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HP Chromebook X2 vs Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 – Could a Chrome OS Tablet Replace Your Android Tablet?

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It is no secret that Android tablets are not as popular as they used to be. With the exception of the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Samsung Galaxy Tab line of tablets, it seems like many Android tablet manufacturers have given up on Android Tablets. Google has been working hard to replace Android with Chrome OS on future tablets and while this is a refreshing change, Could a Chrome OS Tablet replace your aging Android Tablet? For this post, we are going to put two leading flagship devices in a head to head battle – the Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 (Android) and the HP Chromebook X2 (Chrome OS).

Chrome OS’s upcoming “Better Together” feature may be a Google Pixel Exclusive Feature (for now)

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Google has been working hard on a feature called “Better Together” which was designed to allow for deep integration between Android Phones and Chrome OS. Thanks to the latest build of Chrome OS to hit the developer channel, we now have a better picture on what the setup process will look like and it is not looking good for non-Pixel Phone owners.

ChromeOS 69.0.3464.0 brings Plenty of Bugs, Better Together, Android P Styling, File Manager Changes and Crostini Support to More Devices

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Update : June 21, 2018 – It seems that Google has pulled the update. Users who managed to install the update before Google pulled it can perform a rollback if the stability issues are making your Chromebook unusable. Rollbacks do require a powerwash which may or may not be a reason to hold out for a stable update.

It looks like Google has begun the rollout of ChromeOS 69.0.3464.0 to users on the “dev” channel. This is actually a major version increase as all previous updates were part of ChromeOS 68. Lets look at some of the changes Google has packed into this release – fair warning, there is A LOT in this release and plenty of bugs.

Six Changes I Would Make To Improve the Pixelbook

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Since its launch in late 2017, the Google Pixelbook has been a smash hit with owners (including myself) regardless of the early criticisms of some tech reviewers. I have owned by Pixelbook for several months and it has quickly become my daily driver. It is simply great but if Google were to let me loose in their development lab for a day, these are the changes I would make to the Pixelbook.

[TIP] Using a VPN from the Google Play Store on ChromeOS

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If you are a Chromebook owner who uses a VPN, you probably noticed that:

  • ChromeOS’s VPN Support Sucks
  • Setting up a OpenVPN Connection on ChromeOS Sucks

There are of course countless VPN Solutions on the Google Play Store however if you ever tried to use one of these, you will notice that the VPN appears to be functioning correctly however only traffic from other play store applications will flow through the VPN while the main ChromeOS traffic bypasses it – Potentially exposing sensitive data. I even wrote a long rant about this a few months ago. Fortunately there is a simple fix.

Odd Tech : Sylvania SLTDVD9220-C – A Portable DVD Player that Doubles as a Android Tablet

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I often have a hard time passing up odd or unusual tech when I find it. While on vacation visiting family, we popped into a Wal-Mart in a small Texas City and I spotted one of the most unusual pieces of technology that I have ever seen – The Sylvania SLTDVD9220-C is a sub $100.00 portable DVD Player with a average (for a portable DVD player) 9 inch screen and a sub-par 4 hour battery. Where the SLTDVD9220-C falls short, it makes up in a big and strange way – it doubles as an Android Tablet!

Samsung DexTop – Introducing The Samsung Dex Based Laptop

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While watching the Samsung Note 8 Announcement last month, I felt that Samsung really missed the mark when it came to promoting Dex from a cool gimmick to a truly useful tool. I have owned a Dex Dock since it was released and I can really see how well it shows off the real power of the Galaxy 8 line of phones and Android as whole. I really wish that Samsung announced a Motorola Atrix style Laptop Dock for Dex along with the Note 8. Rather than take to the Twitterverse and complain, I decided to use my imagination and maker skills and do something about it. This is the first in a series of posts that I will make on this website to document the steps I am taking to build this DexTop. I will be publishing all of the steps needed and even the STL files for 3D printing as soon as I have everything done so you can build your own.

The Shortcomings of ChromeOS in 2017

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It has been some time since I have taken a serious look at ChromeOS but this changed earlier this month when I purchased the newly released Samsung Chromebook Plus (2017) to allow me to do some research for a future work related project. The Samsung Chromebook Pro is currently one of the highest end Chromebooks – only succeeded by the Samsung Chromebook Pro and Google’s Chromebook Pixel. I spent a few weeks using ChromeOS for as much as I could and can say that it has come a long way since the last time I played with ChromeOS however there are still a fair amount of shortcomings and several features that are best described as “half baked”. Here are my thoughts: