Chromebooks, Android tablets, and hybrid recommendations

[Scott Cooper's Grand Slam]

I'm looking for a computer for my fiancee. She prefers the Google ecosystem -- uses Android, Google docs, Photos, and Drive, all that good stuff. Her needs are web browsing, streaming video, and light photo editing. She does occasional light video editing as well. She bought a refurb Samsung Chromebook on a whim a few years back, and she loved it. Unfortunately she had a hardware failure -- the thing won't charge. The problem is the unit itself - we've tried replacement chargers, and although the charger shows that it's functioning the unit won't take current. The Chromebook is long out of warranty - she originally got it open box at Best Buy for like $70.
 
So she needs a replacement. Ideally she'd like a Chromebook/Android hybrid, or an Android tablet with a good keyboard and touchpad. Is there anything decent out there? We bought the 4GB ASUS Chromebook Flip, but she doesn't like it. Despite having twice the RAM of her previous machine, the Flip runs slower (the wifi hasn't changed). It also doesn't offer a large enough selection of Android apps for her. Can anyone recommend either:
 

• a good Android tablet/keyboard combo
• a good Chromebook
• a good Chrome OS/Android hybrid, or even a Windows/Android hybrid laptop?

My advice to her is to get two devices -- something like the Toshiba Chromebook 2 and the Galaxy Tab but she'd prefer one device, and I've never heard anything good about Android tablets, 
 
Thanks!

 

[saintnick912]

The Flip has a lot of compromises to get into that small form factor, speed/keyboard/display.  I'm not really thrilled with any of the Android tablets out there currently.
 
I have a Toshiba Chromebook 2, which is set up as a work machine (only way to have two laptops at my office so I can leave one home).  It's sluggish sometimes in docs/Inbox, but otherwise pretty credible.  It definitely does a good job with most of the Google sites.  A few of us at the office have them, if you're not going to step up to the Pixel or one of the Dell "pro" models (and I don't think they're worth the cost difference) then the Toshiba seems to be the one.  I'd definitely pay the extra $20 or whatever for the 4GB RAM.  I find the display on it is definitely better than the Macbook Air I have otherwise at the office, the keyboard is a wash (opinion) and the touchpad is "not a mac, therefore not great".

 

[saintnick912]

It looks like an updated version of the Toshiba will be coming in October, very similar case/screen with faster CPU.  There may be deals on the existing one.

 

[Scott Cooper's Grand Slam]

Thanks for the heads up. We returned the Flip. She's down to a Moto X as her sole computing device. We'd jump on the existing 2, but she's worried about the screen. The Amazon reviews (for whatever their worth) are littered with stories and pictures of defective screens. Obviously this doesn't affect everyone, but she thinks the sample size is large enough to make her gun shy. Maybe the revised model will fix the issue.

 

[saintnick912]

We must be lucky then, there are three of us here and three good screens.  It's not a reflective screen, which is great for me but an issue for some people.  I prefer it unequivocally to the Macbook Air screen, and it's comparable to another 1080p laptop that I have around that was much more expensive albeit older.

 

[GlenMorangie]

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[Orange Julia]

I'm piggybacking on to this regarding repair of a Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tab--the charging port is not working very well (at some point when I pulled the micro usb cord out, the lightweight metal harness came with it so now the port is very loose) and it sometimes takes hours and hours to recharge, if it charges at all. It is a refurb and I love it, but I am seeing conflicting reports on whether it is worth repairing. Does anyone have any experience cracking one of these open and putting in a new port?