It's been a week since I received my CR-48 from Google. Using it has been a thrill of some sort and also a period of adjustment for what it does and does not. But what about the machine itself? What are its specifications, dimensions, ports, battery, and all that technical stuff that Google isn't talking about? No hard drive of course means: no desktop, no control panel, no finder, no obvious way to find out information about it. Being so new meant of course no reviews either, so I am on my own trying to find out what I can. Other GCTs have gotten theirs also but there has been little communication between us. So I'll post here what little I have found.The machine works well for web based services. It loads fast, about a second. It is online quick, even when tethering from my EVO. It works in secured networks but no LEAP, so not possible to use the wifi at work, which is a disappointment but not a major one. This means that most of the time I am connected to my phone, but Sprint's 4G in New York City is pretty fast and reliable so no problems there. On this area Chrome OS proves to be exactly what it promises, a haven for those of us who live on the web. A week of heavy use and it is still the same as the first day, fast and reliable. The only instances in which I have had to use my MacBook have been to unzip files, to edit video, to use Skype and to stream movies on one of my favorite online channels (which I'm not posting here for obvious reasons).
The CR-48 has a USB port that will do some things but not all that I need. It will charge my phone and my iPods but not my iPad. It will let me control the volume using my Logitech USB Headset but the sound and microphone still are local. Flash memory drives can be plugged in and it is possible to retrieve images and files to upload but it is not intuitive. They must be handled with web based editing services or uploaders.
The battery has good life, it lasts for a few hours of continuous usage. It does not go for 8 hours as claimed but I do use it heavily, streaming, uploading, browsing, trying apps, etc. Standby it does last much longer. I don't think I'll ever know how long it lasts on standby as I am continuously using it. The battery itself is big, and removing it shows the model and serial as well as a port for a card, possibly a sim card.The touchpad works ok but not great. Scrolling up and down gets jerky at times, taking some extra effort to stop at the right place. All other buttons work very well. The tab button is fantastic for the incognito window, hiding it from the eyes of all of those who want to see the new machine. The lower case keyboard and the search button make for great conversation. Everyone at first thinks that caps are not possible, even though there are the usual two shift buttons. The volume is acceptable but not outstanding, but so isn't the volume in my MacBook.
Overall the Cr-48 is a great experience, mostly because of the Chrome OS as the hardware is not outstanding. The best things: no crashes, no waiting time, no annoying updates (it did one two days ago that took about one minute including restart), no virus definitions popups, no problems doing flash video and animations, and no heating up with fans making sounds. The experience is so light and intuitive that it seems like it has always been that way with every computing device. It makes you forget that other machines are constantly crashing.
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