ASUS CHROMEBOX-M004U Mini PC - Intel Celeron, 4GB RAM, 16GB eMMC, Chrome OS - Compact Desktop Computer for Home Office, Streaming & Digital Signage

Our desktop died a few months ago and we were looking for a replacement. Because my wife and I both have tablets and a laptop, we have found that we have not used the desktop as much. As a result, we were wondering whether we should even get a replacement. We decided it would be nice to have but we didn't want to spend $500+ on a new computer. I had heard of the Chromebox previously but didn't pay too much attention to it. I decided it would be worth looking into and after seeing all the good comments, I felt it was worth taking a chance on getting one.Is it anything spectacular? Yes! Does it do anything more than Chrome on Windows? No. But here is why (when your desktop finally dies/or you are just sick of how slow it is) you should buy a Chromebox:1) Fast enough to do everything you want to on the internet. If you are like most people, you will realize that 90+% of the time you are on a computer, you are using a web browser. Everything else on your computer therefore is added weight to slow down your internet experience. This may include Virus/Malware Scanning Software, Viruses and Malware, other background processes, etc. ChromeOS takes all this out and gives you the the web browser and a great way of connecting to it. Will it handle the latest high intensity graphics game around? No, it won't come close but if you are looking for something to do that, you probably aren't even looking at Chromeboxes and therefore are not even reading this post.2) Still can do Microsoft Office Online. This was actually a surprise to me but it actually works fairly well. For those of you who are not familiar with Office Online, it is a web version of Office that doesn't have all the bells and whistles of regular office. If you are like most people, you really don't use the bells and whistles. I do quite a bit of work in Office with my employment (law) and find that everything that I need can be done on Office Online. If you really don't need a lot of features, check of Google Docs, it rocks as well.3) 100GB of online storage. From your new Chromebox (or Chromebook) go to drive.google.com/redeem and type in some information an viola, 100GB of online storage.4) It is simple to use. There is no learning curve with the Chromebox. It is the Chrome web browser and if you have used any browser in the last 5 years, you will be up to speed. There are a few features that you don't get on regular Chrome like Bluetooth and WIFI but even make that easy to operate.5) It uses Google Print. So this could be a frustration for a lot of people. The Chromebox, even though it has USB ports, does not allow you to connect printers because it doesn't install drivers. So what can you do? First, get a printer that is Google Print capable. Okay, I am with you, I really don't need another printer laying around my house. Second, try the xPrint Server from Lantronix. Granted it is a little expensive (~$150.00) which makes one wonder why not just buy a new printer. Third, use an old computer that runs Chrome as a gateway. While not a great choice, it is better than some of the first options. Fourth, get geeky with a Raspberry Pi. For those that are not aware of what a Raspberry Pi is, it is a $35 computer capable of running Linux. Needless to say, Chrome can run on Linux and it can also install printer drivers. Here is a tutorial on turning a Raspberry Pi into your Google Cloud Print servant.[...]Again, this is a hurdle for a lot of people but I will say, after you get Google Cloud Print working, it is awesome. No more worrying about what computer your document is on and what computer is connected to which printer. It is simply, clicking this printer and this document.6) It can be customized. If you find out that Chrome OS is not your thing that is okay. There are plenty of tutorials on how to install Ubuntu on the Chromebox either as a dual-boot or replacement. If you are interested in this, I would recommend getting an extra 2GB stick of ram (Laptop DDR3). It may also be smart to upgrade the size of the SSD as well. If that looks greek to you, then just stick with Chrome OS.Hopefully you have found my review helpful of the Chromebox. Just to recap, this is a great desktop replacement if all you need is something to surf the internet with and do homework. You will be pleasantly surprised at how fast it loads up and how easy it is to use.For under $200, it's not a bad little box. However, it didn't work for me as planned--as a computer for the living room--because it won't talk to my HDTV via HDMI. Though the TV is older, this is the first and only device out of many that I've hooked up to that TV which won't work with it. The Chromebox does talk to my newer monitor via HDMI, so that's how I'm using it right now. Much Googling and forum delving have not revealed any ways to work around the problem with communication with my TV; apparently it's a known issue with Chromeboxes (and Chromebooks) that they simply won't complete the HDCP handshake with some older HDTV models.It's kind of an odd beast because it's neither fish nor fowl. It's not really a single-purpose streaming box like a Roku or Chromecast. Those work better for that sort of thing, and are a small fraction of the price of this box. It's not a full-on PC, since it can't run Word or Excel (though it can run Google's web-based clones, which I've consistently found to be -almost- good enough). There are additional apps that can be installed, like Solitaire...and that's pretty close to the entire list of interesting apps so far. Which is to say that it's handy for checking email and working on Google Docs and surfing the web, which is pretty much what I wanted it for, but it is a bit frustrating to hit the edge of its utility envelope so quickly.I'm keeping it because I plan to wipe ChromeOS off of it and install Linux. I'm hoping that Linux might