I’ve been thinking about how to bring more useful information to About Chromebooks and today I implemented the first of several ideas. In the main menu, you’ll now see a Products option, which brings you to a new Chromebook product database that I’ve started to put together.
Let’s call this beta version 0.1 of the database because I may implement layout and functionality changes. And I only have two products in there so for. But if you hit the new product page, you’ll get an idea of where this is heading: One place to view various Chromebook and Chrome tablet specifications, information and a listing of reviews from around the web on these products.
I currently have a method to compare the specifications of two Chrome OS devices as well, but we’ll call that beta 0.01.
Here’s an example:
I think this one-stop destination is a good idea for readers to find and use information on various devices for making their purchase decisions. I’ll know for sure it’s a good idea if we see other tech sites implement something similar in the coming weeks and months. 😉
But more importantly, I want to hear from you on if this is a good idea. I’m open to suggestions and ideas, but keep in mind that I may have technical limitations and can’t implement all of them. In other words, I’m learning as I go! I’m finishing up the first semester of a Java class right now and HTML/CSS/Javascript is on my upcoming class schedule; first I have to finish Java II though. Once I get some Javascript knowledge, changes will be much easier to implement. (I hope.)
Ideally, I’d like to remove most of the right sidebar on the product pages so you can see more product information on the screen at one time. And along with a comparison tool, my hope is to implement a feature that will let you search for all devices, for example, that have a particular processor or at least 8GB of memory. I think that, along with the aggregated reviews will help people find the best Chrome OS device for them. Let me know if you agree.
20 Comments
Love where you are going with this! Thanks so much for all the hard work you do!!
Thanks for the kind words and support, Frank. 🙂
Great job Kevin!
Thanks!
Side-by-side comparisons are always most useful. Interesting that Kevin has chosen to exclude Chromeboxes though.
Just haven’t added the Chromebox category yet. Have one under review right now. 😉
Great idea, this will make the site an even more valuable resource. Thanks for your hard work.
Thanks, Michael!
I’d put the Product Features as default rather than Product Reviews. If I was to look through that sort of tool, I’d be looking for specific info rather than as a launchpad to read reviews.
Good feedback Max, thanks!
Truly appreciated efforts Kevin. I just got into world of ChromeOS this week after my Acer R13 finally arrived from Amazon. Your website pushed me to try this OS and so far I like what I see. Keep it up.
Suggestion: include NITS on tablets and laptops. It’s a useful bit of info yet hard to find in reviews.
Agreed! Also hard to find out from some manufacturers; that and the display panel color gamut. ?
Always looking for an all-inclusive ‘one-stop destination’ for Chrome OS devices, this’ll be great, thanx!
Great idea! Please include the “​Auto Update Expiration” (AUE) date. While pretty easy to find once you have your hands on a device, it is sometimes more difficult to determine based on names found in an article.
Also show the link to Google’s list in case it changes or moves. https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366
Yup, I added the AUE date as one of the specs when I added the first two devices. I can add the link though. Great idea!
Good start, will be a valuable resource for sure. Thank you!
My ask would be to add a differentiator for consumer/EDU/enterprise. Not sure how easy that really is as several devices cross the line between target markets, but there are many that are obviously EDU or enterprise for example.
This is a great start!
I’ll echo Max Luong’s comment above: the Product Features should be the default tab.
Some other ideas:
1. If a product has multiple cpu/ram/storage size skus, i’d maybe add them as individual tables or make it very clear which of the options go with what.
meaning if you list cpu options as “Celeron, Core m3, Core i5, or Core i7” and the ram as “4, 8 or 16 GB” does that mean i can get a celeron with 16 gigs of ram? if not, then this listing isn’t helpful. 4 cpu options vs 3 ram options. if it’s an even matching of 4/4 cpus to ram, maybe i’d mentally think the first cpu choice gets paired with the first ram choice. but i can’t be sure.
1a. RE: separate skus being selectable, It would be to be able to side by side compare the m3 version of x chromebook vs some other chromebook and then maybe the i5 version as well. (probably a v2 feature but that’s where I’d like to see it go)
2. In the compare view, you should really make sure all rows line up so you can easily scan left to right. It seems the font is too large and is causing wrapping in the left product when we get to the “Display Resolution” row, causing the rows to not line up anymore.
3. also on the rows lining up– make sure you use the same order and features in the table listing. Right now the acer shows “usb type A ports” but the slate does not. The slate should have “0” for that row, not the omission of the row entirely. Likewise with the MSRP on the spin.
Another thought on this topic would be to consider features that enable linking other users of the same system to each other. For instance, I’d love to be a community of new Acer Chromebook Spin 13 owners.
Great idea! Please include :
Touch screen or not
Android/Google Play or not
Back lit keyboard or not
Since LTE is becoming available on Chromebooks, whether model has LTE or later on 5G