useful things in your budget
Google’s Chrome operating system seems to be largely dependent on the company’s web services and software. The company appears to assume that you’re online most of the time. The company thinks that when everything can be stored online then what is the need for local storage? And online backup can be accessed from anywhere. It’s a great idea in theory, but it has proven difficult to implement so far.
Having everything available online and being able to access it easily, currently there is no such infrastructure in India. Apart from this, the price of Chromebooks that have come in the market till now has also been high, due to which people put more emphasis on buying regular laptops or tablets. Maybe this trend will change soon, that too when Xolo has launched its product in this segment and its price is also much lower than other products launched so far.
If you or someone you know is nervous about using a computer, or wants to use it for some small work, then this device running on Chrome operating system can prove to be very helpful. This is also a great opportunity for Xolo.
Look and Design
The Xolo Chromebook looks like any other budget laptop, but it is a little different in itself due to the matte gray plastic body and the bright Chrome logo in one corner. The device looks average, but looks useful more than anything else. The body is designed in such a way that when you try to hold it in the bend of your fingers, it fits.
The body material of the device reminded us of shockproof laptops that are designed keeping students in mind, which seems like a good decision. When you open the device, you find glossy plastic around the keyboard. We found that this surface gets stained very quickly.
The keyboard is quite large, but you’ll quickly realize that its layout doesn’t match that of most laptops. Below this is the standard trackpad with no buttons. There is a webcam in the panel above the matte and screen. Apart from these things, there is nothing special in the design that deserves mention.
There is one USB 2.0 port each on either side of the device. On the left side, there’s a power inlet and status LED, along with an HDMI video output and an exposed microcard slot. On the right side, there is a 3.5mm headset socket and a Kensington lock slot. Two at the bottom of the Chromebook
There are cutouts for small speakers, but their position is not such that the sound comes out clearly. Apart from this, the bottom part is completely blank and there is no need for vents (space to expel hot air).
If you are thinking in terms of fashion statement, then you should focus on some other device. As far as a budget product goes, we’re happy with the appearance and build quality.
Specifications and Software
It’s not a superfast device, even as Android tablets go. The device is powered by a Rockchip RK3288 processor with four ARM Cortex-A17 cores clocked at 1.88GHz and integrated Mali-T624 GPU. The RK3288 processor also performs well in 4K video output and HD video decoding. It has 2GB RAM and inbuilt storage 16GB, microSD card slot also provided if needed.
Has gone. With this, the user will get 100GB free space on Google Drive for two years.
The 11.6-inch 1366×768 pixel screen fits perfectly into a budget laptop. However, a 1-megapixel webcam is too weak for a device that has to be used constantly. It also has Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.0. Xolo claims that the 4,200mAH battery used in the device lasts for 10 hours, but did not specify under what conditions. There is no inbuilt feature for cellular data usage in the device.
The review unit that came to us had Chrome OS version 42.0.2311.153 and was updated to version 43.0.2357.130 during the review. Updating it was very easy, just one click. Waited a few minutes and the device rebooted. Google usually releases small-sized updates and this change is not even visible every time.
Google’s Material Design touches like icons, shadows, and layered panels now appear in Chrome OS, and things look slicker than ever. The launcher menu has now been replaced by a search interface, in which Google Now cards are also visible. Most frequently used apps are visible, to access other apps you have to go to the “All apps” submenu. You can enable automatic voice search with the “OK Google” command by going to the Chrome Settings page. As expected, everything syncs with your Google account when you sign in. If you use the same account in the Chrome browser on an Android device or desktop, you’ll find that more personal information is visible here too.
performance
The Xolo Chromebook cannot be compared to a budget laptop. You should consider it a web browser device and not a regular laptop. If you spend your entire day using Chrome, you won’t feel like you’re missing out. Multiple user profiles can be set up through different Google Accounts, and there’s also a guest mode.
Now many Android apps can also run on Chrome OS. More diversity can be seen on this platform in the coming days. You will definitely feel a little frustrated while multitasking, managing files, playing any media.
To use Chromebooks, you have to understand some concepts and limitations. There is no “home” key on the keyboard, which is a bit worrying. There’s also no Fn key sequence, which is disappointing for those who use keyboard shortcuts. Separate buttons are provided for back, forward and refresh. Apart from this, there are separate buttons for increasing/decreasing brightness, increasing/decreasing volume and muting, power/lock and full screen.
The style of using the Xolo Chromebook is a little different. The good thing is that its screen is not glossy, but it is not sharp either. Colors are just decent, but viewing angles are quite good. The keyboard is very bad. The keycaps kept moving during use and while typing fast, they started hitting the plastic around them, due to which our typing speed was affected. The trackpad is fine, but it was too low for our comfort. We are very disappointed with the poor quality of the webcam.
A very strange thing kept happening repeatedly, whenever we clicked on the text entry field before starting typing, Chrome OS’s soft keyboard popup would come out. This should be the case with a tablet, not a device that doesn’t even have a touchscreen and comes with a full keyboard.
We watched some media files by streaming them and playing some via USB drive. We didn’t face any issues, but the sound coming from the Xolo Chromebook’s small speaker wasn’t loud enough. The device scored 2,160 points on BrowserMark and 654ms points on SunSpider, which is average for a low-budget device. We opened several Chrome browser windows at once, along with multiple tabs, but the device never seemed to slow down.
One area where the Xolo Chromebook performed admirably is battery life. During informal testing, we found that the company’s claim of 10 hours of backup turned out to be true to a great extent. We also liked the fact that the system took very little time to boot up and shut down.
our decision
The performance of a device that is used only for web browsing, playing less powerful games and streaming videos does not matter. The Xolo Chromebook handles all these functions very easily. Priced at Rs 12,999, the Xolo Chromebook is a great option for users who want a simple machine for communication and light entertainment. Students and the elderly will especially appreciate this device, and it could prove to be a useful device for those who want to buy a tablet but with a keyboard.
However, for functions other than the browser, you will have to invest heavily in cloud-based software and services and also get used to India’s broadband connectivity. The good thing is that you’re not restricted to just Google’s own apps and services, but it will still be a learning opportunity for many.
Due to connectivity and price, the sales of Chromebooks launched so far in India have not been good. Today, infrastructure is a big problem, a lot will have to be done to improve it and it will also take time. Accordingly, Xolo has definitely tried to bridge some shortcomings.
Earlier also we had suggested to the people thinking of buying a Chromebook that they should think carefully before taking the decision. If you know what this device is and is not, what it can and cannot do, it can prove to be a very useful investment.
Price: Rs 12,999
specialty
1. Lightweight and well built
2. Cheap
3. good battery life
shortcomings
1. not much variety
2. Must have internet access
3. Average keyboard and trackpad
Ratings (5)
1. Design: 3.5
2. Display: 3
3. Performance: 3
4. Software: 3.5
5. Battery Life: 4
6. Value for money: 4
7. Overall: 3.5
