HP Chromebook 14 G3

TeaLeaf · November 06, 2014, 06:11:41 PM

Well, I eventually got fed up with trying to find a decent Ultrabook that was actually really on sale in the UK. I got so fed up that I just ditched the whole idea of a Windows ultrabook and instead went for an HP Chromebook 14 G3. It's the largest screen for a Chromebook at 14.0-inch diagonal and is also has the best resolution (bar the Â£1,000+ Chromebook Pixel). A final bonus is that the HP Chromebook 14 G3 when supplied in 1920x1080 guise is a touchscreen display.

The Bad News:
In the UK, HP only offer us the 1366 x 768 non-touch screen versions of this laptop. Apparently us Brits prefer to have a selection of different colours and a lower spec for our Chromebooks, whereas the USA are apparently 'color-blind' (i.e. they get no case colour choice) but do get a choice of better specs including the 1080p touch screen option. So I had to buy from the USA.

The Good News:
Because I bought from the USA, my 1080p Chromebook cost me just Â£300, which is about 25% less than HP are selling the 1366x768 non-touchscreen version for in the UK.

Win! :thumbsup:

It will be my first attempt at running a Chromebook for business purposes, so I'll report back in due course.

smilodon · November 06, 2014, 08:30:33 PM

I am wise in the Google Fu but don't use a Chromebook..... yet. Currently I am using a Samsung N110 netbook circa 2008 running Lubuntu Linux and living inside the Chrome Browser. It's no Chromebook though and the hardware is getting very tired. So I'm looking forward to the feedback.

TeaLeaf · November 26, 2014, 04:14:08 PM

Got hold of the HP Chromebook 14 G3 (1080p touch screen) today and damn it looks nice. Will be trying it out over next week or so and will report back when I can give a more detailed review of 'living with a Chromebook'.

TeaLeaf · December 04, 2014, 12:21:18 PM

HP Chromebook 14 G3

Build quality is fabulous. Visually it looks extremely professional and akin to a smaller, lighter Macbook Pro - which is not a bad thing to look like from an aesthetics perspective! The keyboard is lovely too, there's a couple of keys in 'new' positions, but you get used to the slight differences very quickly. There's also very little if any flex in the keyboard, which reinforces the impression of high build quality.

Battery life seems good, I'm getting a full day of use out of it. The chromebook is totally silent in operation and does not seem to get hot at all.

Boot times are stunning. Open it up and you're on the desktop in seconds. I suspect part of that punch is the K1 cpu, but it seems to handle everything I have thrown at it with aplomb.

The 1080p screen is great. Very good quality and it makes documents (Word, Excel etc) very comfortable to view. It handles streaming films no problem too and at 1080p they are visually very good to watch. The touch screen is a revelation, it is so much easier than using a trackpad for some stuff!

Biggest issue so far, logging in to it. It uses your Google account and as my password for that is a Lastpass 'special', then it's bloody long and complex, i.e. not memorable, so I need to settle on a different passphrase for it that I will be able to remember rather than having to read the password from my phone's Lastpass and then type it into the Chromebook.

Once logged in though all your bookmarks, addons etc get auto-installed and your browser immediately feels like home again as it is configured to match your current desktop chrome browser settings.

Ive signed up for Multcloud as an easy way to control multiple cloud accounts. It seems to get very good reviews and as an added benefit is free. I've only had it installed for a day, so not really had much chance to use it, but will report back in due course if there is anything substantive to say.

In summary, I have been incredibly impressed with my first chromebook experience and I do not regret the decision to go for a Chrome OS solution instead of a Windows ultrabook.

Highly recommended!

albert · December 04, 2014, 03:14:21 PM

Buy your Chromebook one of these

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1649358926/swiftpoint-gt-worlds-1st-mouse-with-natural-touch

TeaLeaf · December 04, 2014, 03:22:53 PM

Quote from: albert;392096Buy your Chromebook one of these https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1649358926/swiftpoint-gt-worlds-1st-mouse-with-natural-touch

I have already backed that one!

albert · December 04, 2014, 05:35:45 PM

Me 2, ships next week apparently!

TeaLeaf · March 16, 2015, 04:03:02 PM

Still going strong on the Chromebook front and loving it.

The best thing is the boot time, you walk into a client, flip open the laptop and BOOM, it's on the desktop and ready to go. Fabulous!

I added a VPN so I can safely connect to my business stuff from coffee shops etc and that was really very easy to do (this post is sent via VPN and courtesy of a really nice cup of espresso).

I do miss an easy way to connect to my NAS, that's probably the biggest thing I can't do, but I can access my PC from this Chromebook, so if I really need something from the NAS I can get at it via my PC.

Keyboard is actually pretty good. It's not as good as the full-size mechanical keyboard I have attached to my PC, but the keys are large, with a good solid feel to them and I can type almost as quickly on it as I can on the full-size keyboard.

Battery life is excellent so far. I'm managing a full day with wireless on without running out of juice.

So far Google Apps has my back. I've only encountered 5 or 6 documents that would not convert directly into Google Docs format without losing some formatting, but half of those were fixed by a recent patch to Chrome/Google Docs.

Patching is pretty good too, you get a notification, reboot (which again is only a matter of seconds) and we're bang up to date again.

Best thing to run alongside this Chromebook? The Swiftpoint GT mouse. It has become a trusted travel companion and is brilliant for its size. When it runs out of charge you simply drop it onto the USB dongle (it attaches magnetically) and in 30 seconds you get sufficient charge for the mouse to run another hour. Fantastic.

Conversion rate to Chromebooks is pretty good too, so far 3 people I know through work have asked me for the model number of my Chromebook and all three now run Chromebooks instead of their old laptops.

Chromebook experience so far: 9/10
(it loses a point only for the NAS issue).

smilodon · March 16, 2015, 05:34:37 PM

I am sorely tempted. My only problem is that...... I don't need one. I have a tablet for media consumption and web browsing and a netbook if I need to me mobile with a keyboard (rare). A laptop for clients would need to be a fairly powerful affair as I would have to run the Adobe Suit on it. And to be honest the number of times a laptop would be useful when working doesn't justify the cost. So I guess I just want a chromebook because I want a Chromebook. I'm actually tempted to replace my aging Nexus 7 2012 and Samsung Netbook (circa 2008) with a Chromebook. I'm not sure if that makes any sense at all as the tablet is so easy to use and so portable.

Feeling: conflicted :unsure:

TeaLeaf · May 15, 2015, 03:17:35 PM

Just a quick reliability update. The chromebook has been running sweetly since purchase, but today I had a keyboard failure. Certain keys stopped working.

I called HP and spoke to support. Despite the fact it was bought in the USA they have arranged to pick it up, replace keyboard and return to me, with a turn around time of 7-10 days. Not brilliant compared to a business service contract, but pretty decent for non-commercial support for a non-UK chromebook.

Disappointed to have had the keyboard failure though, HP laptops have been good to me over the years and this is the first one I can recall having an issue with. Oh well, at least HP are fixing it.