Chromebook for Zoom?

[carlos]

My father (with very limited digital skills) complains that he can only see four people on Zoom on his tablet. This is a problem especially when he conducts meetings for service. He knows he can swipe screens with his finger, but he gets nervous and forgets.

 

So I am thinking of getting him a laptop where he can see many more people at once. My first idea was to buy some reasonably powerful Windows computer, which is what I would buy for myself. But given that he's only going to use it for Zoom, I'm wondering about a Chromebook. He's more or less used to using Android on his tablet, so a Chromebook wouldn't be so different. And I guess it's much easier to mess with things on a Windows computer (like moving the bar to weird places or accidentally deleting files) than on a Chromebook. I'm just guessing, because I have never used a Chromebook myself. I'm looking for something that I can setup with automatic updates and will work without glitches.

 

Have you ever used a Chromebook for Zoom? Does it work fine and fluid? How would you say a Chromebook compares to a Windows PC (on Zoom)? Do you recommend any branch or model in particular?

Edited February 18, 2021 by carlos

[Thomas Walker]

I use a chomebook for almost everything these days, including all meetings. It works as fine as any laptop. Chomebooks have speakers, mic, and camera all built in; and because it's OS is a browser, it remembers things. I have a tab left open to the emailed link to my meeting. Startup time takes thirty seconds. Click the link, Zoom opens and logs in.

[luisenriquereyes]

My 75 year old mother, who says she and technology could never get along, has been able to use her Chromebooks for Zoom meetings without many problems.

When the meetings started on Zoom she already had this 5 year old make and model Chromebook by Asus:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZS4HK0Q?pldnSite=1

 

It worked Ok and connected fine but was a bit slow and had small 10 inch display screen, so when I visited her in San Diego California recently I upgraded her to this make and model by Acer with a 13.5 inch display:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GCW1C9N?pldnSite=1

 

This Acer Chromebook model Spin 713 has had very good reviews since it came out in August 2020:  https://youtu.be/jO80vTOyzEw?t=529

 

I think for someone like my mother, technology challenged, a Chromebook for the Zoom meetings and for simple web browsing is an ideal and easy solution.

 

 

Edited February 18, 2021 by luisenriquereyes

[Old Guy]

My 75 year old mother, who says she and technology could never get along, has been able to use her Chromebooks for Zoom meetings without many problems.

When the meetings started on Zoom she already had this 5 year old make and model Chromebook by Asus:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZS4HK0Q?pldnSite=1
 
It worked Ok and connected fine but was a bit slow and had small 10 inch display screen, so when I visited her in San Diego California recently I upgraded her to this make and model by Acer with a 13.5 inch display:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GCW1C9N?pldnSite=1
 
This Acer Chromebook model Spin 713 has had very good reviews since it came out in August 2020:  

 
I think for someone like my mother, technology challenged, a Chromebook for the Zoom meetings and for simple web browsing is an ideal and easy solution.
 
 

I use a USB device and connect to a larger monitor (my 52 inch TV) using an HDMI cable. Displays computer and plays sound on the TV.
Just an idea in case you haven't thought of it.

[Myew]

I got my technically challenged mom a 14" Touchscreen Chromebook on Black Friday sales for around $140 total, and I also ordered a USB C to HDMI cable for it for the TV. Since Chromebooks run Android as well as web apps, it's very good for people used to Android, especially with a touchscreen. I have the Lenovo Chromebook Duet as a tablet myself. As for running Zoom (the Chrome app version), it works quite well. You have the gallery view along with the participants list proper just like on a full PC. I will never be able to comprehend why she still prefers her phone.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-14-touch-screen-chromebook-intel-celeron-4gb-memory-32gb-emmc-flash-memory-grey/6199102.p?skuId=6199102

Edited February 18, 2021 by Myew

[carlos]

Thanks for all the comments so far. It seems Chromebook might be the way to go, just I would want one with a bigger screen is possible. But your comments are extremely useful.

 

47 minutes ago, Old Guy said:

I use a USB device and connect to a larger monitor (my 52 inch TV) using an HDMI cable. Displays computer and plays sound on the TV.
Just an idea in case you haven't thought of it.

