Samsung Chromebook Hits UK Shelves

The Samsung Chromebook Series 5 has arrived on UK shelves Friday, offering UK users the first glimpse of Google’s long awaited Chrome OS.

The 12.1 inch notebook weighs just 3.3-pounds (1.45kg) and measures 11.6 inches wide, 0.8 inches thick and 8.6 inches deep.

Spec wise, it offers a WXGA LCD (1280×800) screen, which is said to be both an anti-reflective and anti-glare display. It also comes with an Intel N570 1.66Ghz Dual Core CPU, a 16GB solid state drive (SSD) for local storage, and 2GB DDR3 RAM.

Quick Boot

It also comes with two USB ports and a four-in-one card reader, as well as an HD webcam. An optional VGA adaptor allows for the connection of a second monitor or TV.

But it is the fact that the device can boot up in just eight seconds (as opposed to a laptop boot time of 45 seconds plus) and it can resume from sleep mode within a second – and has a battery life of 10 hours – that marks it out from other machines seen so far.

And, oh yes, it is also the first machine to offer UK users the chance to play with Google’s Chrome operating system.

This operating system relies heavily on the cloud where users will store the majority of their data and indeed their applications. This could mean the end of the tedious process of having to install local applications, such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Reader etc on your machine.

Hefty Prices

But there are issues, mostly notably price.

The Samsung Chromebook comes in two versions. The Wi-Fi only model will cost £349 whereas the Wi-Fi/3G model will set UK customers back £399. Both models are available online from Amazon.co.uk and PCWorld’s online store.

Once again it seems that we Brits are having to pay substantially more than our American cousins. In the United States the Wi-Fi only model costs $429 (£268), whereas the 3G model costs $499 (£312).

Of course computers and other devices always tends to cost more in the UK than the US, with suppliers often citing higher taxes, higher rents, and exchange rates as the usual excuses.

But for many Brits the £90 price difference between the US and UK will seem galling, and could put them off the device.

Tough Sell

Indeed, some already feel that the Chromebook will not make much impression in the enterprise space, and will struggle to compete against traditional laptops and even tablets.

This is because businesses are unlikely to be enamoured with the Chromebook’s high cost, silent updates and retirement for constant Wi-Fi and 3G access in order to work. After all, businesses and end users also have to factor in the cost of 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity in addition to the hefty purchase cost of the device.

Indeed, Forrester Research is not at all convinced that Chromebooks will tempt users away from the usual diet of laptops or tablets.

“I see the Chromebook as more of a thought experiment than a viable product at this point,” Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps told eWEEK back in May.

She also pointed out that while the Chromebook follows Google’s cloud computing visions, consumers aren’t there yet.