Difference between laptop and Chromebook

[Turningthingsaround]

I am looking for a 'laptop' to use for emails, internet, job applications etc so I'd need internet, word/Microsoft etc. I'd quite like a USB port for my headphones too and one that has at least a few hours of battery life for using on the train if I can't get a plug socket.

I don't want to spend a ton of money and don't need a large screen size. Would a Chromebook suffice as they seem cheap? I don't really understand the difference between a Chromebook and a laptop. Ideally I'd like to spend less than £200 but could stretch a bit if that's not possible. Recommendations welcome. Thanks.

A chromebook uses a more lightweight operating system than a laptop and generally relies on web based apps (like Teams or Google Docs) and they also have smaller storage capabilities. I really rate my chromebook, it was cheap and I can use the Microsoft Office stuff that I need for work (plus internet etc.) I do have cloud storage though so the smaller storage doesn't really bother me.
Laptops are best if you are doing anything that needs more processing power (e.g., gaming) or if you want to download and save big files. It sounds like a chromebook would do for the things you describe though :)

Thank you. That makes sense and it sounds like a Chromebook would work. I won't need tons of storage space I don't think. Thank you.

@Zae134 I often wondered about the difference but have frequently been given so many different answers.
Is it correct that you have to be online to use programs like Word on a Chromebook? You can't use it offline?
This is what someone told me once and I was never sure if it was correct.

I got a Chromebook a few of years ago and hated it so much I ended up getting a laptop.
Probably down to my technological ineptitude though!

What did you hate about it?

Same here. I think I got it around 2014ish, so to be fair they may have improved a lot. I remember struggling to watch Netflix on it as the apps were all really crap. It was just difficult and complicated to use especially if you’re used to Windows etc.

Chromebooks are great and cheap ones work much better than cheap Windows laptops. However it is easier to use Google Docs offline than MS office so you should be prepared to use their version of word , excel etc (they are very similar)

I'm a Chromebook convert and think they are great for the uses you describe. They are not that dissimilar from using a laptop you just have to save things in the cloud or on additional storage such as micro SD, saying that if you buy one with a decent amount of storage you can store on them too. In terms of performance compared against equivalent priced laptops they are faster, perform better and don't experience the dreaded slow down and sluggishness that laptops do over time. Just buy one with decent ram and storage to make good use of the apps

If I did a job app would there be compatibility issues if I work on Google and they work on Microsoft?

To be honest if your budget is around £200 you haven't got a choice. The last time I bought a cheap laptop (about £300 ten years ago) it was borderline unusable - extremely sluggish for anything beyond the simplest tasks, and even then quite slow and frustrating.

Most laptops have the windows operating system and are a fully functional computer that can run without the internet.

A chromebook is more like a giant phone or ipad with a keyboard that can edit documents in the cloud (e.g. google docs) and save things online but can't do much if you don't have an internet connection.

If you are on your chromebook and you save documents as a .pdf in order to email in for the job apps, then there is no compatibility issue.

if you email a link to a Google-doc for your job apps, it may not work well for people who use Microsoft and I definitely wouldn't be impressed with that from a job applicant.

I've been using a Chromebook for years and recommend them. They are far lighter than laptops. They switch on immediately; you don't need to wait for updates to run, particularly if you haven't used one for a while and there are several lengthy updates. If I need to use an Excel document, I convert it to Google sheets, work on it, then easily convert it back to Excel before emailing it back to the sender.

Thanks everyone. Very useful thoughts and info.

I love my chromebook - I find it easier to use than a laptop. I use microsoft office for my job and it works fine - there are just a couple of things you can't access on the web only version, but I can work around that. Zoom works well on it, I watch TV on it, I create stuff using Canva, facebook and instagram work well - in short, it does everything I need it to, in a very simple way.

No you can use it offline, it's just that most people rely on cloud storage for it so need to be online at some point to back up.

I downloaded all the Microsoft office apps from the Google Play store on the chromebook. My job solely uses Microsoft apps, so I needed access to these rather than the Google ones really, works fine.

@Zae134 thanks. I always it sounded odd to have to be permanently connected to the internet to be do something like just typing an essay/article/story but does it mean if you want to save what you have written you've got to be online?

I've had one of these for Christmas - not really had time to look at it yet (I'm away on holiday). What I'm hoping to be able to do is to use zoom for some online learning, watch TV, check emails and I was hoping to get some apps on it eg for shopping, kindle etc . I was also hoping for something like word but it would be my own notes so doesn't have to be compatible.

I was looking for a replacement for an old iPad and my work laptop which I no longer have since retirement.

Pleased to see @NannyR likes hers.

You can save it offline to the storage on your Chromebook, but because Chromebooks generally have less inbuilt storage than laptops you just have to remember to regularly save docs etc to the cloud, when you are online, otherwise your storage will get used up and same as a laptop, will affect the functionality of the device.

@Falafelolive thanks. That makes sense 🙂

Yep just as @Falafelolive says :)