Hewlett-Packard introduced on Wednesday the HP Chromebook 14, the first Chrome OS solution powered by a fourth-generation Intel Core "Haswell" processor. The device joins HP's SlateBook x2, the Slate7 and Slate21 All-in-One as part of the company's multiple operating system strategy, and its "Google Experience" assault on an unsuspecting public.
Unfortunately, the new Chromebook isn't expected to arrive until just before the holidays, so details are extremely slim for the moment. However, according to the actual specs spread throughout HP's promotional hoopla, the upcoming Haswell-based Chrome OS notebook will sport a 14 inch BrightView display with a decent 1366 x 768 resolution, a 16 GB or 32 GB SSD, HDMI output, two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, an SD card slot and optional WWAN connectivity.
"The HP Chromebook 14 offers a fast and easy way for customers to connect to favorite websites in seconds," the company boasts. "It also offers a gateway to the Google experience, including Google Chrome apps like Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive and Google+ Hangouts for smooth, immersive work and play."
Not content with just distributing a bloated press release with minimal details, HP also added additional hardware specs in its blog. The company states that the upcoming Chromebook will weigh around 4.07 pounds, and measure 13.6 x 9.4 x 0.8 inches. That's admittingly a rather light and thin form factor that should be ideal for students and consumers wanting something more than an Android-based tablet on the go. And thanks to native packaged apps, this HTML5-based platform isn't quite as dependent on the Internet as it once was.
"With no contracts or commitments, certain models of the HP Chromebook include up to 200 MB of free data per month for two years of fast 4G mobile broadband service on the T-Mobile network," the company said. "This incredible value allows customers to enjoy Internet access without having to search for Wi-Fi."
By purchasing the HP Chromebook 14 this holiday season, owners will have access to 100 GB of cloud-based storage courtesy of Google Drive for two years. Pricing will start at $299.99, meaning expect a higher pricetag when throwing in the extra internal storage and 4G LTE connectivity.