ASUS Chromebook Flip C100PA Review
I needed a new laptop- was this the solution?
UPDATE- In April of 2018, my Chromebook Flip C100PA stopped working. I’ve since updated to the newer C302 model. From the author’s perspctive, this is an outdated review.
My 2011 laptop was a disaster. That was evident several years before August 2016. Bearing the HP logo on the back, the company designers were going for the Macbook Pro look. No doubt about it. Internally, it contained an Intel Core i5 460M processor, which was pretty much ideal for my usage at the time.
I can still remember booting up the HP g62 for the first time. It ran Windows 7 Home Premium, and the folks at Hewlett-Packard kept it nearly free of customization- aside from McAfee, the Cyberlink suite and an HP Games folder waiting on the desktop. As I recall, it didn’t take me long to get rid of the useless McAfee suite (and replace it with something better), so it wasn’t really an issue. The 15-inch laptop was a pretty good companion for about a year-and-a-half.
That’s when the problems started. First, as Windows does, the system ran gradually slower. Fine. Then, the hard disk corrupted. Annoyingly, that left the system unusable for about half a year when it was replaced. Even with the replacement disk and a fresh install of Windows 7, the laptop continued its downward spiral. The battery started to die, and it currently lasts about 7 minutes before it’s empty. The legitimate copy of Windows 7 couldn’t properly run Google Plus. The laptop would beep several times, then send me to a blue screen. This was not a $300 budget laptop either, it was over $500 at launch and featured a gorgeous HD 15-inch screen and 500GB of on-board storage.
If I had any chance at saving the HP, I would. So, I tried a couple Linux operating systems this past year. First, I tried Xubuntu 14.04, and it worked extraordinarily well. Still some slight bugs with the hardware, but it was the first time the machine was usable as a daily driver since 2012. I then tried Linux Mint 16 Cinnamon. Again, worked extremely well. No problems. The machine was even fast and could handle a fair amount of stress on the RAM, such as playing YouTube, Town of Salem, and Facebook at the same time with Libreoffice and Spotify running in the background.
Then, when I said goodnight to it one night, it said it right back as usual.
But it never spoke to me again. After one last half-year’s worth of usage, the g62 said goodbye. Enter my search for a new machine.
I wanted something portable, but fairly powerful as well (Or at least something that managed the hardware well). I was on a budget, but didn’t want to settle for something I knew I’d be disappointed with. I’m not a fan of Windows, as a general rule (Not that I’d say no to a brand new Dell XPS 13). Enter the world of Chrome OS.
I chose the Flip because the company (ASUS) seemed to put far more effort into it then other Chromebooks I saw. It has a touch-screen, a 360-hinge, and an Aluminium Build. It also supports Android Apps officially, has 4GB of RAM and has a very attractive price, even in Canada. Here’s the catch. Rockchip ARM processor. But that’s it. Everything seems like it’s suitable for a more expensive machine. I click buy.
Fast forward a month-and-a-half, I’ve been using it as my only laptop and I’m very impressed. Here’s why.
You sign somewhat of an agreement when you start using Google’s Chrome OS. There’s indeed no sign of Windows programs or Linux applications here. This is the only place the ARM processor comes into play for me, as I’d like to put Linux onto the machine easily. The thing is, Chrome OS won me over- so it isn’t a big deal. See, when Chromebooks came out initially, I wasn’t a fan of the idea. But now, the operating system is insanely fast and fleshed out. It’s easily used as a daily laptop OS and complements my Android Smartphone well.
The Flip, on a hardware side, is great. It feels sturdy, and doesn’t really give me the sense that I could easily poke a hole through it with my finger (The Macbook Air gives me that sense, so take that for what you will). The keyboard is slightly smaller than the standard, but I personally don’t mind too much- even though I have bigger hands. It is kind of annoying how the right-click option is a double finger tap rather than a button on the touch pad in my opinion.
The hinge is sturdy and not something I worry about. The screen doesn’t have the highest resolution, but I find it’s more than fine as my daily laptop. My only complaint there is that the colours are weaker than the colours on my Nexus 6p, but that’s hardly a fair comparison. The lid seems like it’s a bit too easy to twist and distort, so I’d recommend taking it easy there. If you treat it well, you shouldn’t run into any issues. Also- I’m still not totally used to using it in tablet mode and having the keyboard in the back. The ports provide great accessibility through third party mediums, though I wish there was one USB-3 or one USB-C. I’m very pleased that there’s a Micro-SD port.
Onto the software side. Like I mentioned, Chrome OS is quick and very good. I’ve never found myself wanting a different operating system when using the system. Chrome is my browser of choice on PC, Mac or Linux, so I didn’t have any issue moving bookmarks. RAM-intensive sites like Canva or Town of Salem occasionally suffer from slowdown, but generally work well.
The Play Store integration is good, but it’s still in beta- and it kind of shows. When I click a Twitter link in the full Chrome desktop browser, it occasionally launches the app I installed for when it’s in tablet mode. I feel it shouldn’t do this, at least not when it’s in laptop mode. One of the only bugs in Chrome OS I found is regarding the rotation lock in tablet mode. It doesn’t really work like it should, especially when switching between browser and app. The Google Play Music app plays music at a lower quality than the website (They give three free months of the service with the Chromebook.) The Athletic Toronto app works well, as does Google Play Books. Colornote works well for notes. The Twitter app is glitchy in general.
The Chromebook Flip is working very well right now as my daily laptop. Keep tuned to my Twitter account (@PatrickMSports) for updates on the machine, but I have no problem recommending the laptop.
