You are probably vaguely familiar with Chromebooks, Google powered netbooks that cost the same amount as a low end smartphone. If you are a ‘power user’ then you may have dismissed the entire Chromebook species as unworthy of anything other than posting a couple of tweets and checking your email. If you are in this group, let’s look at a couple of reasons why you should buy a Chromebook before we talk about separate headsets for your Chromebook.
Why Buy a Chromebook
You shouldn’t be too quick to judge though. There are dozens of reasons why all major laptop manufacturers have jumped on the Chromebook bandwagon. These Chromebooks come with decent hardware specs, and amazing performance levels. And the good news is, with a few hundred dollars, you can own one. That’s a fraction of the cost you’d pay for an Apple or a Windows laptop.
- Chrome OS Runs Doesn’t Gobble Up Computer Resources
The reason why Chromebooks are so cheap is because they Google’s Chrome OS. The OS uses fewer resources, unlike other OSes. That means manufacturers can stick cheap hardware on Chromebooks and sell them for a fraction of the price you’d pay for a traditional laptop.
Does cheaper hardware mean poor performance? In the case of Chromebooks, the answer is a definite no. Chrome OS is basically a modified version of the Chrome browser. That means the OS doesn’t require vast system resources to get things done. In fact, low-end Chromebooks boot instantly, which you cannot say for other laptops. The downside however is, you have to connect your Chromebook to the internet to accomplish most tasks.
- Instant Access to Online Apps
Google and other third parties have done a lot improve on this with more and more apps supporting offline use. These apps later synchronize with their respective web services once you reconnect to the internet, so that’s not too much of a disadvantage. Also, the newest version of Chrome OS will support Android applications later on this year.
Therefore, if you find yourself doing most of your work on the internet, it’s very advisable to invest in a Chromebook costing a couple of hundred dollars than buying a laptop that costs thousands more.
Those are just two reasons why you should buy a Chromebook. There are lots of other reasons but hopefully these will convince you Chrome OS is a serious contender. Now, let’s move on to the real meat of the article: Do you need to buy a separate headphones and microphone for your Chromebook?
You Should Invest in a Headset
Most Chromebooks come with an in-built camera, microphone and speaker. Most of the time they go about their job very well, allowing you to take advantage of Google Hangouts and other voice and video conferencing platforms.
However, some circumstances call for a dedicated pair of headphones and a microphone. Take the following situations for example.
- You are on the road and someone calls you on Google Hangouts. Obviously, the built-in microphone and speakers won’t help you very much here because of the noise interference. A separate microphone and mic with noise cancellation allows you to hold your end of the conversation.
- You are in the library and you don’t want to disturb others around you. If you use the built-in speaker and microphone pair, everyone around you will shush you. A separate microphone and headphone makes allows you to have discrete conversations without being disturbed or getting on the nerves of everyone else around you.
- For teachers and educators, separate headphones and microphones can increase productivity levels in the classroom. A teacher can control the volume settings selecting which audio track students listen too. That may very well put an end to classroom distractions where several speakers talk at once.
- You are attending a virtual class. The beauty about virtual classes, or online learning, is that you can study from anywhere. During your lunch break, you can jump into one of these classes and get in an hour of class time. Using the built-in speakers and microphone won’t do you a great deal of service, but a separate headphone and microphone will.
Again, those are some of the benefits of buying separate headphones and microphones with Chromebooks. There are lots of other situation-specific reasons to do this, but it’s worth the extra cost. Also, if you are conscious about how traditional headsets look (at times you look like a lost air traffic controller), there are discreetly designed audio systems that don’t have a protruding microphone.