In today’s article, we’re going to take a look at the difference between SaleHoo, and Alibaba.
SaleHoo is a product that has been around for quite a long time now, and a lot of people come to me and asked me what the difference between SaleHoo is in and Alibaba is. So what I’m hoping to do really is just clarify a bit around the difference. So, SaleHoo fundamentally is a directory of wholesalers and drop shippers. So you pay a membership fee, which I will confirm the exact price of that you pay a membership fee with SaleHoo. And then what you do is you basically get access to this curated directory of wholesalers and drop shippers. So if you’re looking to start an e commerce business, you know you want to bring in products and import them or you want to drop ship them or whatever you trying to do in that e commerce context. The whole idea behind SEO is basically that you know you’re getting this list of sort of proven and trusted suppliers. You know, it’s all gated behind the SaleHoo login system. Now, the difference when it comes to Alibaba is Alibaba. In some respects is actually kind of similar Alibaba is a platform that allows you to get in touch with wholesalers, but it’s sort of like a combination there of wholesalers and manufacturers. So, most of the activity Alibaba is about connecting Chinese manufacturers or sometimes Chinese wholesalers to businesses looking to purchase their product, so you don’t have to pay to use Alibaba. It’s free to go on anyone can go on at any time and anyone can start browsing around and looking for manufacturer. So if you wanted to look for a manufacturer of say, coffee mugs, you could go on Alibaba and search coffee mugs, and then you can have all these options of different factories that actually produce these coffee mugs, now the biggest difference with in my opinion between SaleHoo and Alibaba SaleHoo sort of pitch behind it. The idea is that you go you pay your membership fee each year. And then you get sort of easy access to relatively straightforward sourcing of products but ecommerce wholesaling and drop shipping. Whereas Alibaba is quite a bit more complicated. You know, the whole idea behind Alibaba is kind of like, you’ve got to find a supplier, you’ve got to vet them you don’t know if they’re trustworthy or not. There’s a lot of pitfalls with importing products and met on mess from China. You know, people can get themselves quite stuck with the process. So I guess really as far as SaleHoo vs Alibaba goes when it comes to the two products they are quite different. There is some crossover there’s certainly some crossover. But basically, you know, if you were say looking to have a white label product created so what I mean by white label is let’s say that you want to find the electric bike manufacturer, based in China, and then you might want to get a specific logo slap on the side of an electric bike and slept on the side of the box, and then shipped over to you you know get a container load of them and sell them, you know on your local buy sell Facebook pages or sell them through a website or whatever, you would probably use Alibaba for that SaleHoo was more about sort of dipping your toes into e commerce and wholesaling their pitches that they try to, I guess, vape or eliminate the risk of some of the process. You know that is a little bit more complicated when you use Alibaba. So if you’re looking at sales. And if you’re looking at Alibaba and you’re wondering what is the difference between the two. Hopefully that clarifies as I said there is crossover between them, but they are substantially quite different platforms SaleHoo is something you join you pay for membership. you get this curated or beta list of wholesalers and drop ship is now if you read myself who review, you’ll see that there’s some contention around how well vetted, the site wholesalers and drop shippers are. But, certainly. The concept is relatively straightforward to get your head around when it comes to Alibaba and state. It really is a bit more like the wild west of online commerce. You know you’ve just got people claiming they’ll do anything for you. Product wise. It is a great place to go, you can find some fascinating stuff. What I really enjoy on Alibaba is finding products that you can see in local stores that have obviously been bought in and had a logo slapped down so white labeled. But yeah, really, really interesting place to visit. So if you haven’t checked out Alibaba yet. Definitely do. Hopefully you found that helpful – make sure you read my full SaleHoo review, and thank you so much for your time.
Please note that this review is based on the honest feedback of someone who has an active interest and holding of Bitcoin, but who is not by any stretch of the imagination an expert. If you are an expert and see some sort of grievous error in what I’ve written, please do leave a comment with your correction!
