There's no denying that a desktop PC is the platonic place to handle a heavy productivity session. That said, no matter how limited a touchpad and tiny display might be, at least the standard laptop offers total software functionality. So, what are the odds that a inexpensive Chromebook would suffice as a workhorse?

The idea of getting piece of work done from a Chromebook seemed unlikely when my editor kickoff asked me most reviewing i. Much to my surprise, a browser-based operating system isn't as boxed in equally I thought information technology would exist, while $200 worth of hardware isn't as underwhelming as I expected for everyday performance.

For our experiment, we picked Asus' Chromebook C202SA based on several factors, merely mainly two of them: price and ruggedness.

Asus Chromebook C202SA-YS02 ($200, 2.65lbs, 11.6 ten 0.ix x 7.9in)

  • 11.6" 1366x768 matte anti-glare display
  • Dual-core Celeron N3060 (Braswell, 2MB enshroud, up to 2.48GHz)
  • Intel Hd Graphics 400 (12 execution units, 320MHz base, 600MHz boost)
  • 4GB DDR3L-1600 SDRAM, soldered
  • 16GB EMMC flash storage, also soldered, no optical bulldoze
  • SD/SDHC/SDXC reader, two USB three.0 ports, HDMI-out
  • 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, WiDi
  • Philharmonic audio jack, Hard disk drive webcam, stereo speakers, mic, light sensor
  • Two-cell 38Whr bombardment that lasts ten+ hours (12 hours isn't unrealistic)
  • Reinforced condom guards, easy grip points, and a spill resistant keyboard
  • Runs Chrome OS just can open up/edit Microsoft Part files many ways

Software

The most obvious shortcoming associated with Chrome Bone is that you're bars to Google's Chrome browser and its ecosystem for the majority of your experience, but this isn't as awful as it sounds for everyday utilize given how centered computing is effectually spider web services today. If cypher else, Chrome Bone is a good match for depression-end hardware such every bit the Celeron in Asus' C202SA, resulting in a snappy arrangement that boots in seconds and wakes from sleep instantly.

Assuming yous can live within the boundaries provided by Chrome OS, the biggest barrier to entry is having to relearn navigation habits. For instance, clicking the time and date in the system tray on Windows opens a small interactive agenda, while on Chrome OS it brings y'all to the system settings with no agenda in sight. Context menus are opened with a two-fingered touch on on Chromebooks instead of using a right click button, and even small habits similar glancing downwards at your instant messenger in the Windows taskbar is different -- now it's in a Chrome tab.

Fortunately, the examples don't go much more than damning than that. Overall, workflow becomes fast after a break-in menstruation that should be relatively brief for the average user because again, most of what you're doing is in the aforementioned window (Chrome), which yous're probably already familiar with navigating.

It likewise helps that shortcuts such as Ctrl+W to close tabs in-browser also work in applications that open exterior of Chrome such as the file explorer and media player, and that the bottom right menus exercise a good task of providing quick access to most of the features immediately available to you on Chrome Os: the ability to sign out or shut down, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth configurations, app notifications, book controls, date, time, battery percentage, settings launcher, etc.

Marketed toward students, the C202SA is purpose built for word processing on a budget and at that place are plenty of options for accomplishing this. Google Docs is competent plenty in this category, and the Offline Editing extension makes information technology easy to open Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint files past dragging them into Chrome. It's hardly your only option though with all of the writing and notetaking applications in Google's Play shop, not to mention the complimentary online version of Microsoft Office, which supports all of the same file types in improver to OneNote.

Given that word processing is this machine'south strongest accommodate, it'due south unlikely that yous'll be ownership information technology with entertainment in mind. Even so, in that location'south plenty enough horsepower for video playback and YouTube download services such equally KeepVid brand it piece of cake to save content on an SD card for offline viewing. Audio and video files (.3gp, .avi, .mov, .mp4, .m4v, .m4a, .mp3, .mkv, .ogv, .ogm, .ogg, .oga, .webm, .wav) are opened in a media role player exterior of Chrome with basic controls such as a progress ticker, a play/pause push button, volume slider, and non much else.

