Google
is making Google Chrome cheaper and cheaper for anyone to access, even if you
only have a HDTV TV.
On
Wednesday April 1st 2015, Google introduced the Google Chromebit, a
HDMI compatible flash drive sized computer along with three (3) new
Chromebooks, the 11.6" Haier Chromebook, the 11.6 Hisense Chromebook and the Asus Chromebook Flip reported in the
article “Google
pushes Chrome OS software, with or without Chromebooks”, published March
31, 2015 by Richard Nieva, CNET News.
The
announcement was made in Google chrome blogspot blog in a Press Release entitled
“More
Chromebooks, for everyone”, published Tuesday, March 31, 2015, Google Chrome Blog and caught me totally
by surprise.
After
Google had launched the Google Chromecast and celebrated it's one-year Anniversary
with some free stuff from the Google Play Music store as reported in my blog article entitled
“Google
Play Music’s All Access Music Subscription Three months Free Streaming - Happy
Birthday as Google Chromecast fights Amazon fire TV”, I didn’t imagine
Google would be making any more HDMI Stick related device any time soon.
Neither
did I expect three (3) new Chromebooks, as I though they already had the K-12
market cornered nicely as noted in my blog article entitled
“IDC
Stats say Google Chromebooks dominates U.S. K-12 School System - 1 TB Free
Google Drive as Microsoft HP Stream and 12.9-inch Apple iPad in 2015”.
So
why did Google launch four (4) new Google Chrome OS products? Microsoft seems
to be in their crosshairs.
US$100 Google Chromebit
- Google Chrome OS in your Top Pocket but cheaper than Intel Compute
These
new products are available only in the US of A, but Google has plans for a
wider global release as noted in the article “Google announces
budget-priced Chromebits and Chromebooks”, published 1 April 2015 By Leo
Kelion, BBC News . They seem to have been
launched to coincide with the Microsoft Surface.
 |
The
Google Chromebit, which is made by Asus, is a lot like most traditional
USD-sized stick computes, allowing you to connect to any HDMI Monitor and run a particular OS
in this case Google Chrome as noted in the article “Google Puts Chrome
OS on a Stick With Chromebit”, published MARCH 31, 2015 BY CHLOE
ALBANESIUS, PCWorld.
It's
a lot like the US$149 Intel Compute Stick which will be going on sale on Friday
April 24th 2015 as reported in my MICO Wars Blog article
entitled “US$150
Intel Compute Stick launches on NewEgg and Amazon” but costs less than US$100.
The
Google Chromebit runs on Google Chrome OS on a Rockchip 3288 Processor
supported by an ARM Mali 760 Quad-Core GPU. It's got 2GB of RAM and 16GB eMMC and
as it connects to the HDMI port of any HDTV Set, it needs external port to
power the device, which is provided by a USB 2.0 connection.
Google
Chrome OS is a Browser based OS and as such, its main Internet connectivity is
via 802.11ac Wi-Fi that connects via either 2.4 or 5GHz frequencies. Bluetooth
4.0 suggests that this device can be controlled via a smartphone worth
Bluetooth connectivity as well as you'll have to use a Bluetooth Mouse and
Keyboard to navigate on this computer.
Given
its small size and low price, it’s expected to sell in the millions comes the
summer of 2015.
11.6" Haier
Chromebook 11 and 11.6" Hisense Chromebook - US$149 for Chromebooks with
similar specs
The
11.6" Haier Chromebook 11 and 11.6" Hisense Chromebook are brothers
from different mothers apparently, with both products similarly priced at
US$149, the same cost as the US$149 Intel Compute Stick. Both Chromebooks run
on a Rockchip 3288 with an ARM Mali 760 Quad-Core GPU supported by 2GB of RAM
and 16GB eMMC.
 |
They
both have two USB 2.0 Standard A ports and HDMI and sport a 720p camera.
Internet connectivity is mainly via a 802.11ac Wi-Fi that supports 2.4 and 5GHz
frequencies. Despite their similar specs, their battery life differs; the
11.6" Hisense Chromebook gets 10 Hours on a single full charge whereas the
11.6" Haier Chromebook 11 gets 8.5 hours on a single full charge.
 |
Another
slight difference is that the 11.6" Haier Chromebook 11 has a 11E version
with a removable battery and no microSD port but rather a full sized SD Card
Slot. Also The 11.6" Haier Chromebook 11 will be sold via Amazon, while
Walmart.com will carry the 11.6" Hisense Chromebook.
US$249 Asus Chromebook
Flip - Full Metal Chrome OS that pits Microsoft productivity vs Chrome OS low
Price
The
fourth Chromebook product is the all-metal Asus Chromebook Flip, which as its
name implies, it can flip around to become a tablet similar to the US$999
Lenovo Ideapad Yoga 2 Pro as reported in my Geezam
blog article entitled “US$999
Ideapad Yoga 2 Pro is a quirky Windows 8.1 Ultraboook with an Ultra-HD Screen”.
 |
At
US$249, the 10.1" Asus Chromebook Flip also flips around and weights class
than 2 lb to boot. Running on a Rockchip 3288 supported by an ARM Mali 760
Quad-Core GPU with a 16GB SSD (Solid State Drive) it comes in one of two (2)
RAM configurations:
1.
2GB of RAM
2.
4GB of RAM
Like
the 11.6" Haier Chromebook 11 and 11.6" Hisense Chromebook, Internet
connectivity is achieved via a 802.11ac Wi-Fi that utilizes both 2.4 and 5GHz
and has Bluetooth 4.0. Simply put, not only can you BYOD (Bring your Own
Device), but you can also remotely control this Laptop using the Remote Mouse
App as explained in my MICO
Wars blog article entitled “How
Remote Mouse can make your Smartphone or Tablet into a Graphic Artiste’s
Palette”.
With
10 hours battery life for such a low price, Microsoft is sure to get a lot of
competition for their partnership with HP (Hewlett Packard) that produced the
HP Stream Tablets and Laptops back in September 2014 as explained in my blog article entitled
“US$200
HP Stream Netbooks and Tablets – Microsoft floating Windows 8.1 on Free 1TB
Microsoft OneDrive Cloud against Google's Chromebooks”.
These
are the cheapest Windows products that I can think of and come the Summer of
2015 when these Google Chrome Products go on sale, the main differentiator will
be price vs productivity.
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