Thursday 12 May 2011

Chromebook leaves us Googled

This has really made us think. As a school preparing its capital purchases for the next school year, where the likely cost per laptop is $1,200 plus our MS Campus agreement cost, the announcement by Google of Chromebook being available from June 15th, has caused me to take stock. 
We have been a Google Apps for Ed school since 2007 and from that time our ways  of working have changed significantly. We now collaborate, mail, website and store with GApps.
Conclusion - should we be more in the cloud?
Will the completely different concept (fast browser only computer allowing individual logins and up to 8 hours of battery life) be useful for our students? Will it be able to replace standard laptops?
The two Chromebooks of interest are as follows (both Wifi not 3G):
Samsung Series 5: $429 or $20 per user per month for 36 months;
Acer Chromebook: $349 or as above.
(But isn't it always the case - do we buy in NOW or wait until the bugs are ironed out?)

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