Chromebooks are finally getting serious about penetrating the mass market. No, it’s not better offline capabilities, though that would help greatly. And no, Minecraft is not making an appearance any time soon.
Chromebooks are getting serious because finally, Acer is releasing a 15.6-inch version of its Chromebook, supposedly on March 2015.
Months ago, I wrote about how the most popular computing device of the future will be a 15-inch tablet weighing less than 1.5 pounds with a keyboard accessory. While we are a good three to five years away from that getting there, the rationale is that the 15-inch display size is actually the most popular category of laptops.
It’s hard for the rest of us to relate because we usually get 11-inch or 13-inch laptops when we want to go mobile, and go with desktops with huge monitors when we don’t.
However, for the average household, the 15-inch laptop represents the one computer for the home and so has to be large enough for general use.
Of course, there’s still a big question whether Chromebooks are truly ready for the average, non-techie adult — as I argued here — but this Acer Chromebook will give it a fighting chance.
THE CORNERPLAY 
Have you tried using a 15″ tablet in your hands? And not just propped on a sofa, but in your hands, while walking around?
I question the utility of such a large tablet because it feels way too unwieldy to hold and use at the same time. Granted, my use cases may be more on the fringe side (I have used my iPad to take photos to upload to my blog while on the move – this was made possible by the integrated camera, 3g connection, touch-optimised wordpress app and most importantly, the size). But from my experience, any tablet larger than an iPad would be too cumbersome. The iPad mini is nice in that it’s the perfect size to type in portrait mode via the split-keyboard.
As such, I refuse to believe (and accept) that the future of the tablet is to be a keyboard-less laptop. I mean, if the tablet is just going to be docked on your table most of the time, why not just use a laptop?
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Have you tried a 15-inch tablet that weighs 1.5 pounds? One way to imagine it is to take a look at a laptop and just rip off the display from the hinge. That’s the computing device of the future, accompanied by a keyboard that doubles as a cover. It’s all in the weight.
Anyway, this year you’ll see a 12- to 13-inch iPad Pro and, you know what, a lot of people are going to love it.
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I am not convinced a 13″ “iPad Pro” is the right direction to go. It’s not just the weight, but also the ergonomics of handling a larger tablet. We are also having problems with developers not being to quick to support tablet apps, and Apple still wants them to support yet another resolution?
I feel that Apple has been making a number of questionable product releases of late (from their iMac with MBA innards to their refusal to update to update the normal Macbook Pro to the iPad Mini 3 sporting last year’s specs). These are products that I cannot, in any clear conscience, recommend anyone to get.
Well, we will see next year. 😀
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I think 15″ is only popular in the US, and perhaps a handful of other countries. In most countries, especially Asian countries like Indonesia, 14″ takes the crown as the bestseller. If you go to a cafe or Starbucks there, take a look at the laptops used there, its either a) netbook, b) 14″ laptop or c) MacBook. Those 3 makes like 95% of the laptops you’d find there.
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