ASUS Chromebook Flip

I think, by now, everyone knows I'm a Chromebook fan - they're great for lightweight computing, they have long battery life, require very little maintenance, they start up fast and they get you productive even quicker. I took one on vacation this year instead of a traditional laptop and actually got quite a bit done both for work (I used VMWare Horizon client to connect to my VDI workspace) and personal (where I use mostly Google products.)

They're not for everyone: if you aren't using powerful cloud servers to do your work or if you have a lousy Internet connection, they can be a real pain to use.

The only objection I have to the one I use (a cheap ASUS from a couple of years ago) is that it's not a touch screen. Because of this and its form factor, I usually also carry a tablet... The tablet is great for reading, doing quick emails and scheduling, but it's not good for more extended work, multiple windows, typing, etc.

What I'd really like is a combination tablet/computer that I could use for all of these tasks. 

I've thought about a Microsoft Surface, but they're expensive and I do most of my "personal" computing in the cloud - seemed like overkill. The Google Pixel is nice, but it's even more overkill – and a little too large for mobile use.


Today, I saw an ad for the new 2GB ASUS Chromebook Flip for $229 ($20 off its retail price.) This sounds about right for the kind of portable/mobile computing device I'm looking for. It has a high speed WiFi connection (a/b/g/n/ac) and a 1280 X 800, 10" screen. It's thin, weighs less than 2 lbs and its aluminum case looks pretty durable.

I think, when I'm next in the market for a new PC, it will be something like this.