Jefferson Graham

USA TODAY





MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. - You're in the market for a laptop as a gift, and wondering about those seemingly too good to be true deals – the $200 and $300 Google Chromebook. Are they worth it for the student in your life?

I've been playing with several models this year, and the answer is an enthusiastic yes.





Chromebooks have greatly improved since they first started appearing in 2012, and Google has gone a long way to addressing the negatives.

Compared to tablets – which are generally more expensive – Chromebooks are a better deal. They're nice and light, and come with a keyboard.



The benefit of the Chromebook of course is the amazing cost. While Apple laptops start at $899 and good Windows laptops are usually in the $400-$600 range, Chromebooks are always less. For instance, I just tested a $329 Toshiba CB35 with 13.3-inch screen, 1080p HD resolution, full size keyboard and stereo speakers from Skullcandy.

The thing about Google Chromebooks, which run on Google's Chrome operating system, is that initially you had to be online if you wanted to use it. That meant finding an Internet signal to write e-mail, documents, surf the Web, edit photos and more. Which was fine if you're home, in school, at Starbucks or wherever.

But that's changing.

Google has improved the value proposition, with apps that let you do Gmail and Docs (its answer to Microsoft Office) offline, and even download movies and TV shows from the Google Play store to watch wherever – like on long plane rides with no Internet signal.

The Chromebooks have very limited hard drive space (the Toshiba has 16 GB, compared to the 500 GB to 1 terabyte found on most Apple and Windows laptops) and all software choices have to come through the Chrome app store.

The two features that matter to me – editing photos and videos – have been tough with the Chromebook.

There are simple photo apps that let you crop, change exposure and add Instagram-like filters (I like Pixlr), but they're not the full Photoshop experience I expect.

Good news on that front too. Adobe recently announced a deal with Google to test a Chromebook version of Photoshop for students.

It's in the early stages, and wasn't available for review, but it's a great move forward.

The video apps I've used are similar to the bare bones, automatic tools you find in smartphone and tablet apps. You can make simple edits and add graphics, but you can't do the kind of full-featured video editing I like to do in a major program like Apple's Final Cut Pro, or even Adobe's consumer Premiere Elements.

But you're not here to buy a Chromebook for me. For the student in your life, or for a second or third laptop around the house, the Chromebook is easily the most affordable option out there, and one worth considering amidst all the crazy sales.





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