In a continuing effort to broaden my gadget experience, I picked up a Samsung Series 5 3G Chromebook. Verdict: Don’t buy it.

Hardware

The actual hardware isn’t completely shoddy, but I should have expected anything with an Atom to not perform very well as soon as a Flash plugin kicked in. And for a device that’s supposed to do the full web, I was underwhelmed by not only the Flash performance, but by the performance overall. I really thought I would be able to say that this is a step up from a netbook, those cursed devices that I abhor. (I owned a Asus 1015PEM something something [I hate hate these model numbers] for about a couple days before returning it.) But in reality, this version of the Chromebook, maybe the first of many models, is only a tiny bit better.

And actually, in some parts it’s not all that better. The screen hinge is one of the weakest I’ve seen in a laptop. Feels like it’ll lose its grip on the horribly-contrasted screen very quickly. With the MacBook Pro, the hinges might seem loose, but it’s because of the freaking glossy screen being so heavy, and even then, I still feel like the hinge will hold it’s grippiness for the life of the laptop. (Yes, next time I get a Mac, I will have to grab the matte, no question.)

I do, however, like the feel of the keyboard. I think the keys are a tiny bit rubberized, and so there’s a bit of grip on them as I type. I do think that the omission of a third “function” key on the bottom right corner is a bit of an issue for keyboard nuts like me.

Trackpad… eh. Responsiveness is… alright. I definitely need triple finger gestures, though. I need the ability to close tabs and middle-click open tabs very quickly. I’m already missing the Thinkpad pointer nub.

I’ve had an SSD in my computer, PC/Mac/Linux, for a while, and so there’s no wow factor in seeing anything boot faster.

I haven’t tried the 3G, but I bet it’s going to be better than AT&T.

Software

I like the idea of the Chromebook. I want my current favorite browser on the go. Simple.

But it just isn’t there yet.

I loved how all my plugins were right there, waiting for me to reconfigure. I’ve fell in love with this ever since Google enabled it (secretly, mind you, as they like to just randomly add features and updates without telling anyone). The future is, obviously, to be able to take the entire browsing experience, tabs and settings (like my Google search blocklist) and all.

The actual Chromebook settings seemed to be saved on the cloud somewhere, since I swapped out my Ctrl key for the Search key and vice versa, and was already set after a system reset. (Use the little switch on the right side of the Chromebook, and hit Ctrl + D on start, btw.)

And so…

To this day, I don’t think you can go wrong with an Apple laptop. If I had a need for one, I’d be getting the new 13″ Macbook Air that may or may not be coming out soon in the future.

On the Chromebook? Just fire it up, without having Wifi.

On the first generation iPad? You better have Wifi before signing up.

What still sucks is that I still have to give my credit card information. They say it’s “soley to confirm identity”, but still… At least they follow it up by saying that “no charges will be applied to your account unless explicitly authorized in advanced.” AT&T? You’ll get charged if you don’t cancel in time if you’ve signed up for the 250 MB plan.

And what’s this talk of the PSP Vita getting AT&T? How much is AT&T paying these people to get these exclusives?

// TLDR: Moar Verizon plz. Less of the craptastic network that is AT&T.

// Oh, and yes, I have a Chromebook now.