Chromebooks - batteries

[localzuk]

Along with my millions of other things to plan and look at, one thing that is on the list to look at is moving to a "cloud first" IT strategy for the school.

 

I've had Chromebooks in a school before, and liked the concept for sure. My only concern is that if we were to want to go 1:1 with them, we'd want the batteries to last at least 4 years. If that isn't possible, we'd want to be able to swap them out.

 

Looking at the Chromebooks on the market, they all seem to not have user swappable batteries any more. Do any of you know of any models that are available that have this ability?

[NviGate_Systems]

Most chromebooks are designed after existing laptop models (Consumer) as is the case with recent HP models. This is in part to save money on design and prefab. So unless a vendor has an option for a 4 year service warranty, chances are no.

 

Chromebooks sadly are geared towards "consumer" which means once they have been consumed, they are thrown out and replaced. They have all sorts of support for educational markets but at the core, are still consumer.

 

Now, having said that, Acer has excellent support options if you are registered to provide warranty, which is something you should definitely look into if you have enough of their gear. You don't get money for fixing things (unless your volume is high) but you do get access to complete BOM, parts lookup and pricing. So you could in theory replace your own batteries. Most chromebooks are fairly easy to get into, aprox. 8 screws under the book and carefully slip it open. Seeing as you would probably only do this in year 2 (depending on use) not a bad option depending on what price Acer gives you. But I would buy in advance, hate to fast forward in two years and have no stock.

[flyinghaggis]

Once we start seeing laptops and chromebooks with USB c become mainstem hopefully there will be options to start charging them with usb battery packs which should mitigate battery problems a fair bit. Edited February 1, 2016 by flyinghaggis

[PrimaryNetMan]

I'm currently running a Chromebook trial to assess their viability to replace our aging Netbooks and IT Suite. Number one on my list of priorities is also the longevity of the devices. So far I have had units from Lenovo, HP, Acer and Dell. All have had user replaceable batteries. Here is an example of the Dell Chromebook 11 & Acer Chromebook 11

 

 

Warranties however vary wildly. So far Dell has the best offering with a 4y NBD Warranty available, although no battery option like their Latitudes.

 

Another thing to check is Googles Chrombook EOL policy https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366?hl=en as I have found some devices I have been quoted for will be EOL in a years time. At the moment you would be looking at 2020 for the most recent models.

[Arthur]

Once we start seeing laptops and chromebooks with USB c become mainstem hopefully there will be options to start charging them with usb battery packs which should mitigate battery problems a fair bit.

Lenovo's ThinkPad 13 Chromebook has USB-C. That's due to be released in June.

 

Hopefully more do, since as you say it will then be possible to charge the laptops with battery packs such as this one.

[fiza]

Along with my millions of other things to plan and look at, one thing that is on the list to look at is moving to a "cloud first" IT strategy for the school.

 

I've had Chromebooks in a school before, and liked the concept for sure. My only concern is that if we were to want to go 1:1 with them, we'd want the batteries to last at least 4 years. If that isn't possible, we'd want to be able to swap them out.

 

Looking at the Chromebooks on the market, they all seem to not have user swappable batteries any more. Do any of you know of any models that are available that have this ability?

 

We use XMA Chromebooks. They have been very good so far. They have removable batteries. They are Haier manufactured and re-badged by XMA. Easy to get parts from XMA and they came with 3 year warranties. Chromebook.