Tip: "YouTubeto" caught our heart as a particularly easy solution that lets you lot download YouTube content by adding "to" to the URL of the video you're watching. This works for downloading playlists and channels likewise, though yous'll have to pay for a $10/yr subscription (most of these services lock playlist downloads behind a paywall -- KeepVid Pro for example is $twenty/yr).

The Celeron N3060 and its integrated graphics engine can likewise handle some gaming, though it makes sense to buy a system with more operation if y'all intend to play fully fledged PC games. Crysis is clearly off limits on this Chromebook, but it's easy to forget about all the one-time flash/HTML5 favorites like Tetris and Slime Volley, not to mention the games that can be installed from the Play store, including a drag and drop emulator (GPemu) that can run NES, SNES, Gameboy and Gameboy Accelerate ROMs.

More games on the web: Kongregate - Y8 - Miniclip - Newgrounds - Addicting Games - Armor Games

When nosotros reviewed the Celeron N3050, a Braswell chip that's 320MHz slower than the N3060 in the C202SA, its highlight for gaming benchmarks was 19.5fps in Tomb Raider on low quality/DX11, which isn't adequate for serious sessions, but it demonstrates some potential. It wouldn't be surprising if this system could handle some of the titles in our community's list of nifty games that don't need nifty hardware to run, although you'd probably take to go Linux going first, which would besides provide access to the total Steam client forth with its 100+ Steam Bone + Linux-compatible titles.

Granted, nigh won't run on this machine, but some will, peculiarly if yous're willing to modify them to run with fifty-fifty lower specification than the menu settings permit (LowSpecGamer on YouTube is a bang-up resource for this).

If you lot intend to install Linux, check for compatibility before purchasing your system and aim for as much internal storage as possible when you buy your Chromebook. Based on my experiences I'll be following up to this article in a few weeks detailing how to install Linux on a Chromebook.

You have many options in this realm depending on how permanently you desire Linux on the machine: a standard Live USB bulldoze/SD card installation running outside Chrome OS, a distro running on meridian of Chrome OS via Crouton on the same internal SSD, a Crouton-based install placed elsewhere (a USB drive or SD card), dual booting Linux and Chrome OS (likely requires a firmware modern), or flat out overwriting your Chrome OS install in favor of Linux.

Your mileage will vary depending on the Chromebook, distro and installation method, but GalliumOS is a safe gamble considering it'southward designed for Chrome OS devices. We as well had success running Ubuntu (Trusty with the LXDE interface) via Crouton on a USB bulldoze. If yous're not experienced with Linux, configuring one of these may require some trial and fault, but tinkering is damn near encouraged with how quickly the Chromebook loads into developer style and reformats back to normal mode.

Nosotros're talking a few minutes for a full wipe and reinstall of Chrome OS, plus information technology'southward almost entirely automatic and your settings are remembered when you log into your Google business relationship. Experimenting with Linux is pretty low risk given those circumstances because it's easy to wipe everything and return to Chrome OS.

Tip: If you dual-kick Chrome Bone and Linux and want to reclaim the latter segmentation, reinstalling Chrome OS with a recovery drive will automatically delete and merge all partitions. Although enabling/disabling developer mode performs a powerwash, this doesn't appear to touch other partitions. You can create a Chrome OS recovery drive with the Chromebook Recovery Utility extension, which tin can run from your Chromebook or Chrome browser on another machine.

