I rarely write reviews. I mostly do video reviews, but never of specific products. That may change here soon.
This this is awesome and has quickly replaced many of my gizmos and gadgets, some that have cost me upwards of thousands of dollars. People who complain that Chromebooks are useless without internet access clearly are narrow minded and simply not thinking outside the box. Allow me to explain:
Let me begin by saying I take tech seriously. Since beginning a journey into a lifelong passion of filmmaking and screenplay writing I have invested tens of thousands of dollars of my own money into PC's that can keep up with the demands of 4k video editing and post processessing. I have amassed a couple of decent PC's, one a custom desktop (still being built; $3K~) and another an ASUS 970m ROG Laptop ($1300~) that are great for exactly what I need them for. My desktop runs all my video editing software for my bigger and most demanding projects and my laptop is great for editing video and running PC games in places other than my home (like school!). Recently, I've really gotten into writing more and I've found myself coming up with ideas on the go and wanted something a bit lighter than a 10lb ASUS Laptop (that thing is a monster). So mind you I really ONLY purchased to type down ideas as I had them, Seriously. I wanted something I could work on my writing projects on the go, so I paid the $250 for this thing. I just wanted a mobile typewriter. But oh my... I had no idea how far the rabbit hole went,
When I recieved the item I was amazed at the quality of it. I've had my fairshare of "eBay Special" aka Cheap Chinese iPad knockoffs (seriously, I've owned atleast 8 I think over the past 8 years) and have found each one to be a complete waste of money. Either they were so slow I couldn't get any work done or they just flat out broke after a couple months. I even broke bad and bought an $350 iPad and returned it not too long afterwards (I grew to dislike Apple products as they don't play nicely - or cheap - with just about anything else I own.) I was weary about paying this much for another iPad wanna-be tablet, which has an OS that doesnt go with anything, from a company that specializes in WalMart consumer PCs. But just at first glance, this thing is top quality. Nothing on it feels cheap at all. Not the glass, the display, the aluminum cover, the plastic. All of it feels very strudy (within reason) and has a nice, modern look and feel to it. I feel like this will look good in any decade. Very futuristic.
I boot it up and notice quickly the display seems to be 720p (or something close) but for what I need this thing to do... who cares? I just want to type words on it. The touchscreen and the hotkeys along the top take some getting used to but I was quickly in the Google Play Store, downloading all the apps I have on my phone and linking them to my accounts.
"This thing is neat." I thought to myself as I was scrolling through Facebook, listening to Pandora and playing my cloud save of Falloiut Shelters. I became a wizard, learning to use the touchscreen, keyboard, and touchpad all in tandem. I prop the thing up to watch a Youtube video.
"This thing is really neat."
But oh yah! I was supposed to use this to write! So I went to install my favorite screenwriting app, Trelby, only to find its not available. Darn. I use some other apps but nothing is quite the same for my workflow.
So I got desperate and booted up Linux on it. After some headaches and code learning, I quickly abandoned the stupid idea when it became more trouble than it was worth and factory reset. I thought the gizmo was neat but I was disappointed that I couldn't really use it the way I wanted to it that regards.
This is where the R11 gets interesting. I quickly realized that I could use the Google Remote Desktop app to access my desktop computer. BAM! I was writing on my scripts at home! I was using my whole $3k desktop on this little $250 laptop and it ran flawlessly! I could even watch videos and game from the laptop itself (to an extent). THIS IS AMAZING! But... If i wanted to use it on the go... I would NEED that internet connection to access the files. Man... maybe those negative reviews are right. Maybe this thing does suck without an internet connection....
Except everyone in 2017 is carrying a little WiFi router in their pockets. It's called a cell phone and even my cheap $30 ALCATEL has a tethering option.
And just like that, I realized that I can use my studio desktop wherever I want, whenever I want. That is just incredible. For $250 I can control my $3000 PC anywhere. She's got a USB for a tactical mouse and external keyboard, an SD slot and an external HDMI output. This thing is the ultimate mobile workhorse. Sure, it wont completely replace my ROG Laptop is terms of what it can do on its own but the ability alone to access my own desktop and use it as a touchscreen laptop is just amazing.
This is the ultimate tablet. This thing is amazing. As a matter of fact, I wrote this whole review on it. Buy it for school, buy it for home, buy on for the grandkids. Cant go wrong on this one.
| Standing screen display size | 11.6 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1366 x 768 pixels |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1366 x 768 Pixels |
| Processor | 1.6 GHz celeron |
| RAM | 4 GB DDR3L |
| Memory Speed | 1.6 GHz |
| Hard Drive | 32 GB Solid State Drive |
| Graphics Coprocessor | Intel HD Graphics |
| Chipset Brand | Intel |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Graphics Card Ram Size | 4 GB |
| Wireless Type | 802.11ac |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
| Number of USB 3.0 Ports | 1 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 10 Hours |
