Category: Chromebook

To start your Monday morning & work week, how about a great offer from Amazon on the Samsung Chromebook 2.  This 11.6″ Chromebook was introduced in October of last year and up to this point has retailed for $249.99.  Today you can get it for $185.99, a savings of $64.00, while supplies last.  The Samsung Chromebooks have been some of the most highly rated units available for Chrome OS with this updated version of their original product receiving similar praise.  Sporting a 11.6″ HD LED 1366 x 768 display, the Chromebook 2 has 2GB of DDR3L SDRAM and 16GB of onboard storage.  It is powered by a 2.16 GHz dual-core Intel Celeron processor, has 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi support and has 9 hours of battery life.

Samsung Chromebook 2 – SALE $185.88 – Amazon

The Chrome OS teams has released a bug fix and security update to the platform that all devices should see in the coming days.  The new stable build is version 47.0.2526.110 (Platform version: 7520.67.0) and while no details were given on what specifically was addressed, we can safely assume that it is a build all users should upgrade too as soon as possible.  The update comes about a month after the last update to the platform on December 15, 2015 which is about the normal cadence for releases.

In the announcement, Google states that all devices will be seeing the update in the next few days.  That means if you have a Chromebook, Chromebit or Chromebase, you should see the update regardless of manufacture or model.

Earlier this morning I posted on an update to the Chrome browser that was released late yesterday.  Today, as is normally the case, the Chrome OS team has announced a new version is available for Stable Channel users based on the same update as the browser.  The new build of the OS is 47.0.2526.80 (Platform version: 7520.62.0) and it also includes an updated version of Adobe Flash Player, version 20.0.0.228-r1 for those keeping score at home.

Chrome OS users will likely recall that this is the second update to the platform in as many weeks which is not normally the case.  Google was very vague in the release discussing the update on what exactly was addressed, saying that there were bug and security fixes but not much else.  Usually they provide more details on specific bugs which may be an indicator that they don’t want the exploit widely known until more systems are up-to-date.

For those of you who have purchased a Chromebook in recent months, don’t forget that you have 12 free vouchers to use on GoGo Inflight while you travel domestically here in the United States.  The vouchers work on any airline and aircraft that is equipped with GoGo services but you have to make sure that you have claimed them to get them.  As a frequent traveler, I utilize GoGo almost every flight I’m on and while the service isn’t exactly outstanding from a speed perspective, it does keep you connected for things like email, web surfing and the like.

To make sure you have these vouchers, go to the Chromebook Goodies site at https://www.google.com/chrome/devices/goodies.html.  Then scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will see the section for GoGo and a button to bookmark the page.  Once you are on a flight, you will need to log into the service from your Chromebook – it will not work from your Android phone, tablet or a PC or Mac.  You will be prompted to confirm a passphrase and you will be online.  It’s a simple as that and the page will tell you how many of these vouchers you have remaining.

Chrome OS users, you have a new update available from Google.  On the Chrome OS blog today, Google announced that build 46.0.2490.82 (Platform version: 7390.68.0) is now available for all devices running the Operating System.  The update will push out to everyone soon but you can manually check for the update by going to Settings>About Chrome OS and tapping the Check for Update button.

HP has announced today that they will be refreshing their Chromebook 14 lineup with improved specs and a new Sky Blue color option.  The updated Chromebooks will be available starting November 8th with a starting price of $249.99.  The updates will include improved overall battery life which is now rated up to 9 hours while bringing an updated Intel Celeron N2840 processor along with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of on-board storage.  There will be two variants to the new Chromebook 14:  A 1366 x 768 resolution version at $249.99 while a full HD version will be $30 more at $279.99.

HP is also bundling several things in with the Chromebook upon purchasing, some of which come from Google on any Chromebook purchase.  You will get 100GB of storage on Google Drive for 2 years, 12 GoGo Inflight passes for use while on flights and a 90 day subscription to Google Play Music Unlimited.  HP is also throwing in 3 free movie rentals from Google Play Movies.

HP Chromebooks