When I first read about the new Samsung Chromebook a few months ago and saw the specs, I thought it was an attempt by Samsung to create a cheaper alternative to the slim MacBook Air. At less than 0.8 inches thick and 2.5 pounds, the Chromebook certainly accomplishes that in terms of size and weight.

In the photos below I’ll briefly review the $249 Samsung Chromebook 303c and then compare it to the Air. I will not compare technical specs or performance because that would be silly. The MacBook Air runs OS X and costs four times as much as the Chromebook, which runs an early version of what is still an experimental operating system that is adding new features.

At it core, the Chromebook is just a device that runs a web browser, and does so efficiently. I’ve had dozens of tabs open running videos and streaming music and it worked smoothly. But obviously you can’t compare it to the MacBook Air in terms of processing power. Not that there is any software out for the Chromebook that would actually let you tap that processing power, but we’ll save that for later.

For $249 you get a slim, portable laptop with a great keyboard.

I’ve been using the Chromebook for months now and can report that yes, it compares with the MacBook Air in several other ways.

One of the most surprising things about the Chromebook is just how good its keyboard is.

The Chromebook and Google’s web-based Chrome OS can’t do all of the things a Windows or Apple laptop can. Before I proceed I think I should point out that the Chromebook does not in fact require you be always be connected to the Internet. This seems to be a common misperception. The Chromebook comes with a 16 GB hard drive and you can store files, music and photos just like you would on any computer. As a matter of fact, all of the photos in this post were copied to my Chromebook using the handy SD card slot, then edited online using Pixlr, the online photo editor. While I don’t have Photoshop like I do on the Air, I found that using free online image editors I was able to put together the images for this post just as quickly. The Chromebook itself comes with a basic photo editor that allows you to re-size and rotate images.

Macs have by far the best touchpads in the industry. The Chromebook is not far behind.

And so it goes on the Chromebook. You can still do most of the things you’ve always done, you just have to do them in slightly different ways. Some things you can’t do.Want to edit video? No luck. Use Photoshop? Nothing yet. Play World of Warcraft? Sorry, the Chromebook is not your thing.

The new Samsung Chromebook is slim and portable.

But the Chromebook is for you if use your laptop for browsing the web, reading email and writing. In other words, the Chromebook is perfect for all of the things that most people use computers for most of the time.

But can a $250 web-browser-with-a-keyboard really compare in terms of usability and quality to a $1,000 laptop? It turns out the answer is: it depends.

Samsung Chromebook v. MacBook Air

Chrombook or Mac Air? Which one is which? We'll let the jury decide in the patent dispute.

Chrombook or MacBook Air? Which one is which? We’ll let the jury decide in the patent dispute.

At first look, the look awfully similar. But can you spot the difference? Yes, the most obvious difference is that the one on the right costs four times as much as the one of the left.

The Chromebook stacks up nicely with the Mac Air (literally).

The Chromebook stacks up nicely with the Air (literally).

As far as physical size and appearance the two resemble each other, but there’s a reason for the price difference. The Chromebook is what you would expect a $250 laptop to be: plastic. The brushed aluminum frame and sleep body set the MacBook Air apart.

The Chromebook and Mac Air showing the same image with minimal sun exposure. The Mac Air is brighter and the image more vibrant.

The Chromebook and MacBook Air showing the same image with minimal sun exposure. The Air is brighter and the image more vibrant.

Another difference is the quality of the rest of the hardware. As you can see in the photo above, two laptops showing the same photo on maximum brightness with minimal sun exposure. The MacBook Air is both brighter and crisper. It’s hard to capture this in a photo, but you can definitely tell the difference when you’re using them. Not that the screen on Chromebook is bad. The MacBook Air is just that much better.

If you like the Mac Air for its size and keyboard, the Chromebook is a good competitor.

If you like the Air for its size and keyboard, the Chromebook is a good competitor.

The same goes for the keyboard and the touchpad. While I told you the Chromebook has a really good keyboard and touchpad, the Air is still superior. For one, the Chromebook doesn’t have a backlit keyboard. Sure, it’s a mostly useless feature unless you spend too much time doing what you shouldn’t be doing: typing in bed, at night, with the lights turned off. But it’s one of those nice-to-haves that one can get used to fairly quickly.

Some of the most important things for me are mobility, boot time and speed. When you’re lugging a laptop around to take notes during press events and public meeting, it can be important that it not take a long time to load. I’ve done side-by-side test of the MacBook Air and Chromebook and have found the Chromebook to boot on average in 5-6 second while my MacBook Air takes about 10 seconds.

In conclusion: