My Top 10 Reasons To Buy a Chromebook

Much has been written about the reasons to own a Chromebook.  There are many.  I bought my first Chromebook at the end of 2014 (it's an Acer C720 and you can read my review here).  However, I spent a long time researching these mini powerhouses before I took the plunge.  My one regret is that I didn't do it sooner.

With, on average, 2Gb RAM and a 16Gb solid state drive, not only is a Chromebook easy to use, but it's quite fast too.

So, what does a Chromebook have to offer that makes it a must-have?

1. Living In The Cloud
We all, well most of us anyway, spends 90-95% of our time online.  That's it, we use the internet for most of what we do, and rarely install applications.  If this is you, then a Chromebook will be just the ticket.

2. Relatively Cheap
Unless you're doing graphic design, you don't need a £1000 MacBook, or an £800 Windows laptop.  You don't even need a £400 laptop.  The Acer cost me £180.

3.  No Software Licence Costs
Microsoft are well known for their licence costs, and whilst they do offer cut-down versions from free; with a Chromebook you get access to the full suite of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides included, as well as all the updates...

4.  Talking of Updates
ChromeOS (the operating system on the Chromebook) is updated for Free, on regular cycles.  This means that whenever new functionality is made available, it's delivered to you fast and free.  Plus - software updates on a Chromebook are so quick, you probably won't even notice.

5. Virus Free
Getting caught by a virus is practically unheard of with a Chromebook. So, no anti-virus software to slow you down.

6.  Simple Set Up
When I bought my Chromebook, it was out of the box, powered up and ready to go in less than 10 minutes.  All you need is a Google account and you're done.  If you've already been using Chrome as a browser, then your browser settings are synchronised automatically.

7.  Great Battery Life
My last laptop would be good if it lasted more than 3 hours without needing a charge.  My Chromebook has lasted me a whopping 8 hours away from the plug socket.  Chromebooks are renowned for their battery life

8. Offline Access
One point that people make is "sounds good, but you need to be connected to the internet for it to work".  That isn't strictly true.  There are many apps that work offline, including Docs etc, and even Gmail has an offline counterpart.  When re-connected, everything syncs automatically.

9. Easy to Replace
With most of your documents and photos in the cloud, should anything drastic happen to your Chromebook, it's simple enough to replace.  Turn on, log in and everything* is there.  Magic!

*Everything that's in the cloud - any locally stored documents might be lost!

10.  Chromebooks in the Market
Most manufacturers have entered the Chromebook market, from Acer to HP, and Dell to Samsung - so with 1080p screens, others with larger screens, ALL of them run the same version of ChromeOS (although you can choose from 3 flavours - Developer, Beta or Stable)

As I mentioned at the beginning; I've been using a Chromebook for personal and business use since December.  My Windows laptop is gathering dust.

There really is no reason not to think about a Chromebook as your next portable laptop device.

Do you agree with my reasons?  What were your reasons for buying a Chromebook?