give me enough flexibility with the monitor settings that it will talk to my TV, though I expect that the communication problem is at the HDMI hardware/firmware level somewhere. Also, Linux is more fun to tinker with. I'll post an update to this review if the OS change warrants it. (As a side note, I found it interesting to learn that ChromeOS is Linux with a Chrome wrapper around it, not a standalone OS based on the browser. It's not quite as lightweight as vendors would have you believe, and it makes me think that the OS auto-update feature isn't quite the magic gravy it's been sold as. It's likely a complex process under the hood, one which might hiccup and cause problems down the line.)Oddly, the Bluetooth built in to the Chromebox doesn't seem to want to connect up quickly to either keyboard I've tried using with it (a Rocketfish and an Apple). It does connect eventually and works fine after that, but it takes several seconds to establish connection. I stuck a $5 BT USB adapter in the Chromebox and both keyboards connect quickly and work fine with it. Plus, using the USB dongle means they're available while ChromeOS boots, so I can use them to kick into Developer Mode.On the plus side, it's a fairly speedy little box due to its SSD and reasonably non-anemic Celeron(!) CPU. It boots really fast. However, unless I have it in Developer Mode, it requires that I enter the account's password before it is usable. I guess that's a good security feature, but it's one I'd like to have as an option rather than a requirement.I added 2 GB of RAM as other reviewers recommended, which really makes a difference in responsiveness when I have more than a handful of browser tabs open.It's pretty good at streaming video at 1080P, though I see more hiccups and dropouts than with my Roku or Amazon Fire stick.Overall, the Chromebox is not great, but not terrible. A reasonable deal for the price. It reminds me a lot of the old WebTV gadgets from a couple of decades ago: almost a full-fledged computer, but not quite.Is it a good choice for hooking up to the living room TV? Honestly, I'm not sure. An Android tablet or iPad are significantly more versatile, and you can get a pretty decent tablet for the same price as this Chromebox. I think it will be fun to tinker around with and install Linux on, but beyond that, I doubt I'll bother with switching to it from the Roku when I'm watching TV, or dig up its keyboard and mouse (and get them connected via Bluetooth and type in my password) to check email rather than just reach for the iPad.Update 1/4/2015: I used John Lewis' excellent CoreBoot package to provide an almost-standard-PC boot loader, which then allowed the complete replacement of ChromeOS with Ubuntu Linux (or, really, just about any OS besides Windows, which is fussy on this particular hardware). Ubuntu boots and runs smoothly and quickly on the Chromebox. Video playback is at least as good as under ChromeOS, possibly a bit better. Ubuntu creates a 4 GB swap partition on the 16 GB SSD, and the remaining 12 GB are available for the OS and everything else. Switching to Ubuntu did not resolve the problem with the Chromebox not displaying on my older HDTV, but I didn't really expect that it would. It's easy to add apps, such as XBMC (now Kodi) to Ubuntu, though the current version of Ubuntu and the current version of Kodi aren't playing entirely nicely together. The Chromium web browser is also easy to add, to give the box back it's ChromeOS vibe. With the USB3 ports, it will be a snap to add a big cheap external hard drive for relatively slow media storage, and run the OS and apps off the SSD. Next up: Adding WINE and possibly MS Office.With Ubuntu, 4 stars. With the limitations of ChromeOS, just 3 stars.We wanted to hook up a simple computer to our TV in the living room as a media PC.After weeks of researching computer options, bare bones, other computers that didn't come with software or an os, etc. I found the chromebox. This is exactly what I wanted.The design is great! We hooked it up by HDMI to our receiver (Onkyo HT-R393 5.1 channel) in the "PC" input. Turned it on and logged in to our long standing gmail accounts, and we were off! Flawless. Our profiles loaded up right away. Because of all of the available USB ports, we hooked up an external hard drive to watch our saved movie files, have a usb stick on the front with other media files, the keyboard uses a fob, and there is still one usb open, conveniently on the front.I really appreciate the simple os. I haven't used the Google Docs function, but if I were working on business items, I could easily use my TV for a presentation, very cool and this little box is so portable! I haven't yet used Google to purchase movies or music. I will update my review once I have.I'm using the Great machine, this has replaced my Windows desktop PC. With the development of Chrome OS I no longer need my windows system. Wont be missing that experience.As much as I use this unit for a desktop, it is so small and portable, can be used with any HD TV or monitor.Great value for the price. Purchased this in April 2015 still use it everyday.Bought this for my mother after her computer finally gave out. Since she is a light user, this is exactly what she needed. Actually, after I set it up I was sorry to give it to her. I had it hooked up to my television and loved it. Will probably get my own soon enough. Super-fast shipping, too. Arrived in days even though the ETA was weeks.Great alternative to a full desktop computer for people who only need the internet for emails, surfing and to upload and share pictures. Google Drive is more than able to replace on disk storage. Parents and non-gamers will get the most out of this.Powerfull machine for a small little thing. If you only use the computer just to access the web, this computer is the perfect solution. The price is great for a computer, makes no noise at all. if you are a gamer or someone who stores a lot of files, this may not be for you.