Samsung Chromebook hits the UK to mixed reviews

THE CLOUD-BASED internet terminal that is the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook is currently lurching towards UK stores in two varieties, WiFi only and 3G. These devices cost £349 and £399, respectively, and they offer punters access to online-only applications that Google apparently thinks they will want to use.

The unit, we have learned, makes some bold design changes. For example, choosing to go with 'flimsy' rather than 'tough' when it comes to its casing, and opting to do away with things like the Delete key, which as far as we know never offended anyone.

The Chromebook goes on sale tomorrow, and although we are tempted by it, we are also rather interested in a set of magic beads that someone is selling as well as a hat made from live, and very angry, crows. To be blunt, we've heard of dumb terminals before, but this sounds like a particularly dumb one.

Nothing about its specifications really causes offense. The Series 5 offers a 12.1 inch WXGA LED back-lit display, a 1.66GHZ Intel Atom dual-core CPU, a memory card slot, video cams and other gewgaws and a battery lasting a maximum of 8.5 hours - presumably if you don't touch it and dim the screen. However, the chromebook has just 16GB of storage. But that's fine isn't it? After all, you are going to give all your data and docs to Google and its remote servers.

Anyway, The INQUIRER does not want any of its readers to blindly rush into any purchasing decisions, so we have rounded up initial reactions from around the interweb to find out what the Chromebook has to offer. Not much, seems to be the answer.

The Metro, the free daily newspaper given out to commuters seems to quite like the Chromebook. Well, at least its review is the most glowing of all we've seen, even with its caveats.

"The Chromebook is small and lightweight enough (about 1.5kg) that you can chuck it in a bag without weighing yourself down," The Metro's reviewer pointed out.

"The screen is decent and the keyboard is good quality and comfortable to use, although we were less keen on the slightly clunky trackpad." Overall, the Metro said it might suit people that don't want much out of a netbook. Although not in so few words. Presumably anyone that misses the feel of a 'clunky trackpad' might be tempted also.