This isn’t a review of an Internet marketing product or tool, but it is a review of something that might be of interest to a lot of my readers.
You’ve probably heard of Bitcoin, right? You might even have your own little stash hidden away in a wallet somewhere (hopefully you weren’t trading on Bitfenix recently … unless you like haircuts).
Anyway, I have an interest in Bitcoin as I’ve been putting some money away into it regularly through a platform called Mybitcoinsaver – which I will be reviewing in the near future as well.
I think the idea of Bitcoin/cryptocurrency has some real merit, and should be of interest to anyone who is keen on “futurology”. Whether Bitcoin becomes the cryptocurrency that finds truly mainstream adoption remains to be seen. But for now, it’s probably the best we’ve got.
My Beef With Bitcoin
Despite the fact that I think Bitcoin is a fairly sound concept, I do have a particular issue with it – the fact that it just isn’t as easy as it should be to spend Bitcoin. Sure, there are sites that accept direct payment in Bitcoin (and I’ve enjoyed using this in the past) and there are even physical locations that take it, especially in the United States and Europe.
But until it’s as easy to spend your BTC as it is to spend money on a credit card or EFTPOS/bank card, I think that a huge swathe of the population will be put off using it. After all, what use is money if you have to have a degree in computer science to understand how to make payments? That’s a big exaggeration of course, but my point remains.
What if there was an easier solution? Something like a debit card that is loaded with Bitcoin, and which allows you to transact at the point of sale in-store or online like you would with any normal card?
Introducing the Xapo Bitcoin Card
The idea of this card is simple. You get a card that looks and functions like a standard bank/VISA debit card. You can shop online with it, or in-store, or withdraw from an ATM. The only difference is that the Xapo card is directly linked to a Bitcoin wallet, instead of a regular bank account.
Ordering Your Xapo Card
Getting a Xapo card sorted is pretty darn simple once you’ve got a Bitcoin wallet setup with Xapo (you will need one of these to have access to the card. I found setting up a Xapo account & wallet to be a very painless exercise, and the phone app is really easy to use. I won’t cover this in any more detail because of how simple it is).
From within your wallet there is an option to order a card. Provided you live in one of the accepted countries, which seems to be just about every Western country, then you’ll be eligible for a card.
Here’s some other things you need to know when ordering:
You pick whether you want your card to be denominated in US Dollars, British Pounds, or Euro. You can’t change once this is done. It’s important to pick the right currency for your needs as you will be transacting in whatever currency you picked. So if you picked a US dollar card put you live in France, then you’ll pay extortionate exchange fees every time you shop (more about this later in the review).
You’ll need to pay for your card with the balance of your Xapo wallet. So make sure you transfer some BTC into your wallet before trying to order.
It costs $20 USD to get your card issued. Your first year’s card fee is included.
There are two shipping options; a free option with no tracking that can take 2-8 weeks to arrive, and expedited DHL delivery with tracking for $55 USD. I opted for DHL shipping and received my card 6 days after ordering, and got to enjoy accurate tracking. I strongly recommend coughing up the $55 for the peace of mind DHL shipping provides.
The card you’ll receive is provided by My Choice Corporate
What Is The Card Like?
Here’s a picture of the Xapo Card (not my one, for security purposes):
So it does look a bit different to the illustration provided on the Xapo site:
Most notably – at least on my card – it doesn’t say Xapo in the top left corner, but actually just says “debit card”.
Certainly, this card wouldn’t look out of place in any wallet. It’s not covered in gaudy Bitcoin signs that draw attention to your proclivity for “exotic” currencies (depending on where you live in the world, this could be a very good thing indeed).
It feels like a nice quality card, and hopefully want fall to pieces or look worn out after a few uses.
What I Like About The Xapo Card
Smooth payment process. Once I had my card set up with a PIN and BTC in my Xapo wallet, it was a really smooth process to do my first transaction (an ATM withdrawal which I talk about in a later section of this review). There was no real difference versus using my normal bank or credit card.
