Google’s Chrome operating system seems to be heavily dependent on the company’s web services and software. The company seems to believe that you are online most of the time. The company thinks that when everything can be stored online, why do you need local storage? And online backups can be accessed from anywhere. In theory, this is a great idea, but implementing it has proven difficult so far.
Everything being available online and being able to access it easily, currently there is no such infrastructure in India. Apart from this, the price of Chromebooks launched in the market till now has also been high, due to which people have put more emphasis on buying regular laptops or tablets. This trend may change soon, that too when Xolo has launched its product in this segment and its price is also much lower than the 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 tasks, 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 with a matte grey plastic body and a bright Chrome logo in one corner, it stands out a bit. The device looks average, but it looks more useful than anything else. The body is designed in such a way that it fits when you try to hold it in the bend of your fingers.
The body material of the device reminded us of shockproof laptops that are made with students in mind, which seems to be a good decision. When we open the device, we find a glossy plastic around the keyboard. We found that this surface gets stained very quickly.
The keyboard is quite large, but you’ll immediately notice that its layout doesn’t match most laptops. There’s a standard button-less trackpad below it. The matte panel above the screen houses the webcam. Apart from these things, there’s nothing special in the design worth mentioning.
There’s a USB 2.0 port on each side of the device. On the left side, it’s accompanied by a power inlet and status LED, an HDMI video output, and an exposed microSD card slot. On the right side, there’s a 3.5mm headset socket and a Kensington lock slot. There are two USB ports at the bottom of the Chromebook.
There are cutouts for small speakers, but their position is not such that the sound comes out cleanly. Apart from this, the bottom part is completely blank and there does not seem to be any need for vents (space to remove hot air).
If you are looking for a fashion statement, then you should look for another device. As far as a budget product is concerned, we are happy with the appearance and build quality.
Specifications and software
This is not a superfast device, even for an Android tablet. The device is powered by the Rockchip RK3288 processor, which has four ARM Cortex-A17 cores running at a speed of 1.88GHz and has an integrated Mali-T624 GPU. The RK3288 processor also handles 4K video output and HD video decoding. It has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of inbuilt storage, and a microSD card slot is also provided if needed.
With this, the user will get 100GB free space on Google Drive for two years.
The 11.6-inch 1366×768 pixel screen is perfect for a budget laptop. However, the 1-megapixel webcam is a little weak for a device that is meant for continuous use. There is also Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.0. Xolo claims that the 4,200mAH battery used in the device lasts up to 10 hours, but it is not mentioned under what conditions. There is no inbuilt feature for cellular data usage in the device.
Our review unit had Chrome OS version 42.0.2311.153 and during the review, we received the update to version 43.0.2357.130. Updating was very easy, just a click away. Waited a few minutes and the device rebooted. Google usually releases updates in small sizes and the changes are not always visible.
Google’s Material Design touches like icons, shadows and layered panels are now visible in Chrome OS as well and things just look slicker than before. The launcher menu has been replaced by a search interface that also features Google Now cards. While frequently used apps are visible, you’ll have to go to the “All apps” submenu to access other apps. 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 on an Android device or in the Chrome browser on a desktop, you’ll find that more personal information is visible here as well.
Performance
The Xolo Chromebook cannot be compared to a budget laptop. Think of it as a web browser device and not a regular laptop. If you spend your entire day using Chrome, you won’t feel like you’ve missed out on anything. Multiple user profiles can be set up using different Google accounts and it also has a guest mode.
Now many Android apps can also run on Chrome OS. In the coming days, we can see more variety on this platform. There will definitely be some disappointment in multitasking, managing files, playing any media.
There are a few concepts and limitations you need to understand to get started with Chromebooks. There is no “home” key on the keyboard, which is a bit worrying. There is also no Fn key sequence, which is disappointing for those who use keyboard shortcuts. There are dedicated buttons for back, forward, and refresh. There are also dedicated buttons for brightness adjustment, volume adjustment, mute, power/lock, and fullscreen.
The Xolo Chromebook has a slightly different feel to it. Thankfully, the screen isn’t glossy, but it’s not sharp either. Colours are just okay, but viewing angles are pretty good. The keyboard is a bit of a letdown. The keycaps kept shaking during use and banged against the plastic surrounding them when I typed fast, which affected our typing speed. The trackpad is decent, but it was too low for our comfort. We are very disappointed with the poor quality of the webcam.
One very odd thing that kept happening was that the Chrome OS soft keyboard would pop up whenever we clicked on a text entry field before we could start typing. This is supposed to happen on a tablet, not a device that doesn’t even have a touchscreen and comes with a full keyboard.
We tried streaming some media files and playing some via a USB drive. We didn’t face any issues, but the sound output from the Xolo Chromebook’s tiny speakers wasn’t enough. The device scored 2,160 on BrowserMark and 654ms on SunSpider, which is average for a budget device. We opened multiple Chrome browser windows at once, along with multiple tabs, but the device never slowed down.
One area where the Xolo Chromebook performed well is battery life. During informal testing, we found that the company’s claim of 10 hours of backup was very much true. We also liked the fact that the system took very little time to boot up and shut down.
Our verdict
Performance is not important if the device is used only for web browsing, playing less powerful games and streaming videos. All these functions are handled by the Xolo Chromebook with ease. Priced at Rs. 12,999, the Xolo Chromebook is an excellent option for users who want a simple machine for communication and light entertainment. Students and the elderly will appreciate this device, and it can 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 news is that you are 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 Chromebooks launched in India till now have not sold well. Infrastructure is a big problem today, a lot will have to be done to improve it and it will also take time. Accordingly, Xolo has definitely tried to fill some shortcomings.
In the past, we have always recommended that people considering buying a Chromebook should think it through before making a decision. If you know what the device is and what it is not, what it can do and what it cannot, it can be a very useful investment.
Price: Rs 12,999
Specialty
1. Lightweight and good build quality
2. Cheap
3. Good battery life
Disadvantages
1. Not much variety
2. Internet access is a must
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