ASUS a few months back announced their Chromebox computer and it was a new product indeed. A Chromebox, for those unaware or less than those who know what a Chromebox is, is very compact and portable style of computer, that is sold with only the computer itself, no monitor, mouse, keyboard, or anything else (unless it’s part of a bundle by the seller). It is a cloud-based computer; Google’s Chromebook line of laptops use an operating system derived from the Chrome browser, so and where all the programs or ‘apps’ you have on it are essentially links to parts of Chrome browser itself, but with a beautiful, minimalistic user interface instead of a browser’s normal aesthetic.
HP today followed in ASUS’ path of the Chromebox, and have their own almost completely ready to start selling. The evidence is in the entr©e (or the proof is in the pudding, depending on which part of a meal you may prefer) because HP’s Canadian site has the little guy up with all of its details on show.
What the HP Chromebox has in store for us is a standard HDMI output, a DisplayPort output, a generous and lovely four USB 3.0 ports for all your connecting and expanding needs, a headphone/microphone plug, a gigabit Ethernet plug, and obviously a power plug. This comes to us on a box that is about 5 inches square and an inch and a half thick. The processor! Oh yes, it’s got one of those, and a choice actually, too. There will be a choice of either a Intel Celeron or i7 Haswell processor. It also will come with 16GB of embedded storage, and between 2 and 8GB of RAM, depending on which you choose. It’s got a full-size SDXC card reader/writer too, so don’t worry about that either. This guy also has some variations between the two processor chipsets, with the differences being the SODIMM (RAM expandability) slots available; the i7 will have two slots, while the Celeron will only have the one to utilize.
This little powerhouse is, by the marketing on HP’s website, aimed to appeal to corporate and enterprise folk, with a professional looking device, and the need to bring your computer to hook up, present, share, spitball ideas, and then pack and return home to regroup the next day or week. Chromeboxes, not just HP’s, are aimed at ultimate portability, and this one isn’t any exception, weighing a little under a pound and a half. The price? That is still not solidified, without HP listing it themselves (yet), but reportedly the Celeron model will begin pricing around $200, while the i7 model will most likely begin at $600 and go from there. Keep your eyes peeled if you’ve been needing or wanting a decent computer with reasonable size and expandability, with portability in mind.