Use it anywhere that accepts VISA.
Smart-looking card.
No pre-crediting. My technical knowledge of how bank and Bitcoin cards work is a bit limited here. But basically there seem to be two types of Bitcoin cards. The first type requires you to purchase X amount of $USD with X amount of BTC, and then that $USD is loaded on to your card. Effectively, it is a “prepaid” card system. Xapo is a second type; the BTC in your linked wallet is spent (and somehow exchanged into fiat currency) at the point of sale. So the card is linked to the wallet, and not its own distinct store of value.
What I Dislike
High fees, especially if you don’t like in USA, UK, or Europe or want to make ATM withdrawals. The most common criticism I can find online of the Xapo Bitcoin card is that its fees are quite high. This is especially so if you live in a country where your currency isn’t USD, GBP, or EURO. For example, you pay a 3% foreign exchange fee on the cost of your purchase (so a purchase of $100 USD made in NZ has a fee of $3 USD). There is then a flat ATM withdrawal fee of $3.50 USD as well, if you’re withdrawing from an ATM. I think that there is also a foreign exchange fee of 1.9% added by VISA as well. Maybe a clued-up reader can comment on this. If you’re transacting in USD, GBP or EUR, then the fees aren’t anywhere near as bad.
These fees could definitely stack up, so it probably pays to use the card for bigger purchases or withdrawals. This is especially true if you’re using it overseas or making ATM withdrawals,
My first transaction was a test withdrawal from an ATM in New Zealand. I requested $60 NZD in cash from the ATM. At the prevailing exchange rate of the time, that equals $43.18. Looking at my Xapo wallet, I was charged a total of $48.40 USD to receive that NZD from the ATM. Therefore, it cost me $67.25 NZD to get $60 NZD. Not ideal … but not prohibitive if I’m only using the card on occasion. If my maths is correct, I effectively paid a 12% fee to use the card to withdraw New Zealand dollars from an ATM in a card denominated in US Dollars. That does hurt quite a bit, but it’s something I don’t have much choice in avoiding.
Xapo are probably adding other hidden exchange fees and making money of arbitrage along the way. Unfortunately, this is just something you’ll have to accept if you want to use the card.
On this basis, I would suggest having a 15% “buffer” whenever making a purchase to allow for fees. E.g. if you want to buy a $100 item, then make sure at least $115 is in your wallet. Unfortunately, this is the apparent price of being cutting-edge!
Could do with better initial use instructions. When the card arrived I didn’t know if it was cheque, savings, or credit when transacting at POS. For future reference, your card will be CHEQUE.
Big limitations on non-verified cards. Another annoying part of having a Xapo card is the limitations placed on it until you verify your card by uploading a scanned copy of a valid government ID and proof of address. The limitations are especially severe on ATM withdrawals for non-verified cards. I’m guessing that this is to help counter the potential of using the card for money laundering (you can order a card to any address and any name, but you don’t be able to verify it unless you’ve put in legit information). However, it is also frustrating from the perspective of Bitcoin and its inherent anonymity. I can see this limitation putting off a lot of people who are more dedicated to preserving the anonymity of Bitcoin. It’s also concering to know that a company with unknown data security measures would have access to your ID. Below you can see a table showing the purchasing and withdrawal limits on non-verified and verified cards:
Conclusion
As I stated at the start of this review, I’m not writing from the point-of-view of a cryptocurrency expert. I’m the first to admit that my understanding of the technical aspects of Bitcoin leaves a lot to be desired. However, due to having a small holding and wanting to spend some of it (and not wanting to be limited in how I do spend it) I was immediately interested in the concept of the Xapo card.
Although I haven’t been using it for long, I think that for someone who does want a relatively simple means for spending their coin, it could be a good option. I know that the Xapo card gets a lot of hate for its high fees (and yes, the fees are really bad, especially if you live in a country with a non-listed currency which means paying a foreign exchange fee as well) but as a “proof-of-concept” for what is to come, I think it has a lot of potential.
