Asus Readying Two New Intel-based Chromebooks for June

By Kevin Parrish
published

Asus just launched two new Chromebooks.

As reported on Tuesday, a huge lineup of Chromebooks are on the way, two of which are from Asus (opens in new tab): the C200 and the C300. Both will be available in North America at the end of June for a starting price of $249.99 USD.

The only difference between the two Chromebooks is the overall size and weight. The C200 provides an 11.6 LED-lit glossy screen with a 1366 x 768 resolution, whereas the C300 provides a 13.3-inch LED-lit non-glossy screen with a 1366 x 768 resolution. The C200 measures just 0.8 inches thin and weighs 2.5 pounds, and the C300 is just slightly thicker and weighs 3.1 pounds.

And that's where the differences stop. Both Chromebooks are powered by Intel's Celeron N2830 "Bay Trail-M" dual-core SoC clocked at 2.42 GHz, and 2 GB of RAM. They also sport 16 GB of internal storage, an SD card slot for even more storage, and a 720p HD camera mounted just above the screen.

In addition to those features, the two Chromebooks include dual-band Wireless N and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, one USB 2.0 port, one USB 3.0 port, one HDMI 1.4 port, and an audio combo jack.  There's also an "extra-spacious" touchpad with multi-finger gesture support, a full-size Chiclet keyboard, and a pair of speakers.

Customers looking to snatch up a laptop before the summer ends may want to give Chromebooks a shot. The $249.99 starting price isn't shabby at all, and that's likely because OEMs are shelling out licensing fees to Google (like they do with Windows/Microsoft). Presumably, the drawback is that Chrome OS is heavily dependent on the Internet. Then again, we spend most of our time on the Internet when logged into a Windows computer, so what's the difference?

Kevin Parrish
6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Durandul
    If they could release these things with just BIOS and drivers... They would be perfect.
    Reply
  • damianrobertjones
    16GB of internal storage... Uhhh.

    "The $249.99 starting price isn't shabby at all, and that's likely because OEMs are shelling out licensing fees to Google (like they do with Windows/Microsoft). "

    More like the fact that they KNOW that they won't sell if the hike the price... which they WILL once sales start to rise. Either way it's simply a really pants machine with really low specs in the great scheme of things.

    But the marketing wheels keep on turning and people get paid to push this rubbish.
    Reply
  • daglesj
    16GB of internal storage... Uhhh.

    "The $249.99 starting price isn't shabby at all, and that's likely because OEMs are shelling out licensing fees to Google (like they do with Windows/Microsoft). "

    More like the fact that they KNOW that they won't sell if the hike the price... which they WILL once sales start to rise. Either way it's simply a really pants machine with really low specs in the great scheme of things.

    But the marketing wheels keep on turning and people get paid to push this rubbish.

    Thus speaks someone who has never used one and just fears losing their IT support job in a couple of years.

    A chromebook is simply another handy tool. The usability of them is increasing at a high rate. Ignore them at your peril.
    Reply
  • BranFlake5
    Asus is going to take the market from Samsung, I guarantee it.
    Reply
  • hitman40
    Chromebooks should be renamed to internet books. That's all they are good for. The simple fact that you can't install things like Java or Shockwave, let alone use third party extensions like .exe. means it is soley for internet, nothing more.

    $249 For an internet browser is overpriced.
    Reply
  • zeeman706
    I despise this OS, all it's useful for is browsing, and typing stuff on google docs, I could get a better computer at around this price with Win 7
    Reply