Thursday 21 January 2016

HP's first convertible Chromebook comes at a bargain price

Chromebooks have essentially become the backbone of many classrooms and so HP is launching a new Chrome OS laptop that's not only sturdy and small, but also transformable and affordable.

The HP Chromebook 11 G4 Education Edition comes sporting an 11.6-inch screen that users can bend all the way back, converting this device into a cloud-connected tablet. The IPS screen itself is none too shabby either with a HD resolution of 1,366 x 768.

The 11-inch Chromebook comes rocking a fanless Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM and 16 or 32GB of storage depending on which configuration you choose.

The Chrome OS notebook is also made to take a beating with co-molded rubber edges that allow the device to survive 70cm drops. More than enough to take the occasional bag drop and bumps with lockers.

But the Chromebook 11 G4 picked up too much of a rump with its rubber bumpers. Measuring in at 20mm thin and weighing 2.7 pounds, HP claims its latest product is the thinnest rugged Chromebook designed for schools to pass the gauntlet of MIL-STD testing.

Best of all, this Chromebook comes at quite a bargain at $199 (about £140, AU$287) and it will be available later this month. Beyond the classroom, the HP Chromebook 11 G4 should give affordable Chrome OS machines like the Asus Chromebook Flip some stiff competition.