Last year, when the Samsung Chromebook hit the scene, it was sort of a big deal. The idea that you could get such a machine for such a low price was pretty enticing to a lot of users, including average consumers. However, many of those that bought the Samsung Chromebook (Android Headlines staff included) soon realized that not only was the build quality questionable (even considering the price) but performance wasn't up to scratch, either. The dual-core Exynos ARM processor was not only the key to its low-cost but, also it was the achilles' heel of the laptop. Certainly, it was a zippy for one or two tabs but anything beyond that and Samsung's Chromebook began to slow to a crawl. No matter though, Samsung's little Chromebook has continued to sell well and still ranks highly on Amazon's best-seller list for Laptops.


Looking ahead, the future for Chromebooks and Chrome OS in general looks pretty bright and, as one of the first hardware partners, Samsung isn't going anywhere soon. According to a new report unearthed by SamMobile Samsung is returning to Chromebooks in a big way in 2014, and they're sticking with ARM, too. According to the new report, Samsung's next Chromebook could feature an Exynos-Octa CPU, 3GB of RAM and a 12-inch display with a resolution as high s 2560 x 1440. To us, this sounds a lot like the next Samsung Chromebook is going to feature the SoC from the Galaxy Note 3. Which would make a lot of sense for Samsung when you think about it, the 5250 from last year's 'book was the same as the Nexus 10's heart.

If Samsung were to re-enter the Chromebook market, they've got a little more competition than last time around. The C720 is a great machine for the money and ASUS is said to enter the fray as well next year. As with a lot of these types of reports, this could all just be another rumor but, it would be nice to see Samsung improve the lackluster performance of their previous ARM-based attempt.