LG Chromebase is an All-in-One Running Chrome OS

By Kevin Parrish
published

This is an AIO PC with Chrome OS.

LG Electronics said on Tuesday that it plans to unveil the world’s first all-in-one Chromebase at CES 2014 in January. This is essentially an all-in-one desktop that uses Google’s Chrome OS rather than Windows 8. That means the AIO PC should be cheaper given that Google doesn’t require a licensing fee for using the HTML5-based platform.

"LG’s Chromebase is an exciting new form factor that expands the options available to customers who want a fast, simple and secure computing experience for the home, school or office," said Caesar Sengupta, vice president of product management, Google. "LG Electronics makes great devices that customers love, and we’re glad to welcome them to the Chrome family."

According to the specs, this AIO PC sports a 21.5-inch IPS screen with 178-degree viewing angles and a 1920 x 1080 resolution. This screen is backed by a fourth-generation Intel Celeron “Haswell” processor, 2 GB of RAM, and a 16 GB iSSD. The new AIO also provides a 1.3MP webcam and a microphone for easy video calling.

Other Chromebase features include HDMI input, allowing owners to use the AIO as a second screen for a desktop, a laptop, or as a main screen for an Xbox One console, set-top box and more. There are also three USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, an Ethernet port for wired networking, and a pair of built-in 5W speakers. Accessories include a keyboard, a mouse and a cable organizer.

Hyoung-sei Park, head of the IT Business Division at LG Electronics, expects the Chromebase to be widely adopted not only at home, but especially in schools, hotels, call centers and other business settings. That’s the beauty of Chrome OS: all data is stored in the cloud so that a single user can jump on any Chrome OS device and access his/her personal settings, documents and so on.

For now pricing and availability is unknown at this point, but we expect to hear and see more about this new form factor during CES 2014 in a few weeks.

Kevin Parrish
23 Comments Comment from the forums
  • JD88
    Very cool. I could see this being used in computer labs, hotel computer rooms, and in businesses who use Google Apps. The cost of maintenance is virtually none and the hardware cost should be quite reasonable. If this is priced at $399 like I think it will be, they won't be able to keep them in stock.
    Reply
  • RupertJr
    Why would I want to buy this while I could get a real pc, where I can install my favorite OS and install all the apps I want plus being able to use Google tools through the browser. So I would get a fully featured AIO with many more features by almost the same price.
    Is really an enigma for me who and why someone buy this kind of thing of device.
    Reply
  • JD88
    12211199 said:
    Why would I want to buy this while I could get a real pc, where I can install my favorite OS and install all the apps I want plus being able to use Google tools through the browser. So I would get a fully featured AIO with many more features by almost the same price.
    Is really an enigma for me who and why someone buy this kind of thing of device.


    There are many advantages to Chrome OS devices. For one, they are nearly maintenance free. No software updates, no antivirus, no malware, no spyware, no problems whatsoever. Nothing extra to buy. Also, since nearly all personal data is stored in the cloud, Chrome OS allows the same user to access multiple machines and have all of their settings and content available within 7 seconds.

    I encourage anyone to try Chrome because it really is outstanding for web browsing, word processing, content consumption, photo management, and other light to moderate uses. Is it a machine for professionals with very specific software needs? No, but for the other 90% of people and businesses it is a very smart option.
    Reply
  • edwd2
    replace ssd with hard disk and allow customizable OS
    Reply
  • schultzter
    12211199 said:
    Why would I want to buy this while I could get a real pc, where I can install my favorite OS and install all the apps I want plus being able to use Google tools through the browser. So I would get a fully featured AIO with many more features by almost the same price.
    Is really an enigma for me who and why someone buy this kind of thing of device.

    Most people don't know or want to know how to install and maintain an OS. They want to plug it in, turn it on, and go to facebook or read their email or check the news. No one has ever cared about the OS. EVER!!!

    Enigma solved. Go get yourself a Coffee Crisp.
    Reply
  • ojas
    What's an iSSD? Integrated (soldered) SSD?
    Reply
  • Innocent_Bystander
    I can see the appeal for a lot of people but it's probably not for the Tom's crowd.

    IB
    Reply
  • Fredrik Aldhagen
    I was waiting for someone to make something like this. I personally wouldn't buy it but I think it would be great for schools (a lot of tasks that are currently done on noisy and powerhungry windows computers could be done just as well on chrome os). I hope it will be reasonably priced.
    Reply
  • B4vB5
    Great news if the price is low enough! I hope for €300 in EU.

    To those who wonder who it is for, it is for all the IT/OS clueless people who just want mail/"word"/browsing and no fuss whatsoever.

    For us with IT skills and need for the custom solutions, it is also a godsent present cause all our clueless relatives won't then call constantly, asking if Norton/McAfee/Panda effed up their PC again, or if this and that and updates gone wrong and "it just died, please help" (which has been anything from screensavers to bios fail to hdd dying) etc. And it continues with, Windows licenses they cant find for reinstalls or they use a pirate Vista v.1.0 with 5000+ backdoors and bugs, or they dunno if they use Vista/XP/7 or do they even care. I will recommend all my clueless or "dont care" computer users to use chromeOS devices and AIO will appeal to them, especially since it is cheap. Till now I've recommended them iPads but most of them think its too expensive for a "small display with no keyboard".

    Sure, there is games, but those people I talk about dont game, they just a have like a cheap pc laptop cause then it doesnt take up space in their homes. Maybe they have a Wii "for bowling" but that would be it.
    Reply
  • JD88
    12212497 said:
    Great news if the price is low enough! I hope for €300 in EU.

    To those who wonder who it is for, it is for all the IT/OS clueless people who just want mail/"word"/browsing and no fuss whatsoever.

    For us with IT skills and need for the custom solutions, it is also a godsent present cause all our clueless relatives won't then call constantly, asking if Norton/McAfee/Panda effed up their PC again, or if this and that and updates gone wrong and "it just died, please help" (which has been anything from screensavers to bios fail to hdd dying) etc. And it continues with, Windows licenses they cant find for reinstalls or they use a pirate Vista v.1.0 with 5000+ backdoors and bugs, or they dunno if they use Vista/XP/7 or do they even care. I will recommend all my clueless or "dont care" computer users to use chromeOS devices and AIO will appeal to them, especially since it is cheap. Till now I've recommended them iPads but most of them think its too expensive for a "small display with no keyboard".

    Sure, there is games, but those people I talk about dont game, they just a have like a cheap pc laptop cause then it doesnt take up space in their homes. Maybe they have a Wii "for bowling" but that would be it.

    You sir get it. And what you didn't mention is the vast majority of people fall into that category. Probably something like 90% of people could get by with Chrome OS.
    Reply