This week Google announced and released the latest Chromebook and Chromebox, a laptop and desktop that are both small, lightweight, and run Chrome OS, Google’s desktop operating system.

Software: Chrome OS, Apps, and the Chrome Web Store

Hardware: Chromebook

Chromebox

Can we go Chrome now?

The two computers are unique featherweights when compared to the likes of Ultrabooks or small form-factor desktops. What they lack in hardware muscle they make up for in simplicity, boasting a smartphone/tablet-style app store, a quick app-driven OS, and nothing but ‘net.If you want to get a sneak peek at Chrome OS, look no further than your Chrome desktop browser. The browser is just about all you use in Chrome OS, so if you (like many of us) live on Chrome, Chrome OS will feel like home.The major difference is that once you close the Chrome browser on a Windows or Mac, or even a Linux-based PC, you can still run applications natively, perform tasks offline, etc. Not so with Chrome OS, or at least not exactly. Nearly all Chrome OS functions occur in the cloud, meaning email, calendar, docs…they are all Google services that function when you’re online. And if you aren’t online, well, then it’s like being a duck in a desert.Thankfully there are plenty of extensions, apps built directly into the browser. If you use Firefox or Chrome regularly, you know full well what extensions are and how they work, and on Chrome they’re a cinch to install and start using. The same holds true with Chrome OS; installing anything is a simple two-click process. Extensions range from email alerts for Gmail to Mini Ninjas and full, pay-for games like Bastion. The problem is most extensions require a working internet connection. Some, most notably Angry Birds, don’t, but there are no prompts in the extension details that say whether it requires an internet connection or not.Chrome OS now also includes a working desktop, a task bar (which is like a mix between the OS X dock and Windows task bar), and an updated settings menu more akin to the latest build of Android. The OS is so light and quick that when starting with the machine it seems like the fastest, smoothest operating system ever devised. With the new desktop to work on, users can manage the Chrome windows as they would with any computer. The browser can be resized, multiple windows with multiple browsers can take up portions of the screen, etc.But that sense of “oooh, ahh” wears off quickly. Users will find certain problems popping up again and again. Handling media isn’t as easy as it should be, and the media player is pretty limited. Switching between music and video is a three-step process. Limited native applications means users must rely solely on Chrome extensions or web apps, and an ever-present internet connection. And in many cases, the available web apps and extensions don’t suffice. Picture editing, chat applications, and even simple productivity tools aren’t as easy or as good as native applications.Google realized just how much of a problem this would be and slightly circumvented it with the built-in Chrome Remote Desktop Beta, which is Google’s own VNC client. With it, users can control their home or work computer with the Chromebook or Chromebox, instead of navigating through Chrome OS’s limitations. So if you need a quick photo edit, just flip on Remote Desktop Beta, log into your home computer, and use your application of choice. It’s not the most practical or elegant solution, but it works and keeps all the files you’re handling on a single computer.But, of course, it’s not all bad here, there’s also a long list of Chrome OS highlights: instant updates, ridiculously fast boot and start times (we’re talking seconds), and very low power usage. Chrome OS has always been fast to boot and wake up from standby, but the Chromebook boots in six seconds. For any computer, that’s incredible. My gaming desktop, probably more powerful by a factor of ten, takes a minute to boot. Updates to the OS come instantly, so users never have to accept small software updates, and only large updates require a restart. There is a lot to admire about Chrome OS, something both Microsoft and Apple can learn from.The Chrome Web Store is another story entirely. It’s got thousands of apps, but almost no organization. The best way to find an app is search, Google’s specialty, but if you’re looking for a type of app, searching in the store is a mess. Apps are listed in sections, and there are some basic tools to sort through them, but the store isn’t made for app discovery. If you’re looking to find the best apps or extensions, Google it. Just not in the store.The Series 5 Chromebook from Samsung looks and feels like a standard laptop. It isn’t thin like an Ultrabook, but it’s still pretty small with a 12.1” 1280x800 display. It’s light at just over three pounds. 