I don’t think that I could go around using this card every day in place of my trusty EFTPOS card or Amex. Firstly, having to worry about the constant fluctuation in the value of Bitcoin is a pain in the ass … imagine going shopping knowing you’ve got $500 worth of BTC in your Xapo wallet, only to get to the checkout and find out that it’s worth $400 because another exchange hack has occurred and driven the price of Bitcoin down. Secondly, the high fees are a real killer.
Nonetheless, I honestly do think that the Xapo Bitcoin card is a good idea, and it’s worth having one as another means of spending your coins. If you’re someone like me who doesn’t believe that Bitcoin is going to go to the moon anytime soon and you want to actually indulge in a spot of “profit-taking”, then you’ll probably enjoy having a Xapo card.
This is an off-topic post and not a proper review (primarily because I don’t really have the technical knowledge to be able to review this kind of thing in great detail). However, I’d like to briefly touch on the age old debate of Windows vs Mac for Internet Marketing. Which one is actually better?
Benefits of Windows
Far more choice in terms of hardware. Whereas Macs are limited to a select few production models with a smattering of upgrades for each (and always at ludicrous prices) there is an endless array of hardware choices for Windows.
More low end options available. When you’re an up and coming Internet marketer, chances are you will probably be quite strapped for cash. Dropping big Gs on a Mac laptop or desktop probably won’t help your overall financial position … especially if you need to spend money on getting software, building sites and so on. With Windows you can buy a serviceable machine for next to nothing. You could probably buy something basic enough to get started for under $100 2nd hand (although you would be making serious compromises).
More SEO/marketing software available. Quite a few niche SEO and marketing software products are designed for Windows. This is often the case with programs that you have to install, as opposed to cloud-based software.
Benefits of Mac
Easier to use. I’ll probably get flamed for this by Windows fanboys … but I’ve always found Mac easier to use and I think a lot of other people do to. Something about the Mac OSX operating system just feels so “fluid”.
Generally more reliable. Once again, strong chance of me being flamed by fanboys here but I have always found Mac computers to be more reliable in the sense that they don’t seem to crash so much. Your mileage may vary, however.
Street cred. This sounds dumb for basement dwelling affiliate marketers – but if you’re out there running any type of agency or freelancing in any way that requires meeting clients, then rocking up with a nice Macbook Air or Pro (or maybe even one of those stupidly overpriced Macbooks) makes you look the part. Appearances are everything, and having a Mac laptop simply projects an air of success and quality.
Better for audio editing. Depending on what type of Internet marketing you do, this may or may not be relevant. However, I have always found that Macs are better for audio editing and production as it seems to be easier to get things like microphones set up. For example, my Blue Microphones Yeti Pro is infuriating to set up on a Windows 10 machine, but works flawlessly without any setup required on Mac.
Conclusion
In the past 12 months I have used both Mac and Windows for my computing needs. As I outlined above, there are pros and cons for each operating system.
If your budget is limited, you want to be running lots of install software (e.g. something like Traffic Travis as opposed to cloud-based programs), and if you want to be able to do things like play games in your spare time, then I would have to recommend Windows. You can grab a laptop with a decent i5 or i7 processor, 8gb+ RAM and passable graphics for under $1000 somewhere like Amazon. Swap out a standard HDD for an SSD and you’re away laughing.
If you want a desktop machine, then Windows becomes an even better proposition in my opinion. Mac Minis aren’t that good value any more, and the iMac and Mac Pro are undeniably pricey. For the same price as a low spec iMac, you can have a powerful Windows desktop with a quality monitor – and you’ll be able to upgrade it in the future as well!
Of course my dream combo would be a powerful Windows desktop computer (I’d really like one of those 6 core i7s for audio and video processing … as well big framerates, as well as an ultrawide monitor and powerful graphics card) and then a Macbook Air or 13″ Pro for working on-the-go.
