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Google Debuts First Chrome on a Stick, First Chromebook Tablet, & $149 Chromebooks

Some companies might want to spread out their product launches in order to get more press, but not Google. The ad network and its hardware partners announced a slew of new devices today which run Chrome on everything from a dongle to a convertible tablet to super-cheap laptops.

asus chromefitFirst up is the Asus Chromebit. Powered by a quad-core Rockchip 3288 CPU, the Chromebit packs most of a Chromebook into an HDMI dongle which plugs into your TV.

There’s no word on screen resolution or storage, but we do know that the Chromefit has wifi, BT, a full-sized USB port (for peripherals) and a mini USB port for power. It’s due out later this year, and is expected to cost less than $100. – Slashgear

To the best of my knowledge, this is Chrome’s first official dongle (not counting illicit models out of China), but it won’t be the only new Chrome device this summer.

Hisense and Haier are each launching a $149 Chromebook today. The Haier Chromebook 11 (pre-order at Amazon) and the Hisense Chromebook (pre-order at Walmart) sport identical price tags and quad-core Rockchip 3288 CPUs.

haier chromebook

They come with 2GB RAM (expandable to 16GB), 16GB internal storage, a microSD card slot, a couple USB ports, HDMI, and an 11.6″ screen. Or so says Walmart; Amazon is quoting a different CPU speed (on the same CPU) for the Haier  Chromebook 11.  But Amazon is also quoting a longer 10 hour battery life on that slower CPU, so perhaps Haier stepped the speed down to extend the battery life. – Liliputing

And last but not least, Asus also revealed the next best thing to a Chrome tablet today.

The Chromebook Flip combines a low-power Chrome OS rig with the body style made popular by the Lenovo Yoga.

asus chromebook flip

This $249 Chromebook features a 10.1″ screen, making it the smallest Chromebook to date. It runs Chrome OS 42 on a quad-core Rockchip 3288 CPU with 4GB RAM and 16GB internal storage, and it also has Wifi, Bluetooth, 2USB ports, HDMI.

The Flip will ship some  time this summer. Until then, we’re going to have to content ourselves with a few product images, and brief hands on reports. The Verge, for example, was intrigued by the Flip’s ability to switch between laptop and tablet mode. – OMGChrome

 

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Comments


Basem March 31, 2015 um 10:04 pm

The Asus Chromebit is a great device & the price is right; I like the idea of carrying a computer in your pocket and hooking it up to any monitor to carry on seamlessly with your work. Though I am sceptical about these ARM processors, as the Chromebooks with Exynos and Tegra processors were known to seriously choke with regular tasks (try to load a 70 page Google Docs file or streaming music with a few tabs open and these devices will seriously lag). For a good experience you need at least a Celeron Haswell processor.

Nate Hoffelder April 1, 2015 um 5:00 pm

Dongles are great, but I think they’re too limited. I’d much rather get a mini PC and plug that in to the HDMI port rather than insert the HDMI stick. Chrome is supposed to simulate a desktop OS, after all, and the larger case means that the Mini PC can have more ports and card slots. I think it would be useful than just the dongle.


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