ASUS C201PA-DS02 11.6-Inch Laptop (Navy Blue)

I just received my chromebook yesterday and have been using it almost constantly since then. I've been a devout macbook user since I picked up my 15" pro in 2010, but decided to pick up a chromebook for an upcoming trip through South America. After spending countless hours pouring through reviews and articles about the "best value chromebooks," I finally pulled the trigger on the ASUS C201.I must say that based on the price and the simplicity of chromebooks, I wasn't really expecting much - Just a cheap portable laptop that I could use to check emails, surf the web, and upload photos. But so far, I've been very impressed. Sure, the chromebook won't give you the flashy technical specs that a higher-end laptop can offer, but I can honestly say that after switching to chromebook, I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.Something about the chromebook OS is just so elegantly simple that I find myself wondering why I ever needed any of those other features to begin with. It boots up in about 10 seconds and immediately you're up and running. No lengthy setups or annoying programs to install and update. Just power on and go.The good:- Portability - I'm very impressed with the size and weight of this laptop, but even more so with the portability of the charger. I was expecting to have to lug around a giant brick adapter, but the included charging cord is about the same size as a phone charger. Nice. The laptop itself is smaller and lighter than I expected, but still doesn't feel cheap or flimsy.- Battery - They advertise this as having a 13 hour battery, so of course I was skeptical. Since I've only had this for a day so far, I still have yet to reach that mythical 13-hour mark, but based on my usage so far I think it might just be possible. After 6-hours of continual use yesterday (including streaming music on youtube, uploading photos to drive, and surfing the web) I ended up at about 47% battery life. So realistically, I'll probably end up getting about 10-11 hours of use on an average charge (still amazing), but I could see a 13-hour lifespan with low screen brightness and simple operation.- Quality - Again I was impressed here. The laptop feels sturdy and the plastic feels durable despite its light weight. Obviously it isn't going to be at the same level as a macbook, but hey - what did you expect. For what I paid, I am extremely satisfied with the build quality. I'm pretty confident that this thing can withstand 4 months of being jostled about on buses, planes, and boats.The keyboard also works well. the keys have a nice feel to them layout feels the same as any other laptop. The trackpad has also been working well, but I have noticed it "catching" a few times so far. Hopefully, this won't be too much of a problem in the future - I'm hoping that once the laptop is "broken in" this will go away, but thought this would be worth mentioning.And finally, performance - Again, I was impressed here. I currently have 13 tabs open (I'm a multi-tasker) with no noticeable lag in performance. In fact, I have yet to experience any dip in performance since I've started using it. I attribute this to the simplicity of the OS. Sure you don't have the same operating power as a higher end laptop, but you also don't have as many applications and programs that you need to operate.Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with this laptop. It gives you good quality and performance at a reasonable price, and the elegant simplicity of the chrome OS leaves you wondering why you ever needed windows or mac OS in the first place.

If you use the Chrome browser very extensively, then the ASUS C201 Chromebook might be able to fulfill what you're looking for.To begin with, the operating system is Chrome OS. In other words, it's literally just the Chrome browser but with a few extra things added. This is a laptop heavily designed to be constantly online (because it's literally the Chrome browser), so don't expect to do anything offline. Since the Chrome browser is basically the operating system, you can do whatever it is you do on the internet in the same way you do on Firefox or Microsoft Edge (Internet Explorer? What's that?), like browse social media, watch YouTube videos, farm for internet points on reddit, browse your e-mails, etc. As a college student, I'd also say that it's definitely useful for college. It does all the things you would do on the internet. In fact, if you have a Google account linked with your Chrome browser, you can purchase a Chromebook, sign in with your Google account, and you're all set to go! No need to download drivers or other various programs that serve no purpose.Hardware-wise, it's quick. I wouldn't say that it's as fast as an i7, but it's very good for its price. It has a Rockchip quad-core CPU, but even then, the battery life is able to last between 8 to 12 hours. It charges pretty quick, and the wall charger is portable, practical, and easy to set up and put away. In the one that I have, it's got a memory capacity of 4 GB, which is pretty decent for today's standards. In addition, the boot time on this Chromebook is quite fast. Faster than my previous laptop for sure, I'd say. In fact, if you set the Chromebook to sleep by closing it and re-opening it, it'll display the login screen before you unlock your phone. Honestly, the ASUS C201 is the only Chromebook you need in terms of portability, hardware, and price.I will say, however, that it isn't a perfect laptop. Nothing is, in fact. Since the operating system is Chrome OS, you can't download third-party programs, like Photoshop, Microsoft Office, or even Steam. You can still download certain files, like zipped folders, PDF's, and files that you can open in Google Docs (Word documents, powerpoints, etc). You can also download applications through the Chrome Web Store in which some may or may not require an internet connection. Google did provide some alternatives to these popular applications in which you can find through the Web Store. Also, I did mention that the Chromebook is designed to be constantly online. You can do very little when offline since, and I mentioned this previously, it's just the Chrome browser but as an operating system instead.In short, if you want a laptop that allows you to surf the web, then the Chromebook is the one for you. No need to spend 5 times as much for another computer; just a sub-$200 laptop that does everything you want to in a browser, lasts almost your entire day, and portable enough to fit in a small backpack or even a purse.