How’s it going, everyone? Today I want to talk about something that’s … It’s not really a review in the sense of how I do most of my reviews on this website, but it’s just a sort of general chat and an overview of something I have been using as part of my business that I want to give some feedback on. I guess you could call it a review, but just not a particularly in-depth one. Basically, for anyone who’s known PCs and computers for, well, pretty much for as long as most of us can remember, you’ve really had two choices. You can either pick Mac, or you can pick Windows. Most people have Windows by a overwhelming majority. There are some people who take Linux, but I mean, this will probably attract the ire of Linux adepts worldwide, but I don’t really rate it that much as …
If you’re into programming and sort of computer-type stuff like that, then yeah, it might be a good option for you, but for the average person, especially the average internet marketer who just wants to get shit done, I don’t recommend Linux. I don’t think you’d find many internet marketers using it either. Really, you’ve always had the choice between Mac or Windows. Most people go for Windows, but Mac does offer a number of advantages in terms of ease of use and I think still Mac is better for doing graphics, and audio, and video production, and all those kind of things, though I do believe the gap has narrowed. It’s important for me to make very clear that I’m not an expert on this kind of thing. All I’m doing is giving my opinion. The reason I want to talk about this, well, is, a while ago, when I first started this blog, actually, I did an article on Mac versus Windows for internet marketers and which is better.
Now there’s a new kid on the block for doing not in-depth internet marketing work, things like producing video content or photo content or anything like that, but for just maintaining a WordPress website or typing up some content, or running AdWords, or anything like that, or Facebook Ads, there is another option out there, and I want to share my experiences with it. This option is a Chrome OS. If you’ve heard of Chromebook, Chromebook computers, Chrome OS is the operating system that they run on that’s basically, to the best of my understanding, a sort of fleshed-out version of Chrome browser with some other apps included. I’ve been using a Chromebook now for my internet marketing business for about three months, three or four months, and I just want to give my feedback on what I think about it and why I think this is actually worth bringing up.
The Chromebook in question I’ve got is an ASUS. It’s an ASUS C302CA, I think. It’s called a Chromebook Flip, so it’s got a high-resolution screen, actually, for a Chromebook. I bought my girlfriend one a couple of years ago for a birthday present, and that was an ASUS one as well, but it’s just a basic sort of 11-inch, very plasticky, education-style Chromebook. It’s still going strong, but the display was pretty terrible on it, but this Chromebook Flip I saw on Amazon. I had a whole bunch of Amazon credit in my account, and I sort of sat on it for quite a while and thought, “Should I buy it? Should I not?” I looked at some other ones, like there’s a Samsung Chromebook Pro, which also looks really good and has a more almost sort of old-school laptop layout in the sense that it’s got a higher-height screen, and it comes with a stylus and everything.
There’s a number of better options out there with Chromebooks. Obviously, the meat of the market for Chromebooks is still those cheap as, low-end, $100. Sometimes you can see them for $50 refurbished on daily deal sites, and I think if you saw a cheap one, you should pick it up, but anyway, back to the ASUS Chromebook Flip. I ordered it from Amazon. It arrived about a week later, which was amazing, all the way over in New Zealand, and I got it set up and basically started using it. I’ve been using it every single day since I bought it, and I feel like as far as a productivity and work tool for an internet marketer goes, I feel pretty qualified to give a good opinion on it.
Anyway, this is what I think about the ASUS Chromebook Flip, and also in general Chrome OS is a work solution for internet marketers. Basically, I think if your business revolves around doing, I guess, simple stuff online in terms of almost everything you do, you can do it through a web browser, so you use Google Apps, Email, or another online email platform. You’ve got a website that runs on WordPress, or Weebly, or Squarespace, or something like that, and you edit it through an online login area. You run Facebook pages. You log into Google AdWords. You log into Facebook Ads. You run a forum where you just log in through vBulletin or whatever.
