Dell's First Chromebook Will Be for the Classroom
Dell is joining the likes of Acer and HP in adding a Chromebook to its lineup. Catering to the education market, the Dell Chromebook 11 will be the company's first notebook to run on Google's Chrome OS.
The Dell Chromebook 11 will run on a fourth-generation Intel Celeron 2955U processor and should offer up to 10 hours of battery life. It sports a 11.6-inch edge-to-edge glass display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. On the inside, you'll find a 16GB SSD and users have the option of choose 2GB or 4GB of RAM. Along the sides you'll find two USB 3.0 ports and an HDMI port. Weighing 2.9 pounds, the Dell Chromebook 11 is slightly heavier than the 2.2-pound HP Chromebook 11 and 2.6-pound Acer Chromebook C720. Priced aggressively at less than $300, the Dell Chromebook 11 4GB variant will be available in January, while the 2GB configuration will go on sale in Q1 2014.
While the Dell Chromebook 11 will initially be aimed at educational institutions, the company says it plans to announce more Chromebooks to meet the needs of other customer groups throughout the next several months. These new Chromebooks will include budget- strapped consumers.
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Chromebooks are a relatively new type of notebook that run on Google Chrome OS, which largely relies on the Internet for functionality. Recent updates to the Chrome OS, however, have heralded more offline functionality such as the ability to use Gmail, Google Drive and basic photo editing apps without an Internet connection.
The Chromebook is being touted as a cheaper alternative to the traditional laptop for those who primarily surf the Web rather than performing more demanding tasks. Some Chromebooks, such as the Acer C720, can come as cheap as $199.99.
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