HP (Hewlett-Packard) is now officially back in the PC Game with a Google Chrome OS powered Laptop, the HP Chromebook 11. HP Chromebook 11, has all the stylings of the Google Chromebook Pixel but with an affordable US$279 price tag, a sure magnet for Millennials (ages 18 to 28) looking for a Web-centric Laptop alternative!
This after they’d announce they were exiting the PC game on Sunday August 21st 2011after the disappointing and spectacular failure of WebOS as no though the HP TouchPad was hot as chronicled in WebOS powered HP TouchPad for US$99 – HP exits PC business in Apple’s Post-PC era. It’s now 2013, some two (2) year’s later and HP’s back for seconds!
HP realizes they were made to do PC’s; they can’t hide from highly-competitive PC market, never mind the PC, Laptop and Printer killing capabilities of Tablets and their Queen Mother, the Apple iPad as opined in How the Apple iPad killed Ultrabooks, Printing and the Mouse as the World Rediscovers Tablets. Instead they picked themselves back up off the ground and decided to try again, Tessanne Chin at The Voice Style, with the US$479 Ultrabook, the HP Slatebook X2 in August 2012. After all, to do otherwise would be courting death!
Why Chromebooks – Top Sellers on Amazon as Microsoft betrayals and snafus Win 8
For one, Windows 8 has been a disappointment thus far. Also most of their competition in the PC and smartphone world was going towards Google Chrome OS as an alternative to Windows 8. Samsung launched their in October 2012 as described in Kelroy’s article Google Introduces new $249 Chromebook. Less than a month later in October 2012, Acer launched their, the US$199 11.6” Acer C7 Chromebook offering.
Lenovo, the No. 2 Laptop maker, soon joined, Mario Brothers Melee Style, in January 2013 with the 11.6” Lenovo ThinkPad X131e Chromebook with a price-tag of US$619, a little price but aimed squarely at the High School and College market. HP followed a month later with their first Chromebook, the 14” HP Pavilion Chromebook 14-c010us.
With the others now already clearly abandoning Windows 8 due to poor sales and possibly vexed over Microsoft’s betrayal by their launching the Microsoft Surface Tablet it only natural that they’d make a Chromebook. Since then HP haven’t looked back!
Fact: Google Chromebooks are the No. Selling product in the Laptop Category according to Amazon. The Specs on the make it a very good buy indeed:
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CPU: Exynos 5250 GAIA Application Processor
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Harddrive: 16GB Solid State Drive
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Screen: 11.6″ 1366 x 768display with 16:9 aspect ratio (IPS Panel)
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Dimensions: 297 x 192 x 17.6 mm
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Weight: 2.3lb / 1.04kg
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Battery: 30Wh battery with 6 hours of active use
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Network Connectivity: Dual-band WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth® 4.0, Verizon LTE (optional and coming
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Ports: 2 USB 2.0, Micro-SIM slot (3G/4G/LTE model only), Micro USB for 15.75W charging and SlimPort video out
Product offers
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100 GB Google Drive cloud storage, free for two years
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60-day free trial with Google Play Music All Access, and $9.99/month pricing after that
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12 free sessions of GoGo® Inflight Internet
HP Chromebook 11 – Google Chromebook Pixel in a cheaper package
The HP Chromebook 11, like its predecessors in Google releases revamped Chromebooks and ChromeBox empowering Mobile Computing in the Clouds runs Google Chrome OS, Google’s Browser based Operating System. The similarities to the Google Chromebook Pixel don’t end there. The HP Chromebook 11 smelted and customer-fitted into a Magnesium chassis and comes in Piano Black or White with four other colour accents. Its magnesium finish is complemented by the fact it has no visible screws, vents or speakers, relying on conduction for cooling and giving it a solid, sturdy look.
A SSD (Solid State Drive) product, much like a Tablet and a trend started by the Macbook Air as described in MacBook Air and FLASH-based Harddrives – The Quest for Instant On are a part of this unbelievable budget package. It has no built in Fan and runs silent, making it easier to hear the speakers which are built into the MacBook themed keyboard. It sports the usual Microphone/Headphone Jack combo and a good VGA Video Camera, making it ready for late nights on Skype or ooVoo.
It has a decent responsive Touchpad but it’s most curiously feature is that it charges using a Micro-USB port. Amusingly, the HP Chromebook 11 can actually be charged via one of its own USB ports, albeit not before it notices the voltage source is low. The inclusion of 100GB of Google Drive and a sixty (60) day free trial of Google Play, Google’s App Store, is more indication that this Chromebook is more Cloud Tablet-Laptop hybrid than an unusual laptop concept!
Sorry, no Microsoft Word installed but you can get Google Docs and opt to save your files to an External Harddrive instead of the Cloud. This takes some getting used to, but the high-end finish, Mobile Styling, comfortable Typing keyboard and quiet operation makes you wonder why laptops weren’t made like this from the very start!
Where to get the HP Chomebook 11 – Christmas Stocking stuffer for Millennials
The HP is now on sale on Amazon. It’ll be the perfect Christmas stocking stuffer for the Millennials (ages 18 to 28) and Teenagers (ages 13 to 17) in your life whose Social Networking existence is mainly online, revolves around hanging out on Facebook and watching YouTube videos and dreads, even loathes typing in Microsoft Word.
Here’s the link(s) to buy the HP Chromebook 11online :