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Monday 31 March 2014

Samsung XE503C12 Chromebook - #GAFE





Ok, so i’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on the new Samsung XE503C12 Chromebook for a couple of days. I don’t really do reviews, so if you are after a full breakdown I would encourage you to check out another site. I particularly recommend Guy Shearer's (@GuyShearer) thoughts on this device at - http://chromestead.dret.org.uk/2014/03/samsung-chromebook-2-fake-stitching.html (very similar to mine).

What I can tell you though is my initial thoughts and in time (probably tomorrow) those of my Digital Leaders. Vine videos from my Digital Leaders will follow.

For me, I instantly like the device, i’ll be honest and say I wasn’t expecting to but I actually love it more with every hold. The thought of a laptop with a faux leather exterior and with stitching down the side seems bizarre but works. The device feels strong and more durable than any other Chromebook I have ever held (Pixel excluded). The feel of the device makes you feel like you are holding something special and I can see this being a real pull for schools.

The device feels reasonably light although it is heavier than the iconic Samsung Chromebook we use here at IPACA. What you add in weight you gain in robustness though, the base board is metal finished which continues the executive feel to the device. I can see teachers happily accepting this device as their ‘teacher device’ as more services become cloud hosted.

On the sides you have a Micro SD slot (a move away from pure SD input) and two USB ports. The device support HDMI output and there is a headphone jack and charger connection positioned for easy access.

On the downside, the charger connection is still incredibly small. This doesn’t make it easy for young children to charge independently and like the iconic Samsung Chromebook will mean some breakages will occur. Only benefit with this will be that the same style will make sourcing replacements easy and potentially cheaper.

More to follow on this.

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