Google launches cheap convertible Chromebooks
Google unveiled a slew of new Chromebooks, including two that cost just $149.
The Haier Chromebook 11 HR-166R features an 11.6-inch LED-backlit display, 2GB of DDR3L SDRAM, 16GB of eMMC flash storage, a front-facing webcam, 10 hours of battery life, and – significantly – a quad-core Rockchip RK3288 1.8GHz processor. Rockchip is one of a handful of companies looking to challenge Qualcomm’s dominance with low-cost SoCs based on ARM’s Cortex-A-class processor.
The Chromebook 11 weighs 2.4 pounds, boots up within eight seconds, and like all Chromebooks, auto-updates itself whenever necessary and won’t slow down over time.
The other $149 model is a Walmart exclusive. The Hisense Chromebook also delivers an 11.6-inch LED-backlit display and Chrome OS for $149, but there are some differences.
The Rockchip CPU is a ARM Cortex-A17 SoC running at 2.5GHz; that could account for the drop in battery life in this model (8.5 hours). The Hisense machine includes 2GB of RAM and 16GB of eMMC flash storage like the Haier, and is upgradeable to 16GB RAM.
Another bit of news is still more interesting: the new Google Chromebit stick (below). Google says it’s a full-blown computer that costs less than $100. All you have to do is plug it into a display’s HDMI port, and that display will become a computer. 
There’s a USB port and Bluetooth for hooking up a keyboard and mouse, and internally, it’s the same Rockchip-powered machine with 2GB RAM and 16GB of storage as the two Chromebooks above.
Google is pitching this one as a de-facto upgrade for schools and businesses with lots of machines to deal with.
All of this means Google continues to build out its Chromebook brand, introduced more than four years ago and still tearing up the sales charts at Amazon, Best Buy, and other retailers.
As long as you’ve got persistent Wi-Fi, or plan to move between spaces that do, they’re a great value. And at $149, it’s getting to the point where it’s an impulse purchase.
The Flip, meanwhile, indicates that the new Chromebook Pixel wasn’t just a one-off with its touch screen. It will be interesting to see what Google and more importantly, third-party developers do with a touch-screen, browser-based UI over time.
Source: Extreme Tech
