Macbook Air vs Chromebook...which is for me?

gino_76ph

Hi. I am looking to replace my ageing 2011 Macbook Air with a brand new 2014 Chromebook. They are becoming more popular not just because they are cheap but because of their simplicity and ease of use (much easier i heard than a Mac) but my questions are related to what i normally do (and expect) of my Macbook which i got because of the OS being more simplier and easy to use than a Windows laptop.
(1) Can I send files via bluetooth from my Android phone to a Chromebook and save it on the hard drive?

(2) Can I save files from my camera's microSD card to a Chromebook and save it on the HDD?

(3) I like downloading lon the internet via Torrent sites. Is a Chromebook capable of doing that similar to what a Macbook Air can do?

(4) Can I save documents written via Google Drive (or similar third-party apps) on the HDD for future use/reference?

(5) Is there a Google Voice Search on a Chromebook much like an Android tablet?

(6) Is there voice typing commands on a Chromebook?

(7) Can I do wireless printing on my Chromebook to my HP wifi/wireless printer? How easy is it to connect a Chromebook to a wireless printer?

(8) I noticed Chromebook are very limited in storage. I feel 16GB might be not enough with my other big files such as Flac music albums or MKV movies. Is there a cloud storage I can safely & securely “store” them so I can access them anytime and anywhere?

(9) Would it matter if I get an Intel Celeron, Haswell or an Exynos processor Chromebook? Very limited availability in PCWORLD.

(10) When i connect a hard drive where does it actually show or how can i find my files from the "desktop" or the Chromebook? Is there a file manager or Finder like the Macbook?

(11) Can i organise files & apps on a Chromebook (and clump them into categories) much like what you can do on an iOS or Android phone?

Please advice. Thanks.

swvillafan

Anything wrong with your MacBook?

gino_76ph

I'm renting it and ill be taking it back to the insurance company this coming May. When i took it 2 years ago the amount i'm paying or would have paid till this May will be at least £800 more than what i would have paid for a Macbook then. Yes i know ...very expensive. I was "enticed" to take an insurance because of the "support" i will get if something goes wrong with it, etc.

And if i can do most things on a Chromebook then i might as well buy one. I'm mostly online with my Mac anyway and it stays at home 99% of the time.

John259

Sorry I don't know enough to answer your questions in detail but the fundamental concept of Chromebooks is that only the operating system is stored locally. All programs and data are stored remotely on Google's servers.

I believe you can continue to edit an open document if a Chromebook loses connection to the Internet, then the changes are uploaded once connection is restored.

There are couple of other problems: screen sizes are still only fairly small at the moment (max 13" I think), and you can't print to a normal printer unless you go via a Windows PC.

This Wikipedia article might be worth a look:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromebook

Google have an official help facility for Chromebooks here:
https://support.google.com/chromebook/#topic=3399709

While Chromebooks are a good choice for people with simple computing requirements, I suspect they probably won't do everything you want.

almillar

Chromebooks can do more and more since launch, and you can store anything you like locally. Limiting factor is that you've often got a small SSD instead of an HDD.
I don't have one, but I'll tackle gino's questions:
(1) Can I send files via bluetooth from my Android phone to a Chromebook and save it on the hard drive?
Yes - if the Chromebook has Bluetooth
(2) Can I save files from my camera's microSD card to a Chromebook and save it on the HDD?
Yes - if the Chromebook has the right card reader. Remember you might be short on space though.
(3) I like downloading lon the internet via Torrent sites. Is a Chromebook capable of doing that similar to what a Macbook Air can do?
Again, you'll be short on space if you buy one with a small SSD, but run Chrome the web browser on your current computer, and you'll find stacks of apps - see if any of these are any good for what you want.
(4) Can I save documents written via Google Drive (or similar third-party apps) on the HDD for future use/reference?
Yes. You can do this on any other computer too.
(5) Is there a Google Voice Search on a Chromebook much like an Android tablet?
Err... they've just added this to the Chrome browser, so there's a good chance that if it's not on Chromebook yet, it'll get there soon, depending on your specific Chromebook being supported.
(6) Is there voice typing commands on a Chromebook?
Don't know.
(7) Can I do wireless printing on my Chromebook to my HP wifi/wireless printer? How easy is it to connect a Chromebook to a wireless printer?
No idea, you don't mention what model the printer is.
(8) I noticed Chromebook are very limited in storage. I feel 16GB might be not enough with my other big files such as Flac music albums or MKV movies. Is there a cloud storage I can safely & securely “store” them so I can access them anytime and anywhere?
If you're actually thinking seriously about one of these, you'll be leaning pretty heavily on Google Drive. Familiarise yourself with it! I'd have to say that if you want stacks of storage and do lots of file management, you'd want a real laptop. Chromebooks are for people sitting looking at a big heavy laptop thinking 'I don't need this, just for surfing the web'.
(9) Would it matter if I get an Intel Celeron, Haswell or an Exynos processor Chromebook? Very limited availability in PCWORLD.
Yes it would matter. Have a look at engadget.com or similar and read some reviews of the different Chromebooks. There are different sizes, different processors, different storage options, and you need to find what suits you. Many of them are cheapo laptop spec.
(10) When i connect a hard drive where does it actually show or how can i find my files from the "desktop" or the Chromebook? Is there a file manager or Finder like the Macbook?
Desktop I think. There is a file manager, maybe a bit basic.
(11) Can i organise files & apps on a Chromebook (and clump them into categories) much like what you can do on an iOS or Android phone?
Yes, not exactly the same.

gino_76ph

I managed to connect my Galaxy S3 with a Chromebook in-store (PC World albeit on demo mode) but i cannot transfer files such as photos to it for some reason.
If i'm too concerned with saving files on to the Chromebook's SDD would it be much practical to just save them (and organise them) all on Google Drive? Currently i have at least 10GB-ish of mixed files of photos, odd .mp3 files and .doc documents on my Mac.
My printer is HP Photosmart 5510 which in my current setup with my Macbook it can do wireless printing. Can the CB do that as well?
I'm slowly getting familair with the different Chromebooks out there and i noticed that not all have super high-powered innards because i believe the CB doesn't need a lot of power anyway to run. The one i'm looking at is the Acer C720 and the new Toshiba 13.3" which are both Haswell-powered and within my budget and spec requirements. Those two are alright arent' they?

macman

I'd say that this is about budget. Spec vs spec, a MacBook Air is far the better device, but the cheapest is £849. I have a 11 inch Chromebook Acer C720, which cost me £219. Buy it from JL and you get the 2nd year warranty included. The Macbook is undeniably better, but it's not 4 times better.
The main Chrome OS restrictions offline are an inability to create or edit spreadsheets: both email and word docs can be worked on offline, as long as you're OK with Google Docs converting from MS Office.
As a very lightweight small business and leisure laptop I'm very happy with it; the only slight annoyance is that it doesn't run Skype-but then I can do that via my smartphone instead if needed.
I chose this over a 10 inch tablet, because after some research I decided that I wanted a real keyboard.
OP, you can use Google Cloud Print to connect to the printers on your network.