Google launches cheap Rockchip based Chromebooks and Chromebit HDMI stick
Google is on a bit of a roll today. After launching the extremely cheap $100 Chromebit HDMI stick, the company announced affordable Chromebooks for Education today with Asus, CTL, Haier and Hisense. These cheap Chromebooks come with Rockchip RK3288 ARM Cortex-A17 quad-core processors. Previously, Google launched Chromebooks with ARM based processors from Samsung (Exynos) and NVIDIA Tegra chips.
We have five new Chromebooks today from the four companies mentioned above.
Starting off with Asus, the company launched two cheap Chromebooks today – the Asus C201 and the Chromebook Flip. Both the products are interesting at great price points and with adequate computing power.
Asus C201 Chromebook
The Asus C201 Chromebook is a remade C200 Chromebook, which is easily understandable due to the design. However, the key differentiator here is the processor that the C201 comes with. The C201 comes with a Rockchip RK3288 ARM Cortex-A17 quad-core processor instead of the Intel Bay Trail processor in the C200.
Apart from that, the C201 comes with a 11.6 inch 1366 x 768 pixel display, a choice of 2 or 4 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage with a battery that is promised to last up to 13 hours. The usual Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connectivity options are present, too.
Asus C201 will be available later in May for a starting price of $169.
Asus Chromebook Flip
The second Asus product is the Chromebook Flip. With a touchscreen and a display that can be flipped 360 degrees, this is the most interesting product out in the new Chromebook set.
The Chromebook Flip comes with a 10.1 inch 1280 x 800 pixels touchscreen with a 10 point touch. The display can be flipped 360 degrees, so you can actually use it like a tablet when you want.
Asus will be selling two versions of the Chromebook Flip. The cheaper $249 model will come with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage and the costlier $279 model will come with 4 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage. Asus is promising 10 hours of battery life.
CTL Chromebook for Education
The oddly named Chromebook for Education from CTL comes with nearly the same specs as the Asus C201. There is a choice to go for the 2 GB version which is available today for $179 or you could wait until mid-May and go for the 4 GB version for $209.
Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, a microSD card slot, a HDMI port, two USB 2.0 ports and a battery that is promised to last 9 hours of usage.
Haier Chromebook 11 and 11e
Haier has launched its own Chromebook 11 and 11e today. With basically the same specs as the Asus C201 and the CTL Chromebook for Education, the Haier Chromebook 11 will go for sale on Amazon today for $149. That is an extremely good price. The Haier Chromebook 11e will come with a handle so you can carry the laptop around like a briefcase. Additionally, the battery is removable in 11e.
Hisense Chromebook
Lastly, the Hisense Chromebook is also almost similar to the other Chromebooks above, with the same specs. The company has tried to differentiate with its design here. The Hisense Chromebook will be available for a price of $149 as well.
Chromebit stick announced
Google and Asus also announced the launch of a computer on a HDMI stick today. While not totally a new thing, this Chromebit is a bit more powerful and costs $100 only.
Asus managed to ram in almost all connectivity options in the Chromebit HDMI stick here. There is Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 support, with an actual USB 2.0 port apart from the HDMI jack. Essentially, you have a Chrome OS computer on a stick that you can carry around in your pocket and plug it into any display with an HDMI port. This sounds quite cool, but the actual market reception of the Chromebit stick will be something we will look closely at.
