NEW YORK — The Google Chromebook, a type of stripped-down laptop, isn’t a practical mobile device for many people — mostly because it basically turns into an expensive paperweight whenever it can’t find a Wi-Fi connection.
Yet Chromebooks have defied expectations and made major inroads in an unexpected environment — U.S. schools.
In retrospect, that shouldn’t be too surprising. Chromebooks are cheap and easy to manage, making them popular with budget-constrained schools with limited tech-support staff. And Wi-Fi is now common enough in U.S. schools and homes to make an Internet-dependent device practical for students.
Google doesn’t want to stop there. It’s releasing new models in partnership with Samsung that are designed to appeal to a broader range of consumers. They have several tabletlike features, including a stylus, touch controls, and a 360-degree hinge that allows you to turn the screen faceup.
One starts selling Sunday for $449; a more powerful version comes out in April for $100 more.
Google and its manufacturing partners are trying to shed the Chromebook’s perception as underperforming budget devices. But even with premium models, expanding beyond U.S. schools won’t be easy.
For personal computers and tablets, Chromebook’s share of the U.S. education market was 49 percent last year, up from 40 percent in 2015 and 9 percent in 2013, according to IDC figures released this month. But education accounts for just 14 percent of the 110 million devices shipped in the United States last year — and Chromebooks make up just 9 percent of that broader total. Their numbers are also low abroad, even in schools.
Chromebooks use a lightweight operating system designed to get people online faster, without having to wait around for the computer to start up. Much of the heavy lifting on Chromebooks gets done on Google’s remote servers, so Chromebooks themselves don’t need fast chips or lots of storage.
What constrains consumers can actually be liberating in education. Most children don’t need laptops on the bus or other locations where they can’t connect to Wi-Fi. And they don’t miss business software like Microsoft Office; Google’s online apps for documents and spreadsheets do just fine for homework.
And with models available for less than $200, schools can get a few Chromebooks for the price of an iPad or a rival laptop.
“It allows us to put more devices in students’ hands,” said Aaron Slutsky, chief technology officer for McDowell County Schools in North Carolina.
Last year, Apple gave iPads in schools some Chromebooklike features unavailable to the general public. That includes ways to let multiple people use a single tablet and management tools for tech-support staff. A new Classroom app lets teachers control what apps students run and track their progress.
Apple also provides classroom tools for teachers and students.
IDC analyst Linn Huang said some businesses are giving Chromebooks a second look, especially in retail, banking, and other settings where people share computers.
First Published February 18, 2017, 5:00 a.m.