Once again though, spider web services are plentiful enough that installing Linux may prove to be unnecessary:

Discussion processing (too Google Docs) - Microsoft Word Online - Dropbox Newspaper - Zoho Docs - OnlyOffice

Image editing - Fotor - Pixlr - Photoshop Express Editor - Sumo Pigment - Polarr

Instant messaging - All-in-One Messenger - WhatsChrome - Signal - Plus.IM - Steam

Torrenting - Bitford (free, barest of basic) - JSTorrent ($two.99, closer to a full client) - Bitport.io - Put.io

Tip: JSTorrent can be pointed to a custom download binder on your Google Drive and many Chromebooks are eligible for 100GB of storage for 2 years. Playback from the cloud was polish during testing and Google even has a folio about the field of study.

Alternate browsers - You're stuck with Chrome unless you install Linux or Android apps.

If you're an Android user, you may find yourself wishing that services such as Google Music functioned similarly to their Android apps. Google Music on Android for instance lets you save music offline and autocaches any you're listening to and so it keeps playing for a while between connections whereas these features don't exist on the browser version.

Fortunately, Google has begun rolling out support for Android on some Chromebooks. Certain systems have the ability to utilize Android apps on the stable release of Chrome Os, others require yous to install Chrome OS beta -- as is the case with the C202SA -- while many Chromebooks accept withal to receive Android support at all.

Likewise, availability for Android apps seems to be limited at the moment, with apps such every bit Firefox displaying a bulletin that this device isn't compatible. That said, the Android apps which are available to be installed role largely as expected (Google Music lets you salvage an album offline etc.).

There's not much more than to cover on the software side of things, which again, is mostly comprised of the Chrome browser yous're likely already familiar with, including your synced history, bookmarks, extensions and and then on.

Hardware

Processor - The dual-core Celeron N3060 was released in early on 2022 as a successor to the yr older Celeron N3050, which has a maximum turbo frequency that is 320MHz slower. When we benchmarked the older Braswell chip, it passed PCMark 7's test for 1080p playback (30fps, 10Mbps), as well as our own testing with MPlayer, which allowed the scrap to accomplish around 60fps with 720p content and 23.7fps for 1080p. This SoC is patently no Core i7, just it's hardly out of identify in this sort of arrangement and rarely does Chrome OS experience like it requires more horsepower.

Display - The display is well guarded with a wide bezel that is wrapped in a hard rubber shell and it's attached by a large single hinge that opens to 180 degrees. It has slap-up viewing angles for presentations and works well in sunlight thanks to fairly bright backlighting and its matte anti-glare finish.

Storage - Although the Asus C202SA is sold with 16GB of storage, we're left with a little over 9GB after a fresh install and unfortunately, like the RAM in this car, the NAND drive is soldered to the motherboard. Likewise being limited to a browser-based OS, the biggest catch with Chromebooks may exist their express storage space, which helps continue costs downwards though it besides conveniently encourages the use of cloud storage (the C202SA ships with 100GB free on Google Drive for two years).

On the brilliant side, this system and virtually similar information technology come up with couple of USB ports and an SD card slot for expansion. An SD carte is ideal for boosting your twenty-four hour period to day storage because it sits virtually affluent with the automobile, though in that location are some tiny USB drives effectually today too. Software-wise, the Chrome OS file explorer makes it easy to mount drives and you can have Chrome automatically download to these directories.

Battery - All solar day battery life is no exaggeration here. Asus claims you tin can expect 10 hours on boilerplate but we found that to be more than along the lines of 12 hours with "moderate usage," which involved running the system for 12+ hours, never sleeping but sometimes idle, with the screen left on at medium brightness. Activeness included web browsing, give-and-take processing and video/music playback. At that place was absolutely little scientific discipline to this test, merely that's considering information technology wasn't really a exam and instead represents the performance observed during daily usage.

Tip: If you want the system to continue running subsequently endmost the brandish (to continue media playback for instance), the only way nosotros've plant to accomplish this is by booting into programmer mode (Esc + Refresh + Power -- this volition wipe your drive) and then entering "sudo stop powerd" in an elevated last. Notation that this will disable many ability-related functions, such as your ability to adjust the display brightness, just inbound "sudo start powerd" brings it all back.

