April, but pricing and other details have not yet been revealed. The Infinity is a cross-platform combination of tablet and notebook, which features full QWERTY keyboard dock and a high-definition touchscreen tablet component.

As it focuses more attention and resources on tablet devices, Asus is reportedly planning to streamline its family of notebooks and netbooks in 2012, consolidating the number of computer models it offers (Asus has around 50 notebook designs), such as the Eee PC line, which will be cut down to five models from 10 models. Meanwhile, a report last week from Taiwanese tech news publication DigiTimes sent the rumor mill into high gear with news that Google and Asus are working on a 7-inch tablet for release in July, with an initial shipment of 600,000 units starting in June, according to unnamed sources “in the supply chain”. The tablet would certainly run on the latest version of Google’s open-source Android operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, or the upcoming operating system, "Jelly Bean."

Review: Asus All-in-One PC ET2700INKS

The good: The Asus ET2700I is unique for its 27-inch display, a fast Core i7 GPU, and a discrete Nvidia graphics chip.
The bad: Like other 27-inch Windows all-in-ones, the Asus' 1080p resolution hurts its appeal next to the higher-resolution 27-inch iMac.
The bottom line: The Asus ET2700I will meet the needs of anyone searching for a fast, large-screen all-in-one for mainstream home entertainment and general-purpose productivity.

Review: Asus All-in-One PC ET2700INKS

HP debuted the first 27-inch Windows all-in-one earlier this year. Now Asus follows suit with its ET2700I. Like HP, Asus charges a reasonable premium for its large display, asking $1,399 for a system that might otherwise cost around $1,000 with the same components and a 24-inch LCD. None of these 27-inchers has the same high resolution as Apple's large iMacs, making them a better fit as home entertainment PCs than productivity workstations. Should you choose the Asus system over the HP? If overall performance and budget gaming capability are important to you, yes.

Asus offers a few different versions of the 27-inch ET2700I. This one is the most expensive, thanks to its Core i7 CPU, a discrete Nvidia graphics card, a Blu-ray drive and a standalone subwoofer unit that plugs into the side of the system.

I haven't seen an all-in-one with a breakout subwoofer before. It seems like a reasonable way to differentiate the system, but the effort is marred by underpowered hardware. Asus sends power and the audio signal to the sub via a single audio cable. The unit provides a slight boost to the bass output, but even at max volume and all of the various software effects enabled, the audio isn't what you would call room-filling. At the higher volume levels, the output also lost some integrity.

Cheap subwoofer aside, the 27-inch screen is the highlight of the ET2700I. The resolution tops out at 1,920x1,080 pixels. That's plenty for most non-professional users, and movies, games, and other media content will look great. You might be disappointed if you want a giant screen to cram full of open windows for multitasking. Professional digital image editors and others will also likely prefer the 27-inch iMac's denser 2,560x1,440-pixel resolution.

Also note that the ET2700I does not have a touch screen. Multiple PC vendors have told me that getting touch on a 27-inch display is prohibitively expensive. That didn't stop Lenovo and others from exhibiting touch-enabled 27-inchers at this year's CES, but whether those systems actually come to market here in the United States is another question.

It's worth noting that without touch, upgrading to Windows 8 later this year might feel rather pointless. How that might factor in to your present-day buying decision depends on what you think of Microsoft's ability to spur the development of compelling touch applications. For this system today, I expect most potential buyers won't find the lack of touch a deal killer. Get the full article >>>