Tag: Chromebook

After a leaked image a few months ago, the Chrome OS world has been ripe with anticipation for a Chrome based tablet form factor.  Now, at least in the education sector, we have an answer.  The Acer Chromebook Tab 10 is a 9.7″ tablet that runs Chrome OS and supports Android apps.

The $320 Chromebook Tab 10 has 32GB of storage, which can be expanded thanks to the MicroSD slot.  It has 4GB of RAM and is powered by Rockchip (but Google trademark owned) OP1 SoC.  It will be available in April for purchase.

After the latest Chrome 64-based build of Chrome OS rolled out last week to the majority of Chromebooks, several of them picked up Android app support in the Stable Channel.  This means that owners of these Chromebooks no longer have to live in the Beta or Dev channels to have Android apps run, providing a more stable and robust experience.

Here are the Chromebooks that added Android support in the Stable Channel:

• Acer Chromebook 15 (CB5-571 / C910)
• CTL J5 Convertible Chromebook
• eduGear CMT Chromebook
• Haier Chromebook 11 C
• PCMerge Chromebook PCM-116T-432B
• Prowise Chromebook Proline
• Viglen Chromebook 360

In the case of all of these Chromebooks, Android app support worked on them in the Beta channel previously.

A friendly reminder to readers who may still be thinking about picking up a Google Pixelbook.  The $100 discount on all models at Amazon and the Google Store will be ending tomorrow.

At Amazon, you can pick up the entry level Google Pixelbook for $899, a savings of $100 off the regular price.  In fact, you can pick up the Pixelbook and the Pixelbook Pen together for $997, which is less than the normal price of the Chromebook itself.

Chip manufacture Qualcomm has confirmed that they are interested in providing their SoC solutions for Chromebooks, but only on premium devices.  The news came from PCMag which reported that the company’s new director of product management, Monte Giles, is only interested if the average sale price of Chromebooks goes up higher.

“if the Chromebook market stays at sub-$300 [average selling prices] it’s not that interesting to us,” Giles said. Qualcomm wants to make premium Chromebooks, apparently. “What we’re watching closely is when the [average selling prices] start to go above $500.”

This would sit well with previous commits that suggest a Qualcomm-based Chromebook found in the Chrome OS Gerrit.

At Mobile World Congress today, Lenovo has announced an expansion of their education ready Chromebooks.  The company introduced the 100e, 300e and 500e devices with the entry level 100e starting at just $219.  All three devices are ruggedized and two of the models have touchscreens.

The 100e is the entry level model and is the only non-touchscreen device.  It is powered by a dual-core Celeron N3350 CPU with 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and an 11.6″ display.   It has two USB 3.0 ports as well as two USB-C ports for charging.

There is no debate that the Google Pixelbook is a premium device.  Not only does the $999 starting price tag give that away, but the overall design of the machine itself screams premium.  It could well be the most attractive – dare I say sexy? – laptop on the market today, regardless of platform.

Google launched the Pixelbook, and the accompanying Pixelbook Pen in October 2017 with the launch of the Pixel 2 phone lineup.  At the time, and still today, many scoffed at the idea of a $1000 Chromebook, citing previous web-only experiences with Chrome OS.  But the world, and Chrome OS, has changed.  No longer does the platform require a constant connection to be functional and add to that the native Android app support of the Pixelbook, you have a device that can serve many purposes in your day-to-day life at work and at home.

The question for the Pixelbook, and really any Chromebook, is can it meet your needs?  I suspect that for the vast majority of readers, it will hit the 90-95% of what you need.  The question is can you live without the other 5-10% or compromise to make it work on this device?  That’s something I can’t answer for you as everyone’s 5-10% is different.

Recently I received a Google Pixelbook to review.  After spending a couple of weeks with it as my primary laptop device (as well as my Android tablet), I’m nothing short of impressed.  No the Pixelbook is not perfect but it is close.  Really close.

Actually, I should clarify that statement.  The Pixelbook, from a hardware perspective, is second-to-none.  The only limitations are with Chrome OS itself.  And with the additional features that are coming in future Chrome OS builds, that will change.