Back in April, we already knew Google was working on a Chromebook codenamed ‘Daisy’ based on the latest Samsung Exynos 5 Dual Cortex A15 processor, and finally, Google officially announced their first ARM based Chromebook yesterday.
The specifications of the new Chromebook are as follows:
- SoC – Samsung Exynos 5 Dual Core Cortex A15 Processor @ 1.7 GHz with Mali T-604 GPU
- System Memory – 2 GB DDR3L SDRAM
- Storage:
- 16 GB SSD
- SD Card slot
- 100 GB Google Drive Cloud Storage (Free for 2 years)
- Display – 11.6″ LED panel (1366×768)
- Video Out – HDMI
- Connectivity
- Dual band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
- Bluetooth 3.0 compatible (But Bluetooth does not seem to be present in the device)
- USB – 1x USB 3.0 and 1x USB 2.0 host ports
- Camera – Front VGA camera
- Battery – 6.5 hours typical use (No capacity info)
- Weight – 1.1 kg
There’s no Ethernet contrary to what we may have been led to believe earlier this year. This netbook is completely silent, and it does not have any moving part, not even a cooling fan.
The new Chromebook (which strangely does not have a proper name yet, but is sold as model number: XE303C12) can be pre-ordered in the US and the UK for respectively $249 and 229 GBP. Further details and links to online shops can be found on Google website.
Via: OMGChrome (and Sander)
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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the real Question could be ” Can I install a “real OS” on the 16G eMMC …
I guess yes because it shouldn’t be too hard to get an ubuntu build rnning from the chromiumOS source
Personally if this specific chromebook allows for developer mode and either ArchLinux or Ubuntu follows through with a compatible ARM port it’d be a definite buy for me.
I’ve been eyeballing the AllWinner A8 laptops for a while and seeing where they were going as far as fully supporting Linux ,and potentially hoping for a more reputable manufacturer to come into play before buying, but having a manufacturer like Samsung behind this hardware on a A15 Core makes it a must buy even if Linux support ends up being more experimental in the long run.
Shame the battery life isn’t very impressive (i read it’s a 2 cell battery)- if it had 12+ hours i’d be all over it (using linux too)
@float
I’m agreed that the battery life isn’t as impressive as it should be. I’m waiting for a teardown to see if there’s any spare space for more cells because this sounds like Google crippling their low end device a little so as not to make the Intel powered chromebook look bad. We can always un-cripple it though ;D
@CampGareth
@float
Well they are trying to conserve weight and size by doing so, and keep in mind that not too long ago laptops getting 6 hours was an impressive feat on it’s own.
Well for about the price of this thing I got an Acer Aspire One 756 with a dual core ULV Celeron based on Sany Bridge @ 1.4 Mhz , 4 GB of RAM , 320 GB hard driver and the same screen.
Sure it has a fan, is 300g heavier and has 1-2h less battery life but it will be running circles around this thing so …. kinda expensive and not that great. Oh and I do like ARM but x86 is still way more flexible, you can dual boot Windows, run legacy apps and all that.
This would have been very nice if it had a quad core 28nm A15 and larger SSD, at least 32GB. Maybe the next version of it.
Awesome, bring on the A15s. From what ARM says this should be comparable to core II duo. If benchmarks confirm that I feel the era of ARM is about to begin. And don’t tell me about ivy bridge and stuff. The x86 line has reached a peak on performance as far as CPUs are concerned. ARM on the other hand has way more headroom ahead of it and the advantage of not being constricted by a manufacturer monopoly. Bring it on
Instructions to install Ubuntu on the new ARM Chromebook – https://plus.google.com/109993695638569781190/posts/b2fazijJppZ
what is the difference between this and a tablet with a bluetooth keyboard?
@MCG
If you work on a desk not much, but I’ve noticed I prefer to use a tablet when I lie down on the bed, and a netbook is much more convenient (if you need a keyboard) when you sit in a bus.