Is a Chromebook enough for my needs?

[Tolkienista]

I've scrolled the internet looking for help, but In all honesty, this is the best forum for honesty and informed answers.

Went into John Lewis today to look at Chromebooks and spotted one reduced to £127 that looked ideal.....11" screen, compact looked just right. Spoke to a sales assistant and in the end walked away empty handed. He had nothing positive to say about the product, it was all bad even though I'd explained it would be just for general internet browsing, emails, you tube watching, looking at photos........no word processing needed at all.

Anyway I said I'd go home and do my research, but why should I buy a Chromebook? or why not?
I'm currently using a couple of tablets and my phone of course, but just want something a bit more substantial to use in the day especially at my desk.
Any help gratefully accepted.

It's probably fine. Not the sort of thing I'm after, but I do know that many, many schools use Chromebooks in the classroom (and my work uses them for remote working).

I use a Chromebook and it's perfectly fine for my needs. I store everything online anyway on Google Drive and have Microsoft Word or Google Docs available through my email. My photos are stored online too. I don't need anything more than a Chromebook

I have a Chromebook and it's perfectly fine. I use it for applying for jobs, word processing, internet browsing and watching iPlayer.

Internal storage is the only potential issue, but it just saves everything to Google Docs in the cloud so not a problem for me.

I have one and love it ~ I use it mainly for internet browsing, e-mails, YouTube and spreadsheets. It's all I have and is more than sufficient for my needs

I'm typing on one now It's my second (the previous met its death under a bottle of wine)
I find it perfect for my needs... enails, watching Disney+, whatsapp, general day to day stuff. and the sound quality is adequate. Hell of a lot faster than my aged macbook and the battery life is great.

Probably no good if you wanted to edit videos or do music production, but for daily stuff, it's fine! (Also bought at John Lewis!) I'd get bigger than 11 inch tho

I have one and it's absolutely fine for browsing the Internet and sending emails. DS gas done all his work on it since we bought his just before the first lockdown and it's still going strong.

You sound like my dad. He uses his for facebook, emails and disney+ / netflix / prime. We also got him a chrome cast so he can watch his shows on his tv instead of the chromebook screen.

Not keen on a Chromebook's way of working with spreadsheets or on the process of creating tables in any programme, compared to alternatives. Mine is also having an ongoing connection problem with a BT router, and by extension, with a wireless printer, though nothing is showing as a fault on the router side.
The storage and browser performance has been ok though.

I too am typing on mine now. It's perfect for my needs, just general browsing and Whatsapp etc. Be aware that they have a kind of expiry date after which they don't receive updates, you can still use them after that time but security might not be optimal. Mine is dated 2030.

Using one now. I have no issues with it except: (i) it won't work with Word - or if it does I can't fathom out how and (ii) downloading/saving images is a bit of a pain.

I love my Chromebook. It's light, fast, and folds over into a tablet. I use the SD card slot for storage, but my phone saves photos & such to Google anyway. I'm mostly watching Netflix and reading Kindle books on it but it's also good for Web browsing, emails, messaging and so on. I bought a pen for it, so I can write notes and it turns them into type.

Can't use Office apps or Photoshop, etc, but I have a windows PC for that.

I love mine. I'm not technically savvy but my partner is so they sort out anything I can't fathom. Never had any problems! Only problem is when you forget other laptops aren't touch screen and you paw at it like an idiot!

Thanks everyone for your informed replies and experiences of using your own Chromebook, that is extremely helpful going forward.
I had to laugh @GoFaster83 comment about "pawing at the screen" because that's what I was doing today in John Lewis.
I like my tablets for their portability and I'm typing on one now, it's sitting on my lap.
Keep your comments coming.

Chromebooks didn't have Skype or Zoom when they first came out. Has that been fixed?

Yes, @Abhannmor. You can install most Android apps on Chromebook. I've tested the Skype and WhatsApp video calling. Zoom seems to have installed correctly though I don't use it.

Ah, Zoom might be a bit strange. You need the Zoom pwa version for Chromebook. Often the OS version is the one that is on there (or up to pretty recently, anyway, post-2023 it might be on there already). PWA you have to be able to get from Google Play.

I love my Chromebook. 90% plus of what I use it for is internet browsing, emails, Whatsapp, Zoom/Skype calls. It's so quick, light and secure. I do have a tablet that I use for travel and reading but my go to is my Chromebook. I much prefer typing on a proper keyboard than on a tablet/tablet keyboard.

If you do go for one make sure you have a touch screen model as the more basic ones don't have this..

You can use word, all MS apps are available on Windows 365 so you use them in the browser.

You can also use Google docs/sheets etc which is free and much better

@Hopealong good point about the touch screen. The one I viewed in John Lewis was not touch screen & I'm so used to using one that it would be a definite plus to have one.

Thanks for the further posts on the use of Chromebooks.
I'm definitely a basic user, I really don't need word processing applications and never even thought of Zoom as a requirement.
Keep your thoughts coming.