Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Pros: Terrific IPS screen Boots from full off to logon screen in seconds Snappy performance for its specs Drop dead simple to use Lots of useful apps Cons: Low end keyboard and mouse Tinny speakers Limited storage Can't run Windows x86 programs Printing documents is a challenge Feedback between monitor and USB mouse Other thoughts: We're a Windows PC household, with three desktops I built and a couple of portables, so I'm comfortable around computers. I've also had Apple computers in the past, starting with the Apple IIe in the 80s and ending with a Mac Mini a few years ago. I have to say the Chromebase is the easiest computer I've ever set up. It is also a very nice looking unit, something of an iMac lookalike due to the stand, although definitely not the same build quality. The Chromebase is all plastic construction, to be expected at this price point, but nicely executed. The keyboard and mouse are budget items but I found typing on the keyboard to be pleasant enough, with good tactile response and key travel; not bad at all for a membrane keyboard. The mouse is a cheap, lightweight thing, but it gets the job done. The money you're paying is for the monitor. It's a very nice, full HD IPS screen that looks terrific. This is not your father's netbook screen. There is some assembly required but it's well documented and simple, just six screws to mount the computer to the stand. Then all I had to do was connect the mouse, keyboard, Ethernet cable, and power. As soon as I plugged in the power the computer booted to the logon screen in just seconds. There was a brief, optional tutorial on the screen after logging on and then I was up and running. We network in our house using powerline adapters, and I hooked the Chromebase up to an adapter during setup for internet connectivity, then later went online with wireless to see how well that worked. No problems with either mode, they both worked as they should. After logging on to wireless the first time the system will automatically default to that if the wired Ethernet is disconnected. I tried all the programs that would be important to me if I didn't care about AAA gaming or fancy image editing programs. I tested Gmail, Netflix, web searches with Google using Chrome, Outlook.com, Pandora, and a bunch of others, and everything worked just as it was supposed to with no hassle. Netflix movies, for example, stream nicely with no stuttering. I especially liked that I can open the Outlook Web App (OWA) to access my work email. High-end gaming is not an option on this device but performance is surprisingly good considering the specs. I tried a couple of the free games in the app store, like Bejeweled, and they ran fine. I didn't experience any noticeable lags or slowdowns, but be aware that with only 2GB of RAM you won't be able to do any serious multitasking. I also tried multimedia files to see how they would play. I ripped one of my movies to .mv4 format on my Windows desktop and transferred it to a 3.0 USB stick, then launched the movie on the Chromebase. It played flawlessly with adequate volume, as did .mp3 music files. Speaking of volume, you can set it using both the screen menu arrows and the keyboard's dedicated volume keys. I noticed that if I had the volume set to 100% using the screen menu there was an intermittent, high-pitched, quiet but noticeable squeal that sounded like a hardware feedback loop. Interestingly, the noise would occur when I moved the mouse. I found that if I lowered the onscreen volume to about 65% the noise went away (or was so low I couldn't hear it), even when I maxed out the volume using the keyboard. I experimented with another USB mouse and got the same results. Then I tried two different wireless mice, one Bluetooth and the other RF. Neither produced the squeal and they worked just fine with all volumes set to max. The moral of the story: if you get one of these plan on investing in a wireless mouse. Oh, and don't expect much from the speakers, they sound like what you would typically get on a laptop, with no bass to speak of. Sound is greatly improved when using headphones or external powered speakers, of course. I was curious to see how Google Docs would handle Office documents so I experimented with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. All three opened up fine from the USB stick but I was not able to edit the PowerPoint file, only view it. Nor could I launch the presentation. One Excel file was a relatively simple one with no fancy charts, but it did have several formulas like autosum which worked as they should. However, a second spreadsheet with objects inserted (checkboxes) wouldn't display the objects. A free app in the store offers a simple workaround if you need more editing power, Word Online, which is bundled with Excel Online and PowerPoint Online, but even Excel Online can't display embedded objects. If you have to create more sophisticated documents you're going to have to use a Windows or Apple PC. While the Google Docs are saved to Google Cloud the Office documents are saved to OneDrive so you'll need an account for that if you want to use the Online Office apps. There is also native support for .pdf files built into the operating system, and all the .pdf files I tested maintained their proper formatting. My other complaint with documents on the Chromebase is how printing is handled. You have to either buy a printer that is "Cloud Ready" or connect to a Windows PC that has a "Classic" printer attached to it. This solution will be workable if you're using the Chromebase in a household that already has Windows PCs like mine but it won't work for households that just want one simple computer to handle basic computing needs. For those households it's either buy a "Cloud Ready" printer or don't print at all. I was curious to see if the USB 3.0 port on the side of the monitor (there also are three USB 2.0 ports in the back) could power something bigger than a thumb drive so I hooked up a USB 3.0, 500GB Seagate external drive. It took only a moment to launch, and all of the files stored on it were accessible. In addition to the ones I mentioned earlier I was also able to view .bmp and .jpg image files. By the way, I found a "File" app preinstalled that takes me right to the file tree; very easy to navigate if you need to go there. I've been using the Chromebase exclusively since I got it while my Windows desktop sits idle, and I have to say that all-in-all this is a very nice unit. I'm giving it 4 stars even though it isn't perfect, simply because you're getting so much value for the money. I would have given it a perfect score if it hadn't been for the feedback problem between the monitor and the mouse and the difficulty with printing and handling of some documents. Frankly, I think this computer excels at its intended use and price point.