Thanks, Dean. The plan is to send the screen to their tv but I would prefer not to use a cable. They do have a chromecast on their tv but, unless I am understanding it wrong, it only mirrors their device screen. I mean, if their device only shows four people, it will only show four people on the tv. That's why I was thinking of a laptop.

 

10 minutes ago, Myew said:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-14-touch-screen-chromebook-intel-celeron-4gb-memory-32gb-emmc-flash-memory-grey/6199102.p?skuId=6199102

Alex, this model you bought has a Celeron N3350 processor. I have been avoiding Celeron processors because I doubted they could handle a screen with thirty something connections. Is it working well for your mother?

Edited February 18, 2021 by carlos

[Myew]

I have not been able to personally test that one out during a meeting, so I can't say. I have only been able to set it up and test out zoom one on one. I believe she has used it for service a couple of times as well. I would generally recommend something a little bit better than a celeron, at least an i3/ryzen 3, but since they were on a tighter budget and I wasn't sure how often she'd be willing to use it, I went for the sales. The upside of the low power chip being that it has a very long battery life and she forgets to charge a lot. I got them that for now since it wouldn't be hard for me to repurpose or resell it if needed, very rare to find a touchscreen for that price.

The chrome app limits the gallery view more than the windows app, but less than the android app. I'm using my 10" lenovo chromebook duet to watch the morning service meeting, and it shows 9 people per screen in gallery view, 6 if the participants/chat panes are open on the right side. Speaker view shows 4 smaller windows above the main speaker's window, 3 above if participants is open. It does not allow me to increase the number of views per screen, it may be more on a bigger screen.

Edited February 18, 2021 by Myew

[carlos]

Thanks, Alex. That was very useful.

 

41 minutes ago, Myew said:

The chrome app limits the gallery view more than the windows app, but less than the android app. I'm using my 10" lenovo chromebook duet to watch the morning service meeting, and it shows 9 people per screen in gallery view, 6 if the participants/chat panes are open on the right side. Speaker view shows 4 smaller windows above the main speaker's window, 3 above if participants is open. It does not allow me to increase the number of views per screen, it may be more on a bigger screen.

 

Please, can anyone else confirm about the number of participants on a bigger screen? I was thinking of a 14 or even better 15.6 inch size.

The number of participants is the reason why I am thinking of buying a new device. If he will only be able to see nine participants, I would definitely opt for a Windows latptop.

Edited February 18, 2021 by carlos

[New World Explorer]

I do not use laptops for meetings at all, but I wouldn’t use anything less then 15.6 “ screen 

Small screens are uncomfortable for those advancing in age. 
Buy best model you can afford, to avoid “upgrades” in near future. 

When it comes to the meetings and Zoom, size of the screen would by my priority, like I said 15.6” would offer more comfort when viewing meeting, but hey...that’s just my preference. 

[Qapla]

My daughter and son-in-law used to connect with a Chromebook - I guess you could say it worked "OK"

 

However, he ran into some difficulties being the attendant with the Chromebook. They ended up getting another laptop that is Windows. They said that it was like "night and day" in his ability to be the attendant and to connect to Zoom at other times.

 

Of course, each will have their own results ...

 

[carlos]

2 hours ago, Qapla said:

However, he ran into some difficulties being the attendant with the Chromebook. They ended up getting another laptop that is Windows. They said that it was like "night and day" in his ability to be the attendant and to connect to Zoom at other times.

Thanks, John. I read the Chromebook app has less features than the Windows one, and most of the limitations have to do with hosting the meeting. Nothing compares to a Windows computer in that sense.

 

But I guess it's extremely unlikely that my father is asked to be attendant at the meeting or anything that has to do with technology. If he can watch the program, see the participants and raise his hand, that's basically all he needs.

[New World Explorer]

5 hours ago, carlos said:

If he can watch the program, see the participants and raise his hand, that's basically all he needs.

iPad does all those things as  well ...

[Qapla]

The Chromebook is cheaper than an iPad and will do all the basics ...

