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Seems manufacturers are really beginning to give the Chrome OS thing a shot. Look no further than the latest Chromebox announced by HP. Coming in a variety of colors — Smoke Silver, Ocean Turquoise, Snow White and Twinkle Black (yes, Twinkle) — the HP Chromebox is meant to be as inviting as it is easy to use.
The HP Chromebox comes with an Intel Haswell processor, 4 USB 3.0 ports, HDMI out/DisplayPort, as well as Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity. HP’s Chromebox is so small, they even recommended mounting the tiny box behind a monitor, so that it’s tucked away neatly out of view. For those that are looking for something with a little more oomph, HP also announced a version for meetings featuring a 4th generation Intel Core i7 although price this or the other model weren’t provided. HP’s Chromebox is scheduled for a Spring 2014 release.
“Chromebox for meetings” is Google’s shot at video conferencing for businesses, offering a Chromebox inside of a bundle consisting of webcam, microphone/speaker, and remote. Right now only the ASUS Chromebox is available in that bundle, but it’s clear HP (and soon Dell) will offer their own as well. Total price? $1,000 which gets you the bundle and 1 year of management and support (a $250 value).
[HP | Google | via ChromeSpot]
I’m not 100% sure why you guys do Chrome OS articles, but personally I really like it. I’m typing this on my HP Chromebook – it’s their latest one and it sounds like it has similar specs to the above, just with less USB ports, and it has a SIM card slot and an SD Card slot.
I love it. For browsing and sitting on the sofa or writing something. I’m not sure how useful it’d be for businesses, given it can’t (to my knowledge) attach to file servers, and it basically just acts as a web browser. So… I dunno.
Well, I used to go to chromespot…but apperantly I’m the only one who comments..so I like it here…
I love having one place for all of my Google articles. It’s nice. Don’t stop.
How is ChromeOS more convenient then an Android or iOS Tablet with a keyboard dock?
This is my main concern with ChromeOS. I see it as a tablet with a non-removable dock.
Even less functionality than that. Tablet+Keyboard combo trumps chrome book.
Tablet with keyboards arent good, Use touch with a tablet. Chrome OS is for keyboards and mice.
I have a Nexus 5, an iPad and a nice Apple bluetooth keyboard, so I can compare the lot fairly well.
The iPad + Keyboard also works very well for writing, but it just feels like hard work if you;re trying to do anything more than that. Can you switch from tab to tab? Yes. Can you do most things you can do on a laptop? Yes. But that doesn’t mean it’s as easy to do so. When using a desktop version of Chrome with a touchpad or USB mouse, you can just flick between so much quicker, you never have to worry about certain pages formatting in a strange way. And there are small, annoying practical things too – the main one being that when I use the ipad with a keyboard, I have it in a stand rather than a dock. Using the touchscreen is, therefore, a bit dodgy – you need to touch the screen to interface with it, but any force on it inevitably unbalances it. IT’s for this reason that I’m not a huge fan of touch screen laptop.
Ultimately, there’s nothing a chromebook can do that a tablet and keyboard combination can’t do, but that doesn’t mean that a tablet and keyboard combo are the best way to do everything. This post, for example – I just opened up my chromebook, my gmail automatically reloaded from where I’d left it and i saw a notification from Disqus that I had a reply. I clicked the link, it opened a new tab and immediately brought me here. No “Sorry, it seems to be taking a long time, tap here to reload.” No having to find a table and pair my keyboard via bluetooth (After getting it out from wherever it is). No worrying about where to put my palms if I’m not on a flat surface (the laptop is currently on my lap whilst I sit on my bed). I could have done this with my ipad and keyboard, but it wouldn’t have been as easy.
This is why I don’t see where there is a market for a premium device like the Chromebook Pixel. To me, the Chromebook makes certain tasks easier or more enjoyable – but it’s only possible to justify it because even HP’s latest, highest spec model was still very cheap. If the Pixel – over $1,000 – was the only option, I Struggle to see where it’d fit in.
Thanks for the insight. I was considering a 10+ inch tablet or Chromebook later this year and wanted more insight. Hmm…
I am loving how fast you say you were able to do all that. And I agree with you about small annoyances. They make more of a huge impact than the big things. Mainly because they seemed to be unfixable.
I’ve been using a Samsung Chromebook now for about six months and absolutely love it. I find I hardly miss my Windows laptop and certainly like being free from the endless security, Java, and Win updates. I don’t have a tablet so I don’t know how it compares.
Chrome OS + i7= Usain Bolt on speed.
I’m pretty sure is gonna be much faster than any human. ;P
How is this any good at that price. You can jist buy a computer, that’s cheaper with accessories for that. Jell, i could even get an xbox one that does this for businesses, sibce it provides video conferencing. Ms already are producing specialty xb1’s for businesses now. This diesnt seem too good. Even asus has one for 180.
It’s good IF you are a Google Apps customer. It’s been missing proper meeting room managment so this product with it’s integration with Hangouts and Google Calendar make it worth the cost.
Ok, i can understand that. That price is still ridiculous tho.
Isn’t the power of an i7 useless for a chrome OS device? Considering I don’t think you can do heavy workloads like rendering videos/3d animation/heavy gaming on a chrome OS device so the i7 would not be fully ultilized on a device that is just a web browser and some basic apps like calendar.
Crouton can run on a chromebook with 3d animation and gaming.
My only problem here is what market are they going for? You have an i7 on the codec that’s pretty cool stuff right there, you have a stupid-simple remote, you have a speakermic that might be good for a smaller conference room but you are using this with a desktop camera? I have that camera and use it on a regular basis. anything past 2 feet and you lose a lot of detail. It’s too good (and expensive) for a desktop application but has too poor a camera for a conference room.