I mean, if you do anything like that, which I reckon would probably be about 75, 80% of what most internet marketers do, honestly, I think you could just about get away with only using a Chromebook, especially if you have one of these better ones, like the ASUS Chromebook Flip or the Samsung Chromebook Pro. I mean, I’ve really been blown away by how easy it’s been to work with. Just the other day, I flew up the South Island of New Zealand for a consulting trip. I was flown up by a company to consult with them about their digital marketing strategy and how they could improve that for 2019 and areas of improvement to their business.
Yeah, this was the first time I’d done a trip only with my Chromebook. Well, I obviously took my phone as well, but yeah, I thought I was going to be sort of limited, or I might get to the office of this client and find that they need help with something that requires a special piece of software or whatever, but actually, it just performed flawlessly, this computer, seriously. The battery life as well on these Chromebooks seems to be pretty stellar. The ASUS Chromebook that I’ve got, I mean, I flew up at absolute crack of dawn, and I came home reasonably late, and by the time I got home, I still had about four and a half hours battery life left in the … I’d been doing quite a bit of work on the computer. To be honest, I didn’t miss Windows or Mac OS once that whole day.
Yeah, I think that Chrome OS and Chromebooks have a really good sort of place for someone who’s doing internet marketing, who just needs a simple, effective laptop, really, to access the internet and to do web-based tasks. Now, if your business revolves around video production, or Photoshopping, or very heavy use of things like spreadsheets, then it’s probably not going to be the right option for you. Really, if you want to do spreadsheets, you need to have Excel, and as far as I’m aware, the Android Excel apps aren’t very good, and Google Sheets is just terrible compared to Excel. There are basic Photoshop apps and video editing apps. New Chromebooks, especially the more powerful ones, can actually run Android apps, just like you’d install on your phone. You can buy them from the Google Play Store. That’s pretty cool, but really, that’s where you’ll notice that there’s something missing.
If your business revolves around using desktop-based software rather than accessing things through the cloud, then yeah, Chromebook’s probably not going to be suitable for you, but certainly yeah, if you use, say, Gmail for your email, or any Google Apps email, so a custom email address that you access through gmail.com, and if you just log into Facebook and other social media platforms, and you manage your blogs and websites all through basically cloud-based platforms, then I think that you could probably do 80 to 90% of your work with a Chromebook. When you consider how nice and easy that will work with … The thing I love about working on my Chromebook Flip, on my ASUS, is that it feels very clean and sort of uncluttered to work on, does not update, there’s messages popping up everywhere like you get on Windows. It’s more almost like a sort of Mac experience, but for a whole lot less money. I went the other day, and I looked at the new MacBook Pro, the Touch Bar ones. I looked at a 13-inch one and compared it to the Chromebook I’m using now.
The ASUS Chromebook Flip is a beautiful-looking machine. It’s very, very slickly produced. I mean, really, I’ve had people in workplaces, I’ve brought it along to when I’ve been consulting or whatever, come up to me and say, “Is that a new Mac?” Because I’ve got a case on it. It looks really, really slick. Obviously, some of the other ones are a lot cheaper-looking and a lot more plasticky, but there are some high-end-looking models for significantly less money. In comparison, I looked at this Mac, and I thought, “Well, it’s about five to six times the price I paid for the ASUS Chromebook Flip.” That includes the fact that I had to ship the ASUS all the way from the United States and paying them for duty, deposit, and everything.
I don’t know if I would be able to get five to six times the value out of that … Out of the Mac, sorry. I mean, certainly, if I was doing Photoshop, or heavy video editing, or audio production, or anything, well, then, yeah, I would go with a Mac or a powerful Windows equivalent like a Surface Pro, or a Dell XPS, or something like that, but for what I do, 90% of what I do can be summed up by accessing a WordPress website and editing it, accessing Facebook, accessing email, accessing other social networks. Word processing I do, I’m happy enough with just Google Docs. The only time I … All my business, invoice templates, and everything, and proposal templates, they’re all built in Google Docs anyway.
