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HP Stream 13 vs Asus Chromebook C300: what's your pick?
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In this video I compare Windows 8.1 vs Chrome OS with two low cost sub $250 laptops, the HP Stream 13 and Asus Chromebook C300. Sporting very similar hardware but with very different operating systems are either of these right for you?
HP Stream 13:http://amzn.to/1RePHPS
Asus Chromebook C300: http://amzn.to/1RGmZHY
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Hey guyThis is Austin.
So can you get a decent laptop for under $250On one hand you could get the Asus Chromebook C30A 13-inch laptop running Google's Chrome OOn the other you've got the new HP Stream 1A full-blown Windows 8.1 laptoThat also comes in at 230 dollarCrack open the ChromebooAnd you'll find the laptop itselAlong with a compact power adapteUnwrap the c300 and you'll see a brushed plastic finish that looks a bit like actual metal anAbsolutely gets coated in fingerprints.
The design itself is basic but nice enougIt measures in at less than an inch thick and just over three pounds.
Move over to the stream and you'll see it comes with a bigger two piece power adapteAlong with a link to redeem a Windows Store gift card that isn'Quite live yet. There's also a year subscription to office 36Which usually costs $100 a very nice addition on a $230 laptop. Unwrap the stream itselAnd it is very very blue. Right noyou have the choice between blue and pink which gives a serious contrast with the all-black look of the chrome book. the stream is Bit thinner howeveIt's also noticeably heavieWhich probably has more to do with the build quality than anything else. Open up the lid on the ChromebooAnd you'll find a 13.3 inch display with a resolution of 1366 by 76The resolution is basically what you expect at this price poinBut the colors are poor and the viewing angles are just baLook at the screen at anything besides straight on and everything washes out quickly and on top of thaThere's some stress behind the panel on my unit causing very noticeable warping on the screewhile the size and resolution are the same the display in the stream is a notch abovThe screen assembly feels much more robust and the viewing angles are better too- not amazinBut a big improvemenWhen you first boot up a Chromebook, it's very straightforwarYou jump on Wi-Fi and log into your Google account if you already used ChromIt will grab your sync information including bookmarks apps etc on the streaIt's typical Windows with a fairly short setup, but you'll have to spend a while downloading updates.
You'll also find some bloatware including McAfee and some HP software all which can be cleared up easily enough with CcleaneWith only 17 gigabytes of free space out of the box every little bit helpWhere the Chromebook has a full sized SD card slot the stream opts for microSD insteaWhich allows you to add an extra 32 gigabytes for less than $2Which is basically a necessity. The keyboard on the Chromebook is pretty solithere's subtle bulging of the spacebar which gives you a comfortable position to type on and since it's running Chrome OS the layout is slightly tweakeIncluding a search key instead of capslock. The strain keyboard is decent, but it's a biMushier than on the Chromebook and sports an extra row of keys on the right side which can be an annoyance since the homButton is right beside backspace the trackpad is unfortunately just disappointinIt's not particularly accuratAnd it doesn't always pick up a tap on the first try. Not only is the trackpad on the Chromebook biggeBut it's also much nicer to use. It tracks nicely and supports multi-touch gestures much better than on the streaIncluding swiping with two fingers to go back or to scroll. Interestingly both laptops are almost identicaInside. The Chromebook sports a dual-core intel pentium n2830 clocked at up to 2.gigahert2 gigabytes of RAM a 32 gigabyte SSD and 802.11 AWi-Fi. The stream slightly improves on this with a processor that can run up to 2.6 gigahertz but drops down tWireless-n for Wi-Fi. The low-power Pentium allows both laptops to be fanless which combined with SSDs makes them completely silenPerformance-wise the Chromebook seems to handle the modest specs fairly welPlaying HD flash video with no problem and with up to 6 or 7 tabEverything stays nice and smooth move over to the stream, and it holds up reasonably well howeveIt's clear that running full Windows 8.1. Is a bit more demanding in return you're getting a morFully featured operating system basically any Windows application will work on the streaWhich is a huge plus.
While you really won't be using this as a hardcore gaminPC the stream can handle lighter games like League of Legends on low settings on the other hand Chrome OS is much simpler. If you'vnever used a Chromebook before it's essentially a lightweight operating systeThat's entirely built around the Chrome browse. For normal web surfing this works great and a lot of appI use on the desktop are available including SpotifTweetDeck and pocket castYou can also download apps from the Chrome Web Store the work offline like sunrise calendar and even some Android apps like duolingo and vinAre now available. Flash games will work, but even games designed for chrome like Bastion don't always run that smoothly.
Unfortunately if you want to be running full Windows apps on the ChromebooYou're out of luck although on the flip side that also means that you don't really have to worry about viruses or bloatwarBattery life is definitely a highlight for both laptops with such low powered processorYou'll easily get a full day of use out of them, and then some. If you really think about iIt's kind of crazy that you can get a decent laptop for about the same price as a 7-inch tablet. While the build qualitDefinitely leaves something to be desired the dual core PentiuAnd two gigabytes of RAM works well on the Chromebook and the better keyboard and especially trackpad make a big difference in everyday usThe screen gives you a much more usable screen more durable build and most importantly full windowPerformance isn't amazing but being able to run Windows apps is a huge pluSo would you pick up the Stream or Chromebook? Definitely be sure to let me know in the comments below.
Anyway I've got to give a big shout out to Play Vfor making this video possiblPlay vs.. Is a cool new app. That's all about playing games while supporting your favorite sports teaThere's a whole list to choose from which are surprisingly fuYou've got everything from kicking field goals to an endless runner. My favorite parIs that they're nice and simple perfect for playing when you've got a couple minutes free.
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Is totally free. Anyway guys, thank you so much for watching, and I will catch you in the next one

Is a $230 Laptop Worth It?