HP Leaks Their First Chromebook
by Jason Inofuentes on January 29, 2013 11:57 AM EST
Google's venture into the desktop operating system space has been getting a lot of the right kind of attention lately. Acer's C7 Chromebook has been well received, as has the latest Samsung Chromebook. Google announced that their security competition, Pwnium, would be focused on Chrome OS. And now HP has let slip that they'll be building a Chromebook of their own. Tagged the HP Pavilion Chromebook, the 14-inch screen provides more screen than Chrome OS has seen on a laptop before, but the same 1366x768 resolution limits the value of that real estate. The internals will look familiar; it has the same Intel Celeron 847, and 2GB of RAM, as Acer's C7. The HP model comes with a 16GB solid state drive, in lieu of the Acer's mechanical drive. The 37WHr battery reportedly offers a modest 4 hours and 15 minutes of longevity, similar to the Acer C7. So, once again, not a road warrior, but enough perhaps to serve a lightweight user's needs.
When and how much? The original leak's been pulled, but it looks like the HP Chromebook will premier on February 17th for $329.99. That MSRP puts it above the Acer that it resembles, but for those that like the idea of a larger keyboard and screen the increase could be worth the added cost. We'll be interested to find out how it does.
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geekfool - Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - link
How long will ChromeOS be supported? For instance, Win 8 will be supported until 2023. However, I believe ChromeOS is based on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS which would indicate support until 2017? Will updates be offered after that time, any insight would be helpful. ReplyA5 - Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - link
It's Linux-based, but tying it to a specific release of Ubuntu isn't a meaningful distinction. Given that we're still in the very early stages of ChromeOS, expecting more than 2-3 years of meaningful software support would be misguided. ReplyHibyPrime1 - Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - link
If Chrome OS is successful, which it's looking like it's carving out a decent niche in the market, then I would expect support to out-live the device. They aren't likely to ditch x86 entirely for ARM in the near future, so I see no reason why they wouldn't continue to offer updates.To me, asking that question is a bit like asking how long will windows offer updates? Well even if Win 2000 is discontinued, you can update to windows 7 or 8 as long as the hardware is fast enough. Reply
geekfool - Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - link
Drivers are usually the determining factor with regards to upgrades despite "min requirements". This is even more true of Linux and ARM.I'll keep an eye on this project but I'd hate to see it fragmented like Android or devices abandoned after 2 years. These devices look great at $200-300 dollars but don't add value unless accompanied by adequate support.
I don't consider a device obsolete after 2-3 years if the hardware is still capable. I'd bet most Core2Duo owners would agree. Reply
lmcd - Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - link
The difference being that FOSS support for Intel graphics as old as that in my 2005 laptop still exists, and will continue to exist for a long time. So why would a 2011-era platform be any source of worry?"more true of Linux" seems like a mistaken statement. It's more true of Windows, really, since the kernel will be compatible with Mesa for a LONG time.
A parallel example: Linux supports every printer that ever had a CUPS driver. It's a standard. Support isn't thrown out to make you buy a new product because Linux isn't selling things.
Last I checked, my Nvidia Vanta was still supported by FOSS. -_- what more could you ask for.
It's not even the device drivers determining EOL on Android, either. That's carriers, dumb partitioning, the excess large-capacity surcharge, and software skinning.
Google's got the carriers, dumb partitioning, excess high-storage capacity charge, and software skinning handled. Find me evidence that Chrome OS is going to run into an issue. Reply
geekfool - Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - link
I did mistype - should have read "more true of Linux on ARM""Find me evidence that Chrome OS is going to run into an issue."
GPIO plus closed source blob drivers. It's not just ChromeOS but all Linux on ARM projects except the Raspberry Pi which uses open source drivers. Apple only supports a handful of devices but must compile individually for each device. This could easily become fragmented if all ARM vendors aren't on board.
I believe the LTSI kernel was designed to mitigate this fragmentation but I'm not aware of any projects in the wild that are utilizing it. Reply
powerarmour - Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - link
If I'm not mistaken Chrome OS is a rolling release (and based on Chromium OS, not Ubuntu), so it'll be supported until Google decide to pull the plug, so quite a long while yet I'd have thought! Replygeekfool - Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - link
http://www.thebuzzmedia.com/google-chrome-os-based...Relevant quote - "Glancing around the source repository for Chromium OS it looks like the operating system is unsurprisingly based on Linux and more specifically based on a severely trimmed down Ubuntu build." Reply
Wolfpup - Friday, February 01, 2013 - link
That's an EXCELLENT question, given that really no one but Microsoft does a good job supporting anything very long. Apple's decent, but barely acceptable IMO, and most Android devices are...well, actually out of date when they ship. Amazon's devices are supported even worse.And of course these things are well into real PC territory in terms of price... Reply
JarredWalton - Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - link
Given they're sticking with the lower resolution and the keyboard appears to have plenty of unused space on the sides, I predict that the actual utility of the larger size will be nil. 13.3" vs. 14" is already such a silly differentiation; ever noticed how Apple has 13.3", 15.3", and 17.0" displays with no 14" option? It's because half an inch isn't really noticeable at this size.Anyway, I hope they do more than just have a larger chassis, but it doesn't sound like it. A better touchpad, keyboard, screen, and build quality would at least have done something to warrant the $130 price premium over the Acer C7. 16GB NAND these days should actually cost less than a 320GB HDD in the Acer! Especially since we're not talking highest-performance NAND. Reply