HP is now selling its first Chromebook, a laptop running Google’s web-based Chrome operating system. At 14 inches, the HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook offers a bigger display than the 11.6-inch displays on the three other recent Chromebooks to hit the market: the Acer C7 ($199), Samsung Series 3 Chromebook ($249), and new Lenovo ThinkPad X131e, which is targeted at schools ($459 including support fee).
HP’s Pavilion 14 Chromebook has an Intel Celeron processor, Intel high-definition graphics, up to 4 GB of memory, and a removable battery that promises to last up to 4 to 4.5 hours between charges — similar to the Acer C7, but about three hours less than battery life on the Samsung Chromebook and Lenovo’s new ThinkPad X131e. Like those smaller Chromebooks, the HP Pavilion 14’s display is still 1366 x 768 resolution, and it includes an HD webcam.
The Pavilion 14 Chromebook only has 16 GB of onboard storage, which is the same as the Samsung Chromebook but far less than the 320 GB on Acer’s C7. But since the basic premise of a Chromebook is online or external storage, Google provides all new Chromebook buyers with 100 GB of free online Google Drive storage for two years, and of course you can connect to extra storage or peripherals using the three USB 2.0 ports. There’s also an SD card reader, HDMI and Ethernet sockets, and a combo headphone and microphone jack.
The Chromebook’s operating system is the completely web-based Chrome OS, which delivers quick access to all Google applications such as the Chrome browser, Gmail, and Google+ Hangouts. If you already use Google Chrome as your current browser and are logged in, your browser settings and favorites will appear on your Chromebook as well. You can access, update, and store documents and images in Google Drive, or on an external drive.
While the Chromebook doesn’t come with any applications other than those basic Google apps and a very basic photo editor, there are thousands of free or low-cost apps that you can download from the Chrome Web Store.
If a Web-based OS gives you concerns about security, Google promises to have you covered. Chrome OS and all of your apps will always have the latest security settings installed, thanks to regular automatic updates from Google. This all happens without bugging you with security update notices. HP is offering extra hardware security via its built-in “Trusted Platform Module” that protects against unauthorized access to sensitive data and credentials.
The HP Pavilion Chromebook weighs just under 4 pounds, as compared to its smaller Chromebook brothers from Acer (3 lbs. or 1.4 kg) and Samsung (2.43 lbs. or 1.1 kg).
The HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook is available now in the U.S. for $330 at hpdirect.com.
Chromebooks compared (source: Wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromebook)
