HP's Chromebook Competitor "Stream" Costs $299, Not $199

Back in August, Microsoft COO Kevin Turner revealed during the company's Worldwide Partner Conference a $199 laptop from HP called Stream. This model, along with several others, were deemed as "Chromebook killers" due to their price and their ability to work offline, run desktop applications, work with peripherals and more.

Now the HP Stream is listed on HP's website, and it's not $199. The laptop actually has a starting price of $299, and it may be available sometime around September 24 in three colors: "Modern Silver," "Neon Purple," and later on, "Grass Green." All three include AMD's "Mullins" quad-core APU, the A4 Micro-6400T with Radeon R3 graphics, which only draws 4.5 watts of power.

The Windows 8.1 machine features a 14-inch HD BrightView WLED-backlit display with a 1366 x 768 resolution. The device also provides 32 GB or 64 GB of internal storage and 2 GB of memory. The laptop even sports a fanless design thanks to the power-sipping APU, meaning the only noise you'll hear will likely come from the four built-in Beats Audio speakers.

Although HP doesn't provide a full list of specifications, the laptop appears to have one HDMI port, one USB 3.0 port, a microSD card reader and a microphone/headphone combo jack on one side, two USB 2.0 ports on the other side, Wireless N and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, an HD webcam and a 3-cell 32Whr battery promising up to 6.5 hours.

Finally, the laptop weighs around 3.8 pounds and measures just 0.71 inches thick, rounding out a very light and fun notebook. Even more, with the purchase of this notebook, customers will receive 100 GB of storage for two years.

In addition to the hardware, HP also provides "Connected Apps." These include HP Connected Drive, which allows users to store all their files in one place. Connected Music stores all the music the user owns and streams it all back to their devices and apps like Tunein Radio and Beats Music. Connected Photo will sync the user's pictures and store them in the cloud for all devices to access.

For consumers looking for a Chromebook, HP provides two: the Chromebook 11 costing $279.99, and the Chromebook 14 costing $299 (more). The latter model includes a 14-inch HD BrightView LED-backlit screen with a 1366 x 768 resolution. Under the hood, the Chromebook includes the Nvidia Tegra K1, 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage, dual-band Wireless AC and Bluetooth connectivity, 2 GB or 4 GB of RAM, and more.

That all said, HP's price tag for the Stream isn't all that bad when compared to the company's own Chromebook lineup. Sure, having to pay a mere $199 would have been awesome, but the $299 seems more "down to earth" in regards to this specific model. Offering Windows 8.1 with Bing wouldn't be a big surprise for the HP Stream.

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