Two years after their successful foray into the Chromebook market with the Skylake-powered C302, ASUS has officially released a direct follow up to the popular Chromebook at CES 2019. Additionally, the Taiwan-based tech giant also released three more Chrome OS devices, for a total of four new releases. Each one is designed to cater to a specific range of students. In total, the entire line aims to cover every kind of student, from toddlers to teenage adolescents.
Introducing ASUS’ Latest Line of Chromebooks
The Chromebook C204, Chromebook Flip C214, Chromebook C403 and Chromebook Tablet CT100 all feature near-identical specifications across the board and follow a similar design philosophy. However, there are a few differences in each one. For starters, the Chromebook C204 is ASUS’ follow up to their popular Chromebook C202, which they released roughly two years ago for kids in primary school. Meanwhile, the Chromebook Flip C214 will serve as the successor to last year’s C213, a 2-in-1 convertible that comes with stylus support, as well as a 360° hinge and a touchscreen display, allowing for use as a traditional laptop and as a tablet at the same time.
As for the other two, The Chromebook C403 and the Chromebook Tablet CT100 are both totally new. The former is essentially a bigger version of the C204. Housed inside a larger chassis with 14-inch display but with similar, albeit slightly but older specs. The C403 is the perfect laptop for students in middle school and high school who mostly prefer the larger real estate for homework and personal use. The latter is ASUS’ first Chrome OS tablet. It comes with a 9.7″ display and stylus support to draw and take notes. The CT100 tablet is designed specifically for kids who are just starting out to learn and understand computers, but comes with the same Chrome OS found in the chromebooks.
Military-grade Build Quality
ASUS prides themselves on their use of military-grade “ruggedized” designs for all four of their latest Chrome OS devices, using reinforced and rubberized edges to help protect the devices from the occasional bumps and falls. Also, each Chromebook come equipped with water-resistant and tamper-resistant keyboards for added durability. Although the CT100 tablet doesn’t have a keyboard, it features the same “ruggedized” design that makes it both accessible and durable enough to withstand everyday use by a toddler.
Display, Size, and Weight
Although all of the Chromebook devices follow the same design philosophy, each one comes in a different display size, total size, and of course, weight.
The largest of the four is the C403. It comes with a 14-inch HD LED display with anti-glare coating, measuring at 13.5″ x 9.2″ x 0.8″ and weighing at 3.7 pounds. It’s considerably larger than the smaller C204, which only weighs 2.6 pounds, measuring at 11.5″ x 7.8″ x 0.8″ and is equipped with a smaller 11.6-inch LED display with anti-glare coating. However, both models come with a 180° hinge that makes it easier for users to show their work to other people.
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As for the Chromebook Flip C214, it comes with an 11.6-inch HD touch display. It can serve as either as a tablet or as a laptop, depending on its user’s needs, thanks to its durable 360° hinge. It clocks in at 2.6 pounds, which is the same weight as the C204.
Finally, the CT100 is a 9.7-inch tablet that weighs only 1.3 pounds and is designed specifically for kids.
Specs and Battery Life
Both the 2-in-1 Chromebook Flip C214 and the smaller Chromebook C204 are powered by the latest Intel Gemini Lake processors. Meanwhile, the larger C403 comes equipped with a slightly older Apollo Lake processor. All three can support up to 8GB of LDDR4 memory and up to 32GB of eMMc storage. However, only the C214 can support up to 64GB eMMc storage. The port selection on both the C204 and the C403 include 2 x USB Type-C 3.1 ports, 2 x USB Type-A 3.0 ports, a MicroSD card reader, an audio combo jack, as well as Bluetooth 4.2 support. The C214 comes with roughly the same port selection, but only just 1 x USB Type-A 3.0 port.
As for the battery, ASUS has equipped their latest line of products with 45 WHr batteries, although the C204 comes with a little bit more juice at 50WHr.
Price and Availability
ASUS have yet to announce pricing for all regions for their latest line of Chrome OS devices. However, according to ASUS, retailers should have the devices in stock sometime later this year, with the C403 and the C214 possibly already available in Spring.
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