Back in 2009, I purchased the Dell Studio 1536 laptop. At that time it was running Windows Vista Home Premium. Over the years, I upgraded it through the various version of Windows until it reached Windows 10 Professional.
Just recently, I purchased a Class-B refurbished Lenovo N22-20 Chromebook. It is running the current version of the Chrome OS.
Here is a comparison of their basic features:
| Dell Studio 1536 | Lenovo N22 Chromebook | |
| Processor | AMD Turion 64 x2 2.2GHz | Intel Celeron N3060 1.6 GHz |
| Memory | 4 GB DDR2 | 4 GB DDR3L |
| Storage Capacity | 128 GB SSD | 16GB eMMC |
| Display | 15.4" WXGA 1280x800 | 11.6" HD 1366x768 |
| Graphics | ATI Radeon HD 3200 | Intel HD Graphics 400 |
| Webcam | Yes | Yes - swivel |
| Card Reader | 8 in 1 reader | 4 in 1 card reader |
| Battery | 56 Wh | 45 Wh |
| USB | 4 x USB 2.0 | 2 x USB 3.0 |
| Video Port | VGA, HDMI | HDMI |
| Network | 802.11 b/g/n; Ethernet | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac |
| Bluetooth | yes | BT 4.1 |
| Security Devices | Fingerprint reader | none |
| Optical | 8x DVD RW | none |
| Weight | 6.17 lbs | 2.76 lbs |
Right off the bat, it may look like the Dell has an edge with the DVD drive and fingerprint reader, but the DVD drive is very rarely used as flash drives have a larger capacity, and most software is now installed from downloaded installers. Even Windows 10 was installed from a flash drive. And the fingerprint reader lost most of its functionality once I upgraded to Windows 7. Due to age, there aren't drivers or software for it in Windows 10. So the main benefits of the Dell hardware is the 128GB SSD and 15" screen.
The Lenovo has the advantage of have USB 3 ports while the Dell has the older USB 2 ports.
Also the Lenovo has the weight advantage as it is less than half the weight of the Dell. Also, thanks to advances in flash drives and the USB 3 ports, the Lenovo can have as much if not more storage space as the Dell. Currently, it has a 128 GB USB 3 mini flash drive attached. Given that the flash drive is pure data, the Lenovo currently has more storage space than the Dell. The Dell's SSD capacity is reduced by hosting Windows 10.
With the Dell being a Windows system, it has the advantage of a vast software library, but in all fairness, very little is used on it.
Both systems have the latest Google Chrome browser, so there is a tie.
In today's environment, web-based applications are the growing trend. Both systems are capable of handling the Internet well, as they both have the same browser.
So in the battle between the two, how to pick a winner? That basically comes down to what tasks are needed on a mobile computer?
Everyone has different needs and tastes, so I'll break it down to the tasks I frequently do away from my desktop machine.
- Email. I use web-based email, so I'm able to access this from any internet capable device.
- Blogging - again, this can be done from any internet capable device. At the very least, the internet is required for uploading the blog. Any device that allows you to store text can be used to compose the blog offline, and then upload (or copy/paste) the content into the blog.
- Watching movies - while I don't use streaming providers that often, any internet capable device can handle streaming. But I do download videos from a private server and watch them offline.
- Microsoft Solitaire Collection - requires the internet, but Microsoft has made it "cross-platform". The Android version runs on Chromebooks without any issue
- Social Media - again, any internet capable device will work. In fact, some social media will not work too well on a "standard" device. I haven't figured out an easy way to upload anything to Instagram from Windows. But I also haven't tried it on Chrome OS yet.
- Note taking - Any device with even a basic text editor can be used for this. Though for basic note taking, I prefer paper and pencil
- E-Books - again basically any internet capable device for stuff like Kindle
- Basic website management work. For the more complicated website related stuff, would prefer to do it from my desktop.
There is one thing I haven't been able to do as well on the Chromebook so far, and that is to markup screenshots or edit pictures. That is largely due to not spending time to evaluate the available apps to find one that will do what I want easily. While I don't currently have special software installed on the Dell, it is capable of running the software I am using on my desktop - Corel's PaintShop Pro.
Another task I am unable to perform on the Chromebook, that I can on the Dell is syncing an ANT+ based Garmin watch. There currently isn't any ANT+ support in Chrome OS, and I don't expect there to be as fitness trackers that are only ANT+ appear to just be old. Newer devices are ANT+ and Bluetooth.
Looking over all of this, it looks as though I could use either the Dell or the Lenovo, the Lenovo wins the competition because of its lightweight. Also it is faster that the Dell, as there is less overhead and processes running.
