I have an iPad 2, a new IPad Mini with Retina Display, a Macbook Pro laptop, a Samsung laptop, an Andoird Smartphone, blah, blah--one could say that I like tech stuff-- and I own one of those Chromebooks, too, NCKayaker. lol This one, which is generally the highest ranked out there, Haswell chip, etc.:
http://www.amazon.com/Acer-C720-Chro...rds=chromebook
When do I use it? Whenever my Ipad battery runs too low and is on the charger. lol
Not as visually clear as an iPad (even my iPad 2). Not as convenient as an iPad for portability. Very wired into Google--you have to sign into Google every single time you use it--for anything! Every time! It cannot be turned on and used without Google log in. Pushing Google+ and all the other things we hate about Google (and I think Google's great, in general).
Not as many Apps as iPad (although Google has Apps and plenty of them; but want Windows Office? iPad only. Many others, too, iPad and Apple only).
Chromebook does not have the battery life of the iPad (7 hours, if that, versus 10). Nor does it have the wonderful Siri of the latest iPads, both for looking things up, and just plain dictating, such as TOV posts (all dictated, right on TOV Forum!).
Built-in keyboard is a plus, right? For posting on TOV, for instance, right? But the Chromebook has no juice. The processor is slower than the newest iPad. Hiccups with Youtube videos. So, if I'm doing serious work, where I would need a keyboard--Word processing, editing videos, working with photos, or any work-work, like office work--the Chromebook fails, even with it's keyboard; one needs a good laptop.
For me, the Chromebook is the worst of all worlds--not the power and speed of my MacBook Pro or other laptop, not the glistening, long-battery life portability of an iPad. lol
What about Price? Well, the iPad Air is $499, and iPad Mini is $399, and Chromebook is $199. But the Chromebook is made very cheaply, it rattles and is cheap, fingerprinty plastic (please do see one in person before buying it). If one buys a glass and titanium Ipad, they can sell it anytime on eBay or TOV Sales for $200 less than they paid for it, so cost of ownership is $200. Chromebook is hard to sell, no one will pay anything since they can get a new one for $200, and the cost of ownership is, well, $200.
The charging cord on the Chromebook is larger than the tidy and small on on the iPads. More to lug for travel (the Chromebook has a moderately larger brick).
Have I drenched your thoughts of a Chromebook yet? Lol Saved ya a couple hundred smackeroulians, perhaps. lol I wish we lived closer, NCKayaker, bc you seem pretty cool and you could try my Chromebook out first hand to see if you like it.