CTL has announced a brand new Chrome OS tablet called the CTL Chromebook Tab Tx1, set to hit the market with a relatively low level of competition in February. The Oregon-based company has provided plenty of information about the $299 Chrome OS tablet in the meantime.
The Tab Tx1 is set to ship with a relatively modest hexacore OP1-rated SoC specially designed for Chrome OS. That’s comprised of two performance-ready Cortex-A72 cores and four further Cortex-A53 cores for efficiency in multicore processes. 4GB of memory and 32GB of storage back that Rockchip chipset up with a 34Whr, 10-hour rated battery ensuring students and workers can use the device all day long. A Mali T864 4K video chip provides processing on the graphics side.
Connections are accomplished via Wi-Fi 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n with 2 x 2 MIMO.
The exterior of the 9.7-inch 1.2lb tablet is coated in a nonslip drop-resistant shell, following CTL’s dedicated approach to the device’s target audience in K-12 education programs. That casing also houses a USB-C port, headphone jack, and a micro SD card reader. A garaged Wacom EMR stylus and Gorilla Glass 3-protected display complete that package.
The multi-touch screen shipping on the CTL Chromebook Tab Tx1 is a QXGA IPS display with a resolution of 2048 x 1536. That’s offset with 2-megapixel forward-facing and 5-megapixel primary rear cameras.
Competing for the segment
The CTL Chromebook Tab Tx1 is only the fourth-ever Chrome OS tablet but at first glance, it doesn’t offer much by way of competing with existing devices. That’s especially true with consideration for Google’s Pixel Slate. Regardless, it’s still likely to be a serious help in cementing CTL’s position in the education and enterprise segments of the market.
The devices that the new Chromebook Tab Tx1 is going up against are primarily Acer’s early 2018 offering, the Chromebook Tab 10, and the much more recently revealed ASUS Chromebook Tablet CT100.
The ASUS-branded slate is actually nearly identical in terms of specifications. Although there isn’t any pricing or availability information available right now, it will likely be very similar in price to the new CTL gadget if not somewhat more expensive due to branding and other features.
Those similarities don’t necessarily mean CTL isn’t up to the challenge either.
Not only does CTL offer schools a 1-year part and labor warranty. It also designed the Chromebook Tab Tx1 with IT departments in mind. The built-in battery, for example, is designed for easy servicing without the common issues with customer service often tied to modern devices in the tablet or smartphone categories.
A complete portfolio for an established market
CTL has a long history in the Chrome OS market for education. That means that on top of its offers for convenient shipping, trial programs, and discounts on both hardware and software, CTL already has a long-established Chrome OS gadget lineup. In fact, the new CTL Chromebook Tab Tx1 essentially completes the company’s portfolio of hardware offerings. CTL now offers an array of devices across every form factor and intended for use by everybody in a school from teachers and administrators to students.
The device should, in turn, help Chrome OS itself hold onto its portion of the education market, in addition to amping up the competition that forces larger companies like ASUS to take notice.
CTL Chromebook Tab Tx1
