19-01-12 Saturday I - Chromebook Repair

I had to give my C302 back, unfortunately. Not on a permanent basis, but it needed to be fixed. I was getting fed up of having to reset it on a daily basis, hoping that the wi-fi would come back.

So what happened was, the chromebook would be connected to the internet perfectly well, but then at some point if I refreshed the page or tried to open a new tab, I would get the dinosaur page, telling me that I was “unable to connect to the internet”. If I checked the wi-fi settings everything would look okay, but if I restarted the chromebook then the wi-fi would be switched off, and it would be impossible to switch it back on. I could toggle the wi-fi on, but then it would immediately toggle back to “off”.

In order to reset the wi-fi, and ensure it connected, I would have to switch off the chromebook, and then hold down the “refresh” and the “power” button simultaneously until the screen flickered. Then I could restart the chromebook and check whether the wi-fi had been restored. It wouldn’t work every time, and it was getting frustrating.

The C302 is a great chromebook, I love the HD display and the backlit keypad, as well as the capable processor. I took it back to Argos, and they did say that they would swap it for a brand new one, since the 30-day warranty had only just expired. The problem was, though, that they didn’t have any units to swap my chromebook for – it was pretty much sold out everywhere. I wasn’t even able to order a new one for delivery. They did even suggest I swap it for a different laptop if I could identify a suitable one. The trouble was that I didn’t want to swap it for a different model, the C302 is the chromebook I wanted, and there wasn’t any alternative.

My remaining option was to request an RMA from Asus directly, which I ended up doing. It was actually a fairly painless process, and Asus’s agent in the UK has kept me informed along the way of any new developments. They thought they had fixed it, but during the testing phase they identified another issue, which required another part. So currently they are waiting for that to be delivered and I guess they’ll take it from there. Hopefully it will be returned soon and I can get back to using it regularly. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

TTFN.

18-11-24 Saturday - Asus C302 - I've only gorn an dunnit!

So I took advantage of the Black Friday offer at Argos and got an Asus C302 for £399.99, which was on sale at £100 or 20% off. I also used my "Smart Spending" scheme at work to get a further discount of 6%. So, all-in, the laptop cost me £376.

It's impressive. The screen is bigger than the C101 I already had, but I'm getting used to it very quickly. Also, it's HD, which is noticeable. And the keyboard is backlit, which is nice.
Now I need to sell my C101 and get some money together so that I can pay for this beast. I might be updating this blog more often than usual, to ensure that I am getting my money's worth out of this chromebook. And I should be putting money aside to cover the bill when it eventually arrives, which means not going out, which means more time sitting in front of this and spouting inane waffle.
What a treat, I bet we can't wait...
TTFN.

18-11-01 Thursday - Asus C302 Chromebook

I have decided that I want an Asus C302 chromebook. I like my little Asus C101 Flip, and it is extremely portable, but I like the idea of a back-lit keyboard, a slightly bigger full HD screen, and the power of an M3 processor.  

The problem is that an Asus C302 costs £500. That’s quite a lot for a Chromebook, especially when I don’t really use it sufficiently to notice the difference between the 10.1” screen of the C101 and the HD 12.5” screen of the C302. I do a bit of writing in the evenings, and a bit of surfing, but not much apart from that.  

I’ve read some reviews and it seems that the C302 is the best value for money chromebook in town. With 4gb of RAM and 64gb of memory, it’d certainly be enough for my needs for a few years. I’m kind of hoping that there might be a special offer for Black Friday, but that would need the kind of luck I don’t get.  

I do love a new bit of kit though. I’ve been watching a few C302s on eBay and they tend to go for a fair sum. I probably wouldn’t use it any more than I currently use my C101, so it would probably be a waste of £500. I’ll probably stick with what I’ve got, to be fair. It’s nice to dream though. And I can always keep a lookout on eBay, just in case one of these turns up cheap 🙂.  

TTFN.