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Android Apps on Chromebook Flipbook?
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Posted by Ken
Apr 22, 2018 at 10:29 PM
I know that many of the newer Chromebook’s now allow a person to run Android apps on them (no longer through the Beta Channel). Has anybody had any experience doing so? I have an older Acer C720 Chromebook that somewhat replaced my iPad2 about 4 years ago, and I enjoy it mostly as a web browsing appliance. I am interested in possibly upgrading to the Asus C302CA flipbook version that would support Android apps, but am concerned as to how mature this new app integration is working. A half-baked solution that was slow and buggy would not be of interest, nor would a lagging touch screen in either mode. I have not been able to find one in stock locally to try out, so I thought I would check with folks here to see if anybody has experience. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
—Ken
Posted by Dr Andus
Apr 22, 2018 at 11:24 PM
It really depends on which Android apps you’re talking about (since apparently there are millions).
From what I hear, most people on Chromebooks only use a handful of Android apps that are the most useful to them and address some specific needs for which there are no web apps.
Personally I mainly use the MS Office 365 apps (Word and Excel, occasionally PowerPoint), not for any heavy lifting, mainly just to view files that people send me. But all the Android apps I use work reasonably well (bar the occasional glitch, but then I don’t have the last machines).
My feeling is that most Android apps were designed for phones, so don’t expect seamless integration in every case. The apps that do work well in Chromebook probably do so because their developers bothered to update them.
But as for the Asus C302CA, I’ve only heard good things about it and I wish I had one. It’s definitely one of the best Chromebooks out there at the moment (its only direct competitors are the Samsung Chromebook Pro and the Google Pixelbook).
I’m sure it would be a big improvement in user experience over the C720, even if your particular Android app might not work perfectly.
But the main apps (such as the MS Office apps) and Chrome OS itself are being updated every few weeks, so I can only imagine that things will be improving.
Posted by Ken
Apr 23, 2018 at 12:28 AM
Thank you for the reply, Dr. Andrus. I knew a few folks here were using CB’s, but could not specifically remember who that included. I do have to admit that my needs are a bit OT to outlining/task management, but I trust the opinions of most folks here, and there has been some interest in the platform from time to time, so I thought a generalized question might benefit the group.
Should I also assume that the Chrome OS operates reasonably on touch screen devices, or is it still a work in progress? One use I had hoped for was to read PDF files with the CB in either tablet or tent mode. I have enjoyed using my fingers to navigate on good tablets, but never warmed up to 2-in-1/convertible devices, and have never tried a Windows or Chrome OS touch screen laptop or convertible. I tend to buy products that do what they do well (tablet or laptop) as hybrid products that try to offer a bit of everything often involve too may compromises and never work as well as I would like. But, these new devices seem to be here to stay, so I thought I would see if I could make it work for some of my needs.
Thanks,
—Ken
Posted by Dr Andus
Apr 23, 2018 at 09:28 PM
Ken wrote:
>Should I also assume that the Chrome OS operates reasonably on touch
>screen devices, or is it still a work in progress?
This is really subjective, and also varies per device. “Reasonably” is probably the right word for the latest crop. If you expect iPad-like smoothness, then it’s probably “work-in-progress.” Nevertheless, the latest generation of premium Chromebooks (the three I mentioned earlier) are probably the best experience you’ll get within the Chrome OS world.
>One use I had hoped
>for was to read PDF files with the CB in either tablet or tent mode. I
>have enjoyed using my fingers to navigate on good tablets, but never
>warmed up to 2-in-1/convertible devices, and have never tried a Windows
>or Chrome OS touch screen laptop or convertible.
If you don’t want 2-in-1, the Acer Tab 10 is currently the only existing Chromebook tablet (it’s not even available yet):
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/series/acerchromebooktab10
But the 2-in-1’s are perfectly fine for reading PDF files. I tend to do a lot of annotation, so I make good use of the physical keyboard.
The stylus-enabled Chromebooks (Samsung Plus/Pro and Pixelbook) will give you further options for annotation (using Squid: https://www.squidnotes.com/).
Posted by Dr Andus
May 5, 2018 at 03:17 PM
Ken wrote:
>I am interested in possibly upgrading to the
>Asus C302CA flipbook version that would support Android apps, but am
>concerned as to how mature this new app integration is working. A
>half-baked solution that was slow and buggy would not be of interest,
>nor would a lagging touch screen in either mode. I have not been able
>to find one in stock locally to try out, so I thought I would check with
>folks here to see if anybody has experience.
If you haven’t splashed out on the C302 yet, you may want to also look into the Samsung Chromebook Pro. I have done a bit more research into it recently (and am anxiously awaiting delivery ;) and it seems that the 4:3 aspect ratio makes for a better tablet experience, and is further enhanced by the stylus, which adds more precision to the use of the touch screen (besides also enabling you to take handwritten notes with Android apps that were specially optimised for it, such as Squid or Google Keep). The stylus also solves the fingerprint problem. Finally, the Samsung screen is superior to the C302. The trade-off is a slightly more cramped keyboard, but I can live with that (and I got it specifically for the handwriting functionality anyway).