Google has announced a new addition to its Chromebook lineup, a new Samsung-built 11.6-inch laptop.
The device, which has been priced at $249 and weighs in at 2.5 pounds, features a Samsung Exynos 5 dual-core processor (otherwise known as the ARM Cortex-A15 processor) and a full-sized Chrome keyboard.
The Chromebook's 11.6-inch display boasts a resolution of 1366 x 768, which is accompanied by 16GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM. Battery life claims to be over six hours.
Google's first-gen models of the device were available online only, with no marketing involved. Second-gen models that launched during May were available in 100 Best Buy stores in the United States, as well as several Currys stores within the UK. For the newly-announced Samsung Chromebook, however, Google will release the device in 500 Best Buy stores and more than 30 Currys and PC World stores from next week.
Sundar Pichai, the senior vice president of Chrome, claimed it's "the best computer that's ever been designed at this price point. We are going to take more of an active presence in the market. We believe we have a device for the mainstream. You'll also see us run a marketing campaign like we've done with Chrome." Online pre-orders, meanwhile, commences today on Amazon.com and Google Play.
Analysts, however, aren't too keen on the device. "I don't see any benefit of getting a Chromebook," said Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates. It's "basically a netbook with a Web-based OS on it. Why not just buy an Android device and actually be able to use plenty of apps?"
Gold added that consumers looking for a good deal may find the $249 price attractive for the new Chromebook, as well as the integration of Google apps. "But for another $100 or so, you can get a full laptop running Windows. That's a much better deal," he added.
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"Consumers do not want to choose between apps and Internet; they want both," Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi stated. "The $249 is certainly an interesting price point, but consumers have been burned with netbooks and will be cautious and look beyond the price tag."
Zak Islam is a freelance writer focusing on security, networking, and general computing. His work also appears at Digital Trends and Tom's Guide.
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damianrobertjones "The Chromebook's 11.6-inch display boasts a resolution of 1366 x 768, which is accompanied by 16GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM. Battery life claims to be over six hours." + 6.5 hours of battery life?Reply
Sure it might be at a reasonable price but the spec REALLY does suck -
This product is a huge step backwards. I wish Google and Samsung would focus on innovative Android tablets. Let Microsoft go its own way with Surface and Windows 8. The only future for Google/Motorola is tablets and HTML5 - they should focus there. Samsung has a bright future as the component provider for other companies' tablets, as well as making their own. They both must have too much money to be wasting it here.Reply
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jerm1027 Exynous 5 A15? 11.6" and 2.5 lbs? 6+ hours of battery? This might be worth checking out now, especially at this lower price point.Reply -
guess who The analyst idiots:Reply
"But for another $100 or so, you can get a full laptop running Windows. That's a much better deal"
Maybe it is not a better deal. You cannot get a $350 "full laptop" that weighs 2.5 lbs and has a 6+ hr battery life. Similarly, you cannot get a full Windows laptop that is as simple and secure as a Chromebook. If you have ever had to ask/pay for help due to OS/SW/malware issues, Chromebooks may be superior.
They are not for everyone, but for simple needs, they may be perfect.
Like I said: Analyst idiots -
It's a lot like a tablet (for its use cases), except it isn't one (no touch sensors on the screen, no GPS, no rear-facing camera...) I don't see the point, other than the cheaper price -- but you give up so much utility relative to tablets.Reply
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yea i think it may be time to retire my lil ole laptop ''Bettsey" and upgrade... shes an acer i brought off hsn one night when i was buzzzzin....Reply
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assasin32 I actually expected better battery life out of an ARM based CPU, I imagine they are using a small battery to get the 6.5h battery life and weight under 2.5pounds at that size, still respectable. Price wise though it's on par with netbooks but the big issue is last I checked Chromebooks OS still basically required internet access to be remotely usable.Reply
If they incorporated more offline functionality than I can see myself picking one up for school, nothing wrong with something cheap to just take notes, write papers, and web browse when you have internet access. -
jhansonxi Chromebooks aren't intended to compete with tablets. They are thin clients for schools and government offices where most of the content is on-line multimedia (tests or training videos) and web forms. Nobody in the target market will be playing Crysis on them.Reply