Google Reboots The Chromebook: ARM Meets Notebook For $249
by Jason Inofuentes on October 18, 2012 10:11 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Samsung
- Chrome OS
- Exynos
- Chromebook
- Exynos 5 Dual
Google's been known to throw the spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. And for every GMail and Android, there's a Wave and Buzz. At best, Google's Chromebook initiative is valiantly clinging to the wall, lost ground not withstanding. Today, they've unveiled their latest Chromebook collaboration with Samsung, and it's frankly quite exciting. The 11.6" notebook weighs in at just 2.5 lbs, and gets to be the first device sporting Samsung's Exynos 5 Dual (5250). Sound familiar? That would be the first ARM Cortex-A15 SoC to show up in a commercially available device, and the first potentially mainstream ARM based PC to hit the market.
The rest of the specs are relatively modest, the 11.6" panel has a respectable 1366x768 resolution, a VGA camera, SD card slot, one each USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports, and an HDMI port. Bluetooth and WiFI are built-in, though this generation foregoes the 3G modem of the first Chromebook. Some noise has been made about the quoted 6.5 battery life; we've never taken too much stock in PR provided data. The Cortex-A15 can be a power hungry SoC when stressed, and there's no details on battery capacity, so we'll have to handle the hardware ourselves to size up the battery life.
The SSD is a zippy but small 16GB, but local storage isn't really the point of a cloud-centric Chromebook. And to help allay storage fears, Google's including 100GB of Google Drive capacity for 2 years, with the the purchase of the $249 laptop. That additional cloud storage sweetens the value of the device, too; paying for the service out of pocket would cost $120 over the two year span. So, is this the Chromebook that will finally win us over? We'll find out soon, preorders start today, and sales start Monday.
Update: Turns out a 3G option is available, though unannounced. Service is included in the cost of the device for 2-years, up to 100MB a month, and is provided by Verizon. The 3G SKU will cost you $329, and is available for pre-order now.
Also, I misspoke on the matter of this being the first ARM based PC, I hope the edit adds some clarity.
Source: Google
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CeriseCogburn - Friday, October 26, 2012 - link
Yes it's just you.Look at their target consumer - a little girl, with hearts on her bottom in her schoolgirl outfit.
There it is - the chit chat teeny bopper, where mommie and daddy can drop $249 so kiddie can be cool in school.
Then Google of course has all the snoop and sniff and sell data stuff at the ready, and the 100G online storage can help the authorities and any "invesigations" should anything occur, like sharing the wrong camera pics or views.
LOL
It's whatever - they're too cheap and greedy to allow you to store your own stuff, they want it all, on their data center, and you "deal with it" at CRAP wifi speeds.
They take your speed, they take your time, they take your data, they take your security, they take anything and everything personal.
It's perfect for the - I don't know what person.
tayb - Friday, October 19, 2012 - link
I think the only thing that could stop this thing from being able to run Windows RT is the size of the SSD. Of course, Microsoft isn't selling Windows RT but that doesn't mean it won't be available via "other means." I'm not really interested in Chrome OS but a $250 Windows RT ultrabook sounds pretty nice in my opinion.Arksine - Friday, October 19, 2012 - link
Lack of touch would severely limit the usability of Windows RT on this device.Zink - Friday, October 19, 2012 - link
Windows 8 is being forced onto every PC anyways. With Windows RT on a device like this it would be the same UI as any other low end laptop. The only difference with Windows RT from the users perspective is requiring all applications to come through the Windows Store.nofumble62 - Friday, October 19, 2012 - link
Most people already owns a PC laptop. Why would one opt for another laptop just for playing? I bet 99% of people will pick a tablet instead. Then later, they will upgrade their laptop to a convertible laptop.versesuvius - Saturday, October 20, 2012 - link
I keep missing the point of this device and others like it. What is wrong with Windows or Linux. Just because a laptop is half a pound lighter or 3 millimeter thinner does not make it any more useful. Every program in the world is written either for Windows OS or a variant of the Linux OS. Why waste all that and just keep your fingers crossed for something similar to show up on Android or Google something? A 10 year old laptop can do more than this device can do. Provided of course that the user is actually doing something useful and not flattering himself for making Google or Samsung of ARM happier than they already are. I would personally just purchase the cheapest laptop available and install the latest Linux OS on it and get done with it. The mileage one gets on that is easily ten time what one gets on this silly piece of hardware.andrewaggb - Monday, October 22, 2012 - link
Yep. I guess this device isn't for me either. I just don't understand why you'd want it. At some point they need to understand that price isn't the only motivator.c4v3man - Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - link
If all you do is surf the web, why do you care what else you can do. Having a lightweight machine is great, thinness helps but isn't as important. Also, I'd assume it's pretty responsive considering it's a lightweight OS, running off a SSD...My wife may actually want one of these... I do too much on my computer to be able to use one (need apps), but alot of people just want web access.
Obsoleet - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
It has apps? http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/webstore/apps...zappb - Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - link
That keyboard looks awesome...and normally the samsung screens are great - nice product