Yeah, overall, Chromebooks and Chrome OS, I think, really do have a place now for anyone who wants to sort of have a affordable and efficient machine for doing work on. I actually think, of any computer I’ve ever owned, and I’ve owned way too many of them, from Macs to I’ve got a big Windows desktop workstation at home, to Windows laptops, you name it, if I just want to sit down and write, for example, I would pick the Chromebook every time. It’s got a great screen, brilliant battery life, keyboard’s nice to use. I really can’t fault it.
The only time it’s sort of left lacking is, yeah, if you’ve got to do something that requires a specific piece of software. I don’t think, unless you had a business where you know you never need to touch Photoshop, or Sony Vegas, or Camtasia, or Excel, or any of those powerhouse programs that you need a desktop computer for, or a laptop with Mac or Windows, if you know you never need that stuff, well, you probably could get away with that, with a higher-end Chromebook, and I think you’d have a pretty good time with it as well.
I mean, certainly, this ASUS Chromebook I’ve got has absolutely blown me away. It’s just a joy to use, and Chrome OS is just so … It feels so fluid, and fast, and simple, and it’s, feels so unbloated. I think, really, the ultimate combo for someone like me, and I think a lot of internet marketers would fall into the same boat as me, is having a sort of powerhouse workstation, either at home, or at your office, or wherever you work. In my case, that’s a big, fast, beefy i7 Windows machine. Tons of RAM. I’ve got a massive 36-inch or 34-inch ultra-wide monitor, all the bells and whistles. That’s my workstation. That’s where I really get serious business done.
But out in the field, or take it to a café, or take it to a client’s office, or take it on the plane while you want to do some work while you’re flying across the country, or overseas, yeah, Chromebook can be a really good option. I recommend giving it a try, certainly if you come across a cheap Chromebook, even if it’s one of the more plasticky basic models. If it’s cheap enough, pick it up. I think my dad, for example, he picked one up here in New Zealand on a Boxing Day sale for about $75. It was a cheapie Lenovo one, but he uses it all the time. He’s got a MacBook Pro, and if he looks at what he paid for his MacBook Pro versus what he paid for the cheap Lenovo Chromebook, his MacBook Pro was about 30 times as much, all said and done. He says to me, and I agree, “You’re not getting 30 times the use out of that MacBook Pro.”
Yeah, Chromebook can be a great option, certainly as a sort of secondary machine that you use for doing uncluttered, basic work. I think they’re really, really good. I would recommend springing for one of the better ones, like the Chromebook Flip, or the Samsung Chromebook Pro, unless you can get one of the cheap, basic, education series ones, like there’s a really classic HP Chromebook you see everywhere, or basic Acer ones. They’re available everywhere. If you can get them cheap enough, get one of those.
The other thing I want to mention as well is that people will say, “I can’t get a Chromebook because I need to be online all the time.” I mean, look, unless you’re out in the wop-wops and you don’t have much internet access, it’s really not an issue. If you’re an internet marketer, 95% of what you do is going to require internet access anyway. Whether you’re working on Windows, on Mac, or whatever, you are going to be connected to the internet regardless. I certainly didn’t notice it was a problem. When I flew up to Auckland the other day and I did some work on the plane, just opened up the Google Docs, and it went into offline mode, and typed out an article for a project I’m working on while the plane was gliding along. When I got off the other side and got to where I needed to be, I connected to some Wi-Fi, and it all synced up nicely. It’s not as big an issue as it was, especially if you’ve got a mobile phone or similar device that you can also create a hotspot on.
Yeah, Chromebook for internet marketers, it’s an interesting proposition. Certainly, I think if you have a nice machine at home or in the office, whether that’s a desktop or a beefier Windows or Mac laptop, Chromebook, especially one of the more premium ones, can be a great sidekick that you take around with you. You can get a lot of basic work done on them, and they’re just nice to use. Have a look at the different models. I’ll link to the ASUS Chromebook I got off Amazon. I’m really, really impressed by it, and yeah, give it a try and let me know your thoughts.
