Samsung Chromebook XE550C22-A01US Pro Reviews

More powerful hardware and a new edition of Chrome OS that lets you work offline make this the best Chromebook yet

What the Chromebook does, it does well. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this is the best Web browsing experience that you’ll find on a laptop. It’s quick, smooth, easy to navigate via multi-touch scrolling and supported by a brilliant matte display. As a portable web browser, the Samsung Series 5 is perfect. So that’s the question: Do you want to buy a $450 (Wi-Fi only) or $550 (3G) Web browser? The question seems absurd at first, but we think an argument can be made that the new Chromebook is a logical choice. Yes, you can buy Windows netbooks and ultraportables for a similar price. They will have a broader range of functionality and be far more useful when you have no Internet connection. You can’t, however, buy a new Windows ultraportable with anything better than an Atom or AMD E-Series processor for $450. While other laptops with similar price tags are technically capable of doing more, they do many things so poorly that the added functionality is nearly irrelevant. This laptop is a good choice for consumers who need portability but can’t spend a lot of money. Chrome OS is still limiting, but it does what it’s designed to and the Series 550’s hardware is an extremely good value.