[carlos]

3 hours ago, New World Explorer said:

iPad does all those things as  well ...

Greg, how many participants does Zoom show on an iPad? Because that was the starting point of this topic, to find a device that can show 25 or 30 participants on one screen. 

 

So far it seems only Windows or Mac computers are able to do this, and maybe a Chromebook with a bigger screen but no one has confirmed this yet.

[New World Explorer]

1 minute ago, carlos said:

Greg, how many participants does Zoom show on an iPad? Because that was the starting point of this topic, to find a device that can show 25 or 30 participants on one screen. 

 

So far it seems only Windows or Mac computers are able to do this, and maybe a Chromebook with a bigger screen but no one has confirmed this yet.

I will test this on Sunday, giving Public Talk ..., so my wife will be logged in on iPad, good opportunity to see how it works in detail. 

For now, we have only made main speaker screen and left it like that, never tried gallery view. 

[jwhess]

3 hours ago, carlos said:

Greg, how many participants does Zoom show on an iPad? Because that was the starting point of this topic, to find a device that can show 25 or 30 participants on one screen. 

 

So far it seems only Windows or Mac computers are able to do this, and maybe a Chromebook with a bigger screen but no one has confirmed this yet.

On my Ipad Pro 10 inch screen, I see 9 participants in the "gallery" mode.

[Lee49]

I think , unless you are going to move around a lot, an all in one desk top with a 20 inch screen is very good, seeing all 25 or more, that's what I first used when on zoom, even moving it sometimes to different rooms with a little effort, now I am stationary in an office/bedroom with a green screen and bought a larger 27 inch monitor with a short tower ( Dell ) desk top. The all in one like a laptop will have speakers and camera built in with all inputs including an ethernet for a direct hook up or wifi connect. I also like using a wired mouse and keyboard vs a built in keyboard and a pad for mouse, and do not like a touch screen, except on my 8 inch Ipad.

[jayrtom]

I had a surface go, the simplest version, and could see 29 connections - on a time when only an i7 could show more, because I can see now 49 on an i5

 

Windows is much more versatile than the chrome book and you could limit what your father can do with it for safe reasons

 

As for costs you can find cheap windows better than a chrome book. The aforementioned surface go was just a pentium processor with 4gb of RAM

 

 

 

[Qapla]

23 minutes ago, Lee49 said:

I also like using a wired mouse and keyboard vs a built in keyboard and a pad for mouse, and do not like a touch screen, except on my 8 inch Ipad.

 

I prefer using a wireless keyboard and mouse - Bluetooth or other wireless type. I can even use my BT keyboard I got for my tablet on my phone

 

I do prefer the wired (LAN) connection to the Internet for Zoom

Edited February 19, 2021 by Qapla

[New World Explorer]

Carlos, have you considered All -In-One windows desktop? I have checked prices here Down Under,  and the ones with 24”monitor seem to be very affordable. 

[New World Explorer]

Example of what is available for $899 Aussie donuts! 

https://www.jbhifi.com.au/products/lenovo-ideacentre-24-005c-23-8-full-hd-all-in-one-pc-1tb-ryzen-3

 

Edited February 19, 2021 by New World Explorer

[New World Explorer]

On Sunday my wife was able to see 16 ? windows in gallery view on iPad. 
 

[jwhess]

3 hours ago, New World Explorer said:

On Sunday my wife was able to see 16 ? windows in gallery view on iPad. 
 

Br. Greg, can i ask what size screen on her tablet?

[carlos]

On 2/19/2021 at 8:28 PM, New World Explorer said:

Carlos, have you considered All -In-One windows desktop? I have checked prices here Down Under,  and the ones with 24”monitor seem to be very affordable. 

In the end I think I will buy a second-hand Windows laptop. Zoom hasn't replied to my question of how many participants can be displayed on a 14 inch Chromebook, and I haven't been able to find any Chromebook forum to ask my question. So I will stick to the good ole Windows.

 

Thanks for all your replies, they've been very useful.

[Qapla]

Just like with JWL, You can't go wrong using Windows for Zoom or JWL