Google Launches $149 Chromebooks And New Chromebit Sticks – It’s A Whole New Computer World Out There

Google took dead aim at Microsoft’s pending release of Windows 10 by announcing a slew of new Chrome OS-powered computers and a brand new device that can be best described as a computer on a stick.  Two new Chromebooks – the Haier Chromebook 11 and the Hisense Chromebook – are the least expensive  laptops ever made that run Google’s OS. Each has a price of $149. The new Chromebit, built by ASUS, it’s smaller than a candy bar and plugs directly into a monitor’s HDMI port. It’s expected to cost less than $100.  You need to supply an HDMI monitor.

The $149 Haier's Chromebook 11 can be preordered from Amazon

Haier's Chromebook 11 ships with an 11.6-inch display, powered by a 1.8 gigahertz Rockchip RK3288 processor. Inside the 3.3-pound package, buyers will find 2 gigabytes of RAM, 16 gigabytes of eMMC flash storage, and a battery that the company says will power the Chromebook 11 for up to 10 hours. The Hisense Chromebook is nearly identical, specification-for-specification, though its Rockchip processor is clocked slightly higher. It’s available for preorder from Wal-Mart.

How about this – a $100 computer on a stick!

Now, this is really interesting – a computer on a stick called a Chromebit. It’s a stick about the size of a typical broadband stick and has is a full Chrome OS computer with an HDMI port on one end and a USB 2.0 port on the other. You simply plug it into a display via the built-in HDMI port (or you can use an HDMI-to-VGA adapter), and then connect a keyboard or mouse using the integrated USB port or Bluetooth.  The Chromebit comes with 2GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage.  It’s not the first computer on a stick as Intel unveiled a Windows 8.1 stick earlier this year.

The $250 Asus Flip Convertible – Laptop or Tablet configuration

Coming later this spring is Google’s first convertible Chromebook for consumers, the Asus Chromebook Flip. It has a 360-degree hinge that allows you to bend its 10.1-inch HD touchscreen all the way back to use the laptop as a tablet.  It’s a premium built all-metal computer that measures just 0.59 inches thick and weighs less than two pounds. It also uses a Rockchip processor and can be configured with up to 4GB RAM and a 16GB solid-state drive. Pricing starts at $249.

The $149 Intel Compute Stick is the world's smallest Windows PC

The four-inch Compute Stick from Intel comes installed with Windows 8.1, 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. It connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi, and it has a microSD slot for additional storage if you need it.  Microsoft is also rumored to be developing their own Chromebook killer – a $150 Windows 10 laptop just like a Chromebook only it will run the full Windows OS and all the apps us Windows users have come to rely on over the years. Microsoft is back in the game and will be aggressively challenging Chrome with Windows 10 phones, Surface tablets and their new Windows 10 Book computer.  Can’t wait!!

Thanks for visiting!