Google has announced perhaps the most interesting, versatile iteration of its Chromebook stable yet; the Asus Chromebook Flip.
It has a 10.1-inch IPS display – smaller than most Chromebooks, which tend to measure upwards of 11.6 inches – with a resolution of 1366 x 768.
The Chromebook Flip adopts a Lenovo Yoga-like form factor, thanks to the 360-degree hinge. It also has an on-board accelerometer allowing users to easily switch into tablet mode.
It has an SD card slot, a HDMI port and volume buttons. Inside there’s 4GB of RAM and a Rockchip 3288 SoC – just like the Asus Chromebit, also announced on Tuesday. Elsewhere, there’s Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, a 720p webcam, a card reader, two USB 2.0 ports, a headphone jack and HDMI out.
The Asus Chromebook Flip will arrive this spring for $250, which is becoming the sweetspot for Chrome OS laptops. However, Google is prepared to go lower, as evidenced by Tuesday’s launch of the most affordable Chromebooks yet.
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The firm revealed practically identical $149 devices from Haier and Hisense, containing the same power-efficient Rockchip 3288 processor as the Flip and Chromebit.
The Haier Chromebook 11 (above) has an 11.6-inch display, 2GB of RAM and up to 10 hours of battery life. There’s also a Haier Chromebook 11E, which has a removable battery. Finally, the Hisense Chromebook has the same 11.6-inch display, 8.5 hours of battery life and 2GB RAM.
Both devices offer 16GB of storage, two USB 2.0 ports a HDMI out, a uSD card reader, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. They’re available in the US from today, with a roll-out elsewhere this spring.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