4GB of DDR3 RAM and last year’s fairly decent Intel HD 3000 graphics chip make it suitable for full HD playback.The 1.3GHz dual-core Celeron processor seems like a real buzzkill, and perhaps it should. For $450 (or $550 for the 3G model), you can find a similar laptop with a much more powerful i3. Then again, the software barely has any tug, and a more powerful CPU could be overkill. It would also diminish the long battery life, which Samsung lists as six hours, but first-hand reviewers have determined that the Chromebook can last up to eight or nine hours per charge.The new Chromebook makes a few big improvements that should please naysayers of the original. The first, and perhaps most important, is the improved and larger multitouch trackpad. Aside from the glass coating, it’s almost identical to the trackpad on Macbooks, meaning huge and comfortable. The keyboard is almost identical, but now there’s a row of Chrome OS specific keys, which includes a volume and brightness control, page reload, new tab, forward and back, fullscreen, and next window buttons.Two models of the Chromebook Series 5 550 are now available, for $450 and $550. Both come with a limited 16GB of internal storage, with an SD card slot for up to 32GB more. The more expensive model includes 3G from Verizon Wireless with two years of free data. It’s only 100MB a month, but for just $100 extra, it’s not a bad deal for mobile workers.The Chromebox is almost identical to the Chromebook in terms of parts/specifications; the only difference is that the Chromebox has a 1.9GHz CPU instead of 1.3GHz.It also comes packing more ports than its laptop brethren: six USB 2.0 ports, two DisplayPort (DP) ports, Ethernet, DVI and power. All in a small 1.3” tall 7.6” square box that weighs less than two pounds.The Chromebox is very much a niche product; it doesn’t fit the mold of a media center because Chrome OS isn’t really suited well for media (yet), although with the Chrome Remote Desktop Beta is may prove to stream media to a TV/computer excellently. But $329 for an internet-ready desktop solution, and one that’s small enough to fit into any media center, is still compelling.Then again, the Chromebox won’t even connect to a TV right out of the box. Media center users will have to buy a DVI-HDMI cable because Google included only a DVI and two DP ports, but no HDMI. Not including HDMI seems like a particularly bad decision on any small form-factor or laptop computer nowadays, and it seems likely Google intentionally left it out so it wouldn’t compete with its set top box, Google TV. The Chromebox can support resolutions up to 2560x1600, but it unfortunately isn’t built to sit beside a TV.The original Chromebook was a tough sell because the OS was unfinished and unpolished and a lack of native apps, a desktop, and multi-tasking difficulties confused even diehard Google fans. The only difference today with a VNC solution and a small but growing list of native-running extensions. But running apps natively isn’t a requirement for computing, and as many of us are finding more and more, it isn’t as necessary as it once was. So should you consider getting a Chromebook or Chromebox?The real question is whether the Chrome hardware serves any real purpose in today’s technological landscape. For $450 you can buy a reasonable Windows laptop which will be able to do infinitely more than the Chromebook natively, while still having all of the functionality of the Chromebook. You’ll also get much more disk space and more software maneuvering room with Windows. The Chromebook, on the other hand, is easy to use, and as the internet and cloud computing evolves, low-power computers like the Chromebook may become the norm. And for that price, competing laptops are big, bulky, and can’t last as long per charge.The Chromebook feels both fresh and antiquated. Using the internet for everything can work, but is frequently frustrating in practice. Advanced users who have damn-near magical gaming machines or workhorse desktops at home may come to appreciate the simplicity of the Chromebook while using VNC, but even then, they’ll sacrifice a higher resolution display and frequently be inconvenienced.The Chromebox, however, is an evolutionary tale. I see it making a home in kitchens, the living room, the attic, wherever. The Chromebox affords a level of convenience in the home that isn’t associated with computers; it’s cheap, fast, small, updates automatically, and it has enough ports to accommodate anything. Anything except TVs.No HDMI connection on the Chromebox is ludicrous. No specialized wireless keyboard and mouse is equally frustrating. There are a million reasons to put a Chromebox in a media center, not just to replace that old laptop or desktop your kids use.The Chromebook is a neat companion laptop, but it’s not practical for anything besides browsing the web, and using a handful of Google Chrome Apps – some of which are rapidly improving to accommodate the laptop (take Google Docs, which is finally getting an Offline mode). For everything else, stick with a more modern OS (or just a buy a tablet).Mediocre media functions make the Chromebox an equally tough sell – especially with the vastly superior Mac mini at an only slightly higher price than the Chromebox’s $329 MSRP, but it’s still a worthwhile, low cost desktop option. Automatic updates means you won’t have to spend hours updating and fixing it every few months, and worthwhile specs means it won’t quickly be obsolete.