An ASUS Chromebook is displayed showcasing the OS and physical features of the device. (Photo : Getty Images/ David Becker)
Asus Company will be doubling the storage capacity and memory of the upcoming C301SA Chromebook, which will come with a full HD screen, at a price higher than competing models.
The new Asus Chromebook joins the Asus gadgets following some complaints about Chromebooks. One common complaint is the oft heard, "But it only has 16GB for storage! My phone has more than that." Of course, Chromebooks were not supposed to come with much storage but due to popularity, manufacturers has been easing back on the cloud-only focus. A few options for 32GB versions have been seen lately, Gadget review reported.
Mostly, garden-variety Chromebooks ship with either 16GB or 32GB of built-in solid-state storage and 2GB of RAM with a standard-definition display of 1,366x768.
However, the new Asus Chromebook, the C301SA, will feature 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage space. Such space is also offered by Google Pixel and few other Chromebooks. The C301SA will have a 4GB of RAM, 1.6GHz Intel Celeron Quad-Core processor, and a 1,920x1,080 13.3-inch backlit HD screen. These specs are seen as far more ordinary features seen on most of the Chromebooks out there. With the large storage drive, it looks like Asus is placing most of its bets on it to win over consumers.
In terms of connections, the C301SA has a USB 3.0, an SD card reader, and apparently, an HDMI connection. According to ZDNet, these features compares favorably with Acer's $300 Chromebook 14, which has the same amount of memory and a slightly bigger screen with the same resolution. Compared with the C301SA, Acers Chromebook 14 has only half the storage and a slightly less powerful Intel Celeron processor.
The latest Google Pixel costing a hefty $1,299 price tag seems to be the only gadget that can get customers the same amount of built-in storage as the forthcoming Asus Chromebook. The Google Pixel is packed with an Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM and 2,560x1,700 screen.
The Asus Chromebook is expected to be on the shelves in September 2016 and the company is planning to have it sold for just $299, similar price that many Chromebooks (and Windows 10 laptops) sell for with lesser specs. Such prices makes it an appealing choice, especially as Google is trying to improve Chromebooks' appeal by allowing Android apps to run on them.
The C301SA model is available for pre-order at B&H Photo's website, though one will have to wait for a month for it to ship.
Watch Chromebook Asus C301SA features here:
