Travelling and tech..you've never had more choice!
In 1997 I bought my first ever laptop, after having various desktops for a few years I fancied the idea of portability. The infrastructure to support that maximum mobility back in 1997 however was only in its infancy. Yes, my new Compaq Presario that cost me £1600 could do dial up Internet with its built in 14.4kbps modem, but that was about it - Wi-Fi..not even heard of. At best it did email (without any fancy things, like attachments), and Flight Simulator would have blown its 386-chipset mind! It did eventually blow up, as you'll see at the end of this blog.
But roll on to 2022. As an active blogger and vlogger, you can imagine I spend a great many nights in hotels around the world. 2019, my last unmolested year, pre-Covid, I did 102 hotel nights. And whilst during the day I'm often filming, sitting with a glass of my favorite Malbec of an evening in a hotel bar presents an ideal opportunity to do some YouTube video editing, or simply writing these blogs.
Technology has come a long way since 1997. So far in fact that I recently found myself at a cross roads (in my mind, not the 80s lousy TV hit where character and Crossroads employee Benny went for a packet of sugar and returned two years later - continuity and scripting wasn't a big thing back then!)
No, my particular recent quandary was when my 7 year old Macbook finally gave up, after years on the road with me, criss-crossing whole continents, she was showing signs of old age until one day she suffered the technological equivalant of a pulmonary edema - and was duly laid to rest.
This posed an interesting challenge - what should I replace her with?
Having excessively researched all of my requirements - needs to be well built, slim, light, good battery life but powerful enough to be able to edit 4k video, I still couldn't decide. Because if you thought the simple choice was between Mac or PC, you'd be wrong. There's a new and growing platform, Chromebook. You can't fail but to have seen the TV adverts. One assumes that Google who own the Chromebook platform have a very large advertising budget, but the technology in itself was worthy of investigation.
So what does the undecided person buy? PC? Mac? Chromebook?
Obvious isn't it? I bought all three! Yep, I thought it would be a great experiment to try out all three. So here's how it went..
Chromebook Pixelbook Go, £499, Intel i7, 8GB RAM, 64GB storage
The cheapest machine to buy, by a big margin, was the Chromebook Pixelbook Go. As with all three machines, spec levels vary tremendously. I opted for the Intel based machine and as I use Cloud for storage, I only went for an entry level 64GB on-board storage but with 8GB RAM so plenty of grunt to do some gaming (as limited as gaming is on Chromebook right now)
Overall, whilst the machine is a decent spec, Google's operating system, Chrome, is relatively new and is designed to be simple. So no video editing here. Apart from the fact that neither Premiere Pro nor Final Cut Pro are compatible with Chrome, the operating system simply isn't up the job.
That said, I have been seriously impressed with this machine. Chrome's simplicity is actually both its achilles heel as well as its selling point. Apps such as Netflix, Mail and browsing are an absolute joy in terms of speed and usability.
It's also the lightest of the three machines and at just over ten hours use, has the longest battery life of the three machines I bought. Again, driven by that simple operating system.
Chrome is also said to be one of the most secure operating systems. By default any data moved to the cloud (in real time), is encrypted to industry standard and Chromebook machines come with a specific update end of life date ie the date at which updates are no longer received - this, Google say, is because as a machine ages it simply becomes unable to handle newer, more demanding firmware. The machine won't stop working when the 'End of Life' or 'EOL' date is reached, it's simply a case of not being able to get the latest firmware updates which poses a risk in the sense that it's the same as leaving your house doors unlocked. So if you see a bargain clearance Chromebook (and Chromebooks start at £150), check the EOL date on Google.
Pro's
- Lightweight
- Great battery life
- Cheap to buy
- Great build quality (magnesium frame)
- Very fast operating system
- Secure
- Can do blogging, mail, usual media apps
- Surprisingly good upwards facing speakers
- Chromebooks start at £150 - but are made of plastic and have bendy keyboards!
Con's
- Limited range of serious business applications
- Screen is acceptable, but far from top notch
- Chromebooks have a defined end date for app updates - usually 4-6 years from launch and it's very strict (ie unchangeable)
- I couldn't find a decent 4K video editing app and Chrome OS probably wouldn't handle it anyway
- Many Play Store Apps are crudely adapted Android versions and look awful on the Chromebook
Dell XPS Plus 13, Intel i7, 512GB, 16GB RAM, £1499
The second most expensive laptop that I bought came highly recommended in all of the journals that I read whilst researching top ranked laptops in 2022. It certainly appeared to tick all of the boxes - light, powerful, decent battery life and it certainly handles 4K video editing using Premiere Pro with ease.
The downside is the jump in price; near enough £1,000 more than the Chromebook and in reality what am I actually getting for that price increase? Well, something or nothing, actually. If you're a vlogger, then welcome to Windows, with its sizeable array of applications and twinned with the powerhouse i7, 12th generation Intel processor, this laptop packs a punch, in a small, lightweight package (with illuminated keyboard!).
Make no mistake, this is a beautiful laptop. It's about as space aged as it gets, with a stunning gapless keyboard that is a joy to type on (once you've got used to that new way of typing). However, as with Chrome, the Windows operating system is both its achilles heel and its selling point. On the one hand, Windows is the longest running platform of the three so it has an application for just about everything you can think of. On the downside, Windows machines are targeted by viruses and hackers far more than either of the other two - so running defence software constantly is required..and that impacts performance. I'm also convinced that the Windows operating system is simply not as well architected as the other more modern platforms, so is less efficient at simply 'keeping the lights on'. Arguably my new Dell machine is no faster than the Chromebook, like-for- like. But just like the Chromebook, she's a joy to use.
Pro's:
- The world is your oyster for app choice
- It's very lightweight but has a rugged body to boot
- A beautiful keyboard without spaces between the keys
- Windows 11 isn't as bad as people say
- A real powerhouse..runs Flight Sim easily
- Powers through 4K video editing
Con's:
- Battery life isn't anywhere near advertised - think 4 hours, not 8, even for mild tasks
- The screen at this price point is basic compared to the Macbook (although you can get a 4k equivalent version for more money and less battery life)
- The keyboard takes some getting used to (this is the XPS Plus)
Apple Macbook Pro, 13", 512GB, M1, £1899
One of the first generation of the new Macbooks to feature Apple's own 'silicon' (its chip, like Intel), is my new Macbook Pro.
With it's all aluminium single cut out body, this is one seriously tough laptop - and various independent testing has proven this (if the journals are to be believed).
As a lifelong Apple fan, having used hundreds of Apple devices over the years, I tried to remain level headed in the interests of objectivity when writing this blog. No matter how devoid of affection you are for Apple though, there's no getting away from the fact that this is one truly amazing machine.
As a product whose hardware and operating system have been developed by the same company, it's usability and looks are of equal beautiful appeal. This is a machine that you'd be hard pressed not to like.
When compared to the Dell, the screen simply oozes luxury - you'd be mistaken for thinking this isn't a 4K view and yet it isn't (but not far off). The keyboard is supremely engineered and the choice of apps is rapidly catching up with Windows. Battery life is superb, regardless of task and that giant trackpad just gets you through the day with the minimum of mistakes. This is a laptop that could only be developed by Apple, and comes with the associated price tag. Even the entry level model I have here cost just shy of £2,000 - but Apple entry level is always like mid-tier with any other technology company.
You know an interesting fact is this. I've been an Apple user for more than 20 years. In that time, across hundreds of devices I've used, I have had just one Apple device go faulty - when the camera stopped working on a Macbook Air some years ago. I booked it into my local Apple store and it was fixed without fuss, the same day that I dropped it off. That's what your price tag buys.
You'll always get the people who will say "I could build you a PC for half the price that you'd pay for an Apple equivalent". But as we've seen with the Dell, hardware is only really half the story. Take it from me, nobody engineers laptops like Apple. As much as I love my Dell, and its the workhorse when I'm out and about, it just isn't Apple in any sense - build quality, usability and integration are all inferior.
Pro's:
- That screen - stunning
- Unibody feels very sturdy and robust
- Keyboard is very nice to type on
- Battery life is amazing (9 hours in my use)
- The giant trackpad is very precise
- Apple OS integrates with iPad and iPhone seamlessly so file sharing is a cinch
- 4K editing on Final Cut Pro is dead easy
- Historically reliable machines (in my experience)
- Beautifully sounding speakers
Con's:
- That price tag (ouch)
- Less applications than Windows (no Flight Sim, but X-Plane is rather good)
- Apple doesn't licence its OS for hardware not built by Apple - so choice of hardware is limited
- Out of warranty repairs can be expensive
So which machine is best for the travelling reporter?
You'll notice I said 'travelling reporter' and not 'vlogger' or 'blogger'. That's because this is where the key difference lies.
If you don't make YouTube videos or undertake any other form of video editing, then hands down the Chromebook wins. With a decent choice of machines, for minimal outlay and seamless cloud integration, along with a very tough build on the Pixelbook Go, that £500 is a great investment for blogging, watching Netflix and web browsing. You're not going to be building complex Excel spreadsheets with multiple pivot tables on a Chromebook, but as a blogger, I never use the Microsoft suite anyway, or in fact any of those types of applications. That said, Chrome OS does come with a perfectly usable word processing app.
On the other hand, if you do need to perform video editing on the go, then you've got a tougher choice. Whilst I do love the Macbook Pro, I'm not made of money and whilst I don't mind the initial outlay to get that superior experience, I'm hesitant taking it out and about on what are sometimes physically demanding trips. I neither want to break it or have it stolen, because it's so beautiful! In this sense, and what I actually found in testing, is that I was more comfortable taking the Dell with me. It can handle 4K video editing using Premiere Pro, and even though it cost only a few hundred less than the Macbook, I just don't have the same emotional attachment to it as I do the Apple machine.
These are just my thoughts and experiences of the last few months choosing my replacement laptop. In reality, all three machines are excellent in their own right. Will I sell two and keep a third? Well, no. Not only am I seriously impressed at just how much laptop technology has come on since that Presario I bought in 1997, all three of the laptops I now have are so much nicer to use!
So what did happen to that 1997 Compaq Presario? Hmm..it's not great news..!
Well, I ran her for three years before trying to plug her into my car's 12v adaptor at a camp site - smoke started pouring out and, well, that was that. Cloud technology in 1997 was something only your local weatherman had heard of, so guess who lost a load of data too! Every day is a school day, as they say.
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