Not your average Chromebook
Chromebooks are most popular in the education segment. That's because they're cheap, connected devices that haven't really drawn the attention of malware makers, and they're fairly capable if you're willing to dive into Google's ecosystem. For around $150, these machines allow students to hop on the web, research topics, hammer out book reports and other homework, and so forth.
Or you could spend $399 (or more) on Dell's forthcoming Chromebook 13, a "premium professional" Chromebook designed in collaboration with Google. Dell and Google are reaching for a different audience with this "business-class" Chromebook, though it remains to be seen if business users and professionals in general have any interest in Chrome OS.
What the Chromebook 13 offers is a 13.3-inch Full HD 1080p IPS display, up to 5th generation Core i5 processor options, up to 8GB of memory, a 720p HD webcam with dual array microphones, and a backlit keyboard wrapped in a premium chassis constructed of a carbon fiber weave cover and an aluminum base. There's also a magnesium alloy palm wrest.
Outside of a premium collection of hardware, there are some business friendly features, such as Dell KACE (inventory management and service desk support), SonicWALL Mobile Connect (a VPN application), Wyse vWorkspace (desktop virtualization software), and so on.
"Our latest Chromebook offering is designed for the mobile professional, and provides customers with an unrivaled Chrome experience which mixes the cost and simplicity benefits of Google’s chrome portfolio with Dell’s commitment to design," said Kirk Schell, vice president and general manager, commercial client solutions, Dell. "Not only does the solution offer customers a