Chrome Book or Vizio 15.6" Notebook?

I'm deciding if I want to jump completely into the cloud by getting one of the new Chrome Books or going with the new Vizio notebooks, which is about $1,200. The price difference is about $700. I don't really play games on a laptop (I have my desktop for that) but not having a traditional notebook is the reason I'm hedging. Does anyone own a Chrome Book yet?

I tried one out in SFO a while back. Not bad and really fast booting but if you're not online you can't even start it. So if there's a chance you'll want to use it without connectivity then go for the Vizio.

Chromebooks come built in with 3G connectivity.

Edwin wrote:

Chromebooks come built in with 3G connectivity.

The one I saw was Wi-Fi only. It was a late Beta, though. Good to hear they've added 3G

I ended up going with the Chromebook. I think everything will be going that direction anyway and I won't be playing games on it.

Sweet, let us know how you like it. I thought about it but there are still a few Windows programs I'd rather not try to switch away from.

I just got a chromebook yesterday. I didn't get one of the newest models, and I did get the wifi only, but so far I love it.

It's fast and elegant, and as expected, it integrates perfectly with Google. I use Google for pretty much everything (mail, pics, music, docs, drive, etc), so it was an easy decision for me. Plus, we already have a desktop for the heavy lifting and gaming, and the wife has a more traditional notebook.

I have to say, my favorite thing about this so far is the trackpad. This is the first laptop-type device I've ever used that I didn't immediately want to hook up a mouse. The multi-touch stuff just works so well. Two finger click to right-click, two fingers to scroll, etc.

I haven't really spent too much time checking out all of the available apps. Mostly I just wanted this for quick and simple online stuff, and it fills that purpose perfectly. And the fact that I can log out and let my wife log in with her Google account and immediately have access to all of her mail, bookmarks, etc is just an added bonus.

I got my Chromebook but Netflix and Amazon streaming are not working. So, that kind of sucks.

Netflix seems to work on mine only if I start it from the app-thing, not if I go directly to www.netflix.com. I can't tell why there would be a difference as it seems like the app just takes you to the website, but there it is.

Sheazy wrote:

Netflix seems to work on mine only if I start it from the app-thing, not if I go directly to www.netflix.com. I can't tell why there would be a difference as it seems like the app just takes you to the website, but there it is.

I've tried it both ways and I keep getting an error that the video isn't available for streaming.

Doh! It worked from the app this time.

Ulairi wrote:
Sheazy wrote:

Netflix seems to work on mine only if I start it from the app-thing, not if I go directly to www.netflix.com. I can't tell why there would be a difference as it seems like the app just takes you to the website, but there it is.

I've tried it both ways and I keep getting an error that the video isn't available for streaming.

Doh! It worked from the app this time.

Yeah, definitely strange.

Have you found any good apps in the web store? Games or otherwise? Mostly, I just have Google apps so far, but haven't spent too much time looking for anything else yet.

Sheazy wrote:
Ulairi wrote:
Sheazy wrote:

Netflix seems to work on mine only if I start it from the app-thing, not if I go directly to www.netflix.com. I can't tell why there would be a difference as it seems like the app just takes you to the website, but there it is.

I've tried it both ways and I keep getting an error that the video isn't available for streaming.

Doh! It worked from the app this time.

Yeah, definitely strange.

That's probably because the browser version of Netflix uses Microsoft's Silverlight tech.

It is really iffy if Netflix works. Even when I always go through the app it still gives me the error quite often. IF they are going to start selling these things in Best Buy, they need to get the user experience for things like Netflix to work perfectly, every time, to make the leap easier.

Ulairi wrote:

It is really iffy if Netflix works. Even when I always go through the app it still gives me the error quite often. IF they are going to start selling these things in Best Buy, they need to get the user experience for things like Netflix to work perfectly, every time, to make the leap easier.

That sure is weird. I've used the WP7, iOS, Playstation, and Wii versions of the Netflix app, and all have worked pretty well. I have not used the Android version. I wonder if it has issues too. I would have thought the Chrome Book app would be pretty much the same thing.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
Ulairi wrote:

It is really iffy if Netflix works. Even when I always go through the app it still gives me the error quite often. IF they are going to start selling these things in Best Buy, they need to get the user experience for things like Netflix to work perfectly, every time, to make the leap easier.

That sure is weird. I've used the WP7, iOS, Playstation, and Wii versions of the Netflix app, and all have worked pretty well. I have not used the Android version. I wonder if it has issues too. I would have thought the Chrome Book app would be pretty much the same thing.

Works great on my Android phone. It's a Chromebook isue it seems.

Sheazy wrote:

I just got a chromebook yesterday. I didn't get one of the newest models, and I did get the wifi only, but so far I love it.

It's fast and elegant, and as expected, it integrates perfectly with Google. I use Google for pretty much everything (mail, pics, music, docs, drive, etc), so it was an easy decision for me. Plus, we already have a desktop for the heavy lifting and gaming, and the wife has a more traditional notebook.

I have to say, my favorite thing about this so far is the trackpad. This is the first laptop-type device I've ever used that I didn't immediately want to hook up a mouse. The multi-touch stuff just works so well. Two finger click to right-click, two fingers to scroll, etc.

I haven't really spent too much time checking out all of the available apps. Mostly I just wanted this for quick and simple online stuff, and it fills that purpose perfectly. And the fact that I can log out and let my wife log in with her Google account and immediately have access to all of her mail, bookmarks, etc is just an added bonus.

Have you used a mac trackpad, on either a newer macbook or the stand alone one? I'm wondering if your statement includes them or just windows based trackpads which I agree, are almost all crap but getting better. I've not used the chromebook one.

ibdoomed wrote:

Have you used a mac trackpad, on either a newer macbook or the stand alone one? I'm wondering if your statement includes them or just windows based trackpads which I agree, are almost all crap but getting better. I've not used the chromebook one.

I haven't used a mac trackpad for years (maybe 2006?), so my statement really doesn't include them.