Keyboard - It would exist off-white to look a mediocre typing experience on a $200 11.6-inch Chromebook, but the C202SA's keyboard is easily ane of its highlights hardware-wise. The keys are smartly arranged and proportioned with command and alt being oversized (backspace isn't tiny either). While the keys aren't backlit, the text is bright teal and 15% larger than normal and then information technology'south not as hard to meet in low lite situations. Media functions have been placed on the F row and y'all can change which layer of keys is dominant.

Equally you may have noticed, the power button is the terminal central on the F row, right above backspace. This seemed like a poor option simply not only has it stayed out of the way when typing, information technology takes a few seconds earlier something happens and you're prompted for an activity anyway, so borer the power key for a second doesn't practice annihilation.

Besides of annotation, caps lock is a "search" key by default that opens the Chrome Bone app launcher which contains a Google search bar. This isn't totally useless but you tin can change this key to function equally caps lock or a handful of other keys from Chrome's settings. I think a better use for this primal would be to have information technology automatically search Google for whatever text is selected (example: you highlight a discussion, striking the search primal, and information technology opens a Chrome tab with those Google results).

Touchpad - The hardware is slightly recessed and feels slick to the touch while the stock cursor speed is suitable (these settings are oftentimes besides deadening on new notebooks). The whole touchpad can be pressed or tapped to perform a single click while correct click for context menus requires a two-fingered touch or you tin can single touch while holding the alt key.

Ruggedness - Asus' marketing info says the C202SA is water resistant thanks in role to a mylar-lined plate under the keyboard that helps foreclose liquid from spilling directly through to the motherboard. The machine tin also withstand drops of up to three.ix feet and should hold upwardly against long periods of physical stress. All four exterior edges and corners of the C202SA are protected using reinforced nano-molding.

Overall, the device feels durable with little to no frame flex and large prophylactic feet on the lesser should help forbid any skid-ups. The system wasn't put through any torture tests merely information technology did endure a couple months in the laptop compartment of a heavy backpack. Only one issue has presented itself: the display and body bear upon each other when packed, which has resulted in some cosmetic wear on both halves (clearly visible in this image beside left shift and control on the bezel).

Although we didn't have any plans to test the C202SA's water resistance, it was accidentally submerged in the water for a second or two while asleep. Subsequently beingness pulled out, the power indicator continued blinking white (normal) so we opened the system and it loaded upwards similar usual. Nevertheless, the water somewhen seeped in to a signal where the system became inoperable and the battery indicator displayed a static red low-cal. Surprisingly, after opening the Chromebook and letting a fan dry the motherboard for ten-xv minutes, it powered back on before even being reassembled.

Repairability - iFixit has rated this machine with a repairability rating of ix out of x, praising its modular internal design, which should make life piece of cake in the event that something gets damaged. Disassembly involves removing around a dozen screws on the lesser, after which you can pry the top bezel off (including the keyboard and touchpad) to reveal the innards. Asus advertises that the system is designed to be dismantled in minutes and iFixit notes that the process involves nothing but #1 and #00 Phillips screws -- no proprietary parts or adhesives.

We didn't perform a full teardown to dry everything out, but it was extremely easy to get by that first ready of screws and expose the inside.

Griminess - The C202SA is lightly colored but it tends non to attract fingerprints or cling to debris and it'south decent at hiding whatever grime it does collect, at least partly considering of its dimpled rubber outside which creates speckled shadows across the surface. This cloth is also easy to grip, which makes it that much smarter of a design choice for younger users.

Pros & Cons

Pros: Great value, rugged design, piece of cake to use / repair, daylight-friendly display, well-optimized keyboard, good connectivity / expandability, great battery life.

Cons: A Chrome Os / Celeron-based arrangement has its obvious quirks and limits. Changing navigation habits is a hassle. Nosotros wish the storage wasn't soldered.