HP Pavillion Chromebook | Image Credit: HP
With Chromebooks gaining traction in schools and Acer touting successful sales of their C7 Chromebook, HP is set to enter the Google Chrome OS fray with their reveal of the HP Pavillion Chromebook.
The $339 Chromebook is the first laptop driven by Google's Chrome OS to boast a 14-inch display. This may appeal to consumers and educators who prefer a full size screen to the more cramped, netbook-style experience. The display on offer has an average 1366 x 768 resolution, but the larger screen real estate means users get a full size keyboard.
The tech specs for HP's Chromebook won't impress, but Google's web-driven OS doesn't require much horsepower. It has an Intel Celeron 847 clocked at 1.1 GHz, 2GB of RAM (expandable to 4GB), and a 16GB SSD drive.
Sadly, the Pavillion Chromebook struggles in the battery life department, likely influenced by its larger display. HP's 4-cell 37Whr battery is rated for 4 hours and 15 minutes, which means slightly less time in practical real-world environments.
I'd love to see Google step in and exercise some quality control as they've done with their flagship Nexus brand. For Chromebooks to continue being adopted, Google needs to set hardware benchmarks which result in an excellent user experience. With the lightweight Chrome OS, Chromebooks should be shipping with all day battery life, especially when targeted toward students.
HP joins Acer, Samsung and Lenovo in the Chromebook arena, and they certainly won't be the last manufacturer to do so. ASUS seems like a sure bet following their partnership with Google on the Nexus 7 and upcoming QUBE for Google TV, and as long as I'm in wishful thinking mode, it would be fantastic to see a touch-based variant of Chrome OS in the years to come.
HP's Pavillion Chromebook is available for $339 direct from HP.
HP Pavillion 14 Chromebook | Image Credit: HP
