Check the specs: The HP Chromebook 14 weighs over 4 lbs, nearly twice the weight of the Asus T100, which is a full Windows 8.1 device and includes a full version of MS Office 2013 in the $349 price of the 32GB version. The HP has a bigger screen, but the same measly 1366x768 resolution, meaning that it is considerably less sharp visually. By comparison, the Nexus 7 has 1980x1200, the Nexus 10 has 2560x1600 resolution. The T100 also has better battery life (over 11 hours, supposedly).
I hear ya. What I'm realising though that these kind of decisions are becoming increasingly difficult because a) people have very different note-taking needs, b) are locked into different OS eco-systems, and c) have a range of legacy devices.
In my case I primarily want to be able to type my own notes as quickly and conveniently as possible and be able to sync them across my devices. So in theory, the most basic machine that can turn on instantly, has a great keyboard, and has a decent plain text editor that has good syncing with Dropbox would do.
As I already have a Win7, 64-bit desktop PC, a Win XP Asus eee netbook, and an iPad 1 and an iPod Touch, I just don't feel the need for another full-on system. All my devices work fine, but they are not the best for taking written notes (e.g. writing a journal entry at the end of the day in my bed or while lounging on the sofa) because they're too small, or too big, or too slow or not instantly on.
This is why I'm feeling that it's crazy to spend GBP400+ for me on another device just so I can take plain text notes more conveniently. And this is why the HP Chromebook 14 feels right: it's the cheapest solution so far (by GBP100 from Asus T100), and covers the basics, plus the free internet access is a nice touch for syncing those text files when away from wifi.
Here's an interesting argument for the Chromebook:
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The true value in ChromeOS is what it DOESN'T have. Critics say "a Macbook or Windows laptop will give you the same Chrome browser, plus a lot more as well!", but that misses the point entirely. Those laptops don't come with the killer feature of ChromeOS: the LACK of a traditional OS.
The lack of a traditional OS means you do not have to deal with the myriad frustrations of Windows, Mac or even Linux. You get instant on, constant updates, no registry corruption, no accumulated accretions and eventual slowdowns, no viruses and conflicts. In theory, as long as the hardware holds up, a ChromeOS device will be as slick and responsive in five years as it is out of the box.
But actually it's possible to install Linux on the Chromebook, so that opens up a few more possibilities.
P.S. But the main thing that launched me on this quest was how quickly my iPad 1 became obsolete, and how much money it would cost to replace it, when I mostly just use it for basic tasks. I want out of the tablet obsolescence game, and Chromebooks are so cheap relatively speaking, that I won't feel bad replacing them in a couple of years time when a more powerful version comes out.
