HP Chromebook 14

Danger781

Hey lads

I'm considering investing in the HP Chromebook 14 for college but it doesn't seem to be available within Ireland, or the UK (via Parcel Motel)

Does anyone know a store that sells these? Or any news on them coming to Ireland?

If not, I'll probably go for the ugly Acer C720.. From PCWorld UK via PM

advertsfox

Amazon have them new from £329 and used / refurbished from £214. I'd personally look into the refurbs since they are new and a lot of people return them because they don't realise they are buying a laptop with Chrome OS that doesn't support their Windows apps.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/14-c002sa-Pavilion-Chromebook-Celeron-Graphics/dp/B00DUXIXL2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385026991&sr=8-1&keywords=HP+Chromebook+14

Danger781

Hi,

Sorry should have specified that it is not the Pavilion chromebook that I want

The new HP Chromebook with Haswell. Preferably in White (Only two other colours, peach and coral)

advertsfox

Ah my apologies, it's a tough one to find - if you are willing to sign up to the few German providers who are selling it, you can see if they will ship here or to the UK.

http://www.google.ie/intl/en/chrome/devices/hp-14-chromebook.html#hp-cb-14

Danger781

advertsfox wrote: »

Ah my apologies, it's a tough one to find - if you are willing to sign up to the few German providers who are selling it, you can see if they will ship here or to the UK.

http://www.google.ie/intl/en/chrome/devices/hp-14-chromebook.html#hp-cb-14

Most German sellers ship with a QWERTZ keyboard so that wouldn't be much use to me unfortunately :-)

Khannie

I'd say you'll have a hard time finding the HP one this side of Christmas. Everywhere seems to be selling it at a premium too (google site says $299, but all the US suppliers are charging $355 for it).

Probably going to get a C720 myself. Looks like a fine piece of kit for the money. They've dropped it to a 2G version which I think is a pity (as I intend installing Linux on it) but it's cheaper since they did. My only concern is the small screen, but it's the same resolution as the HP one.

Danger781

Khannie wrote: »

I'd say you'll have a hard time finding the HP one this side of Christmas. Everywhere seems to be selling it at a premium too (google site says $299, but all the US suppliers are charging $355 for it).

Probably going to get a C720 myself. Looks like a fine piece of kit for the money. They've dropped it to a 2G version which I think is a pity (as I intend installing Linux on it) but it's cheaper since they did. My only concern is the small screen, but it's the same resolution as the HP one.

The HP 11 actually took my eye originally but I was concerned by the ARM processor as opposed to Haswell.

HP 11
* Better Screen
* Much nicer looking
* microUSB charging (This really appeals to me)

C720
* Haswell
* More connections

Danger781

I reckon I'm probably going to go for the Acer C720 if PCWorld UK will deliver to my PM

Makes more sense for college. Smaller, lighter, and longer lasting battery than it's counterparts.

I'll just learn to live with the ugliness! :P

Khannie

I think it's nice looking, myself.

Danger781

Khannie wrote: »

I think it's nice looking, myself.

I think the HP 11" and 14" are far nicer

Khannie

Agreed. I still think the acer looks nice enough.

Sarz91

Only came across this post today. Looking into getting a chromebook. I found the HP 14 on their website. Not 100% sure it'll ship here. http://h20386.www2.hp.com/UKStore/Merch/Product.aspx?id=F1W27EA&opt=ABU&sel=PCNB

yeppydeppy

I couldn't recommend either of those manufactures. I've had terrible problems with HP products (their printers still seem to be OK) and although I don't have experience using Acer I've heard bad things about them.

Danger781

Everyone has bad experiences with manufacturers. Unfortunately that is just luck.

Not going to affect my longing for a chromebook :-)

Sarz91

Is there anywhere in the UK or Ireland you can get the 4 gb version of the c720?

Danger781

Sarz91 wrote: »

Is there anywhere in the UK or Ireland you can get the 4 gb version of the c720?

I don't believe so..

Khannie

You might be able to order it direct from Amazon. They do ship some stuff internationally from the US.

I have a 4G C720 on the way through a friend in the states. Can't wait!

Thegarlad

The HP14 Chromebooks are selling on Littlewoods

http://www.littlewoodsireland.ie/electricals/laptops/chromebooks/e/b/103673,20408.end

Danger781

Thegarlad wrote: »

The HP14 Chromebooks are selling on Littlewoods

http://www.littlewoodsireland.ie/electricals/laptops/chromebooks/e/b/103673,20408.end

That is surprising to say the least, albeit unsurprisingly at a heavily inflated price..

$299.99 in the US = Roughly €220 + 23% VAT = ~€270

Danger781

Khannie wrote: »

You might be able to order it direct from Amazon. They do ship some stuff internationally from the US.

I have a 4G C720 on the way through a friend in the states. Can't wait!

Hey, had a look at Amazon.. No go on the international shipping unfortunately..

Khannie

Danger781 wrote: »

That is surprising to say the least, albeit unsurprisingly at a heavily inflated price..

$299.99 in the US = Roughly €220 + 23% VAT = ~€270

I flippin' HATE the Paddy tax.

Danger781

Khannie wrote: »

I flippin' HATE the Paddy tax.

Yeah - I'm not sure it's worth the extra €60 or so..

PCWorld UK sell the Acer C720 - £198.99 which is very very reasonable

I know PCWorld IE don't deliver to parcel motel, but do PCWorld UK? Can't see to find anything on their site..

Khannie

Did you get the C720 in the end? Mine is arriving on Friday through my friend. Can't wait. Got the 4GB version. Only down side is the US keyboard, but that is very minor. Might stick up a review when I have it.

I'm half thinking of upgrading the SSD. 60 quid on memoryc for what I think is a compatible 64G one. I haven't found any articles where someone has actually done it though.

Danger781

I did!

Christmas present though.. Haven't been allowed to touch it..

Bought it from PCWorld.ie for €250

Khannie

Commencing taunting in T minus 3 days......

paul9mm

For what it's worth, over this past summer I got from Amazon.co.uk the Samsung Chromebook. (I had a credit from a returned Asus TF-300 and decided to try out a Chromebook on the 30-day, no questions asked return.)
Without getting into a long Pro/Con list, I was really surprised just how good the experience of using the Chromebook was, how seamless it was using the device for day-to-day tasks but I returned the Chromebook because of an under-powered chip set & poor build quality. True to Amazon's statement, zero hassles returning and getting a refund within 72 hours.

In context: I wanted to see if I could use the Chromebook for creating Python scripts (I installed Crouton as a Linux shell: http://www.howtogeek.com/162120/how-to-install-ubuntu-linux-on-your-chromebook-with-crouton/ ). Struggling with 2GB Ram & a less than sharp screen was annoying.
What I LOVED about the device? Hands-down, being able to use MediaHint (https://mediahint.com/) to access Hulu.com's TV content was simply amazing. Also, the USB slot allowed memory expansion, so the 16GB internal storage was not a hassle. I used my phone's data tether, so zero hassles connectivity. Also, the free 100GB, 2-year storage on Google Drive (€60/year = €120 credit!) also was a huge bonus.
I have zero hesitation for anyone thinking of getting a Chromebook is you are using web-based applications, as all worked flawlessly on the Chromebook.

Khannie

Well, turned my c720 on today. I have linux installed on it (through crouton, which is very easy to set up). Delighted tbh. It's a fully fledged linux laptop for under 200 euro. With both chrome os and lubuntu running at the same time (with chrome running in both) there is only 800MB of RAM in use so for most things the 2GB version should be fine. I intend doing some dev work on it, so plumped for the 4G version.

There is a fan, but it is very quiet. The only thing I've had any hassle with so far is getting hardware accelerated video playback. I'll probably sort that tomorrow when I'm less hungover.

Keyboard is very nice to use. Touchpad is responsive. Screen is crisp. I heard some people were saying it wasn't terribly bright, but I find it perfect (so far anyway). Overall I'm very happy and just as importantly, so is my wife.

Danger781

I have no idea what issue people had with the screen, tis lovely to use. Not quite as nice as the HP Chromebook 11 but I'd be still be okay using it for prolonged periods.

Keyboard feels lovely. Not a fan of the touchpad though, but I suppose you can't have everything! Very happy overall

Going to take some getting used to using two fingers to right-click.

theObserver

Pc world in the uk is selling the hp14 for £250
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/chromebooks/hp-14-q003sa-wifi-chromebook-white-21852530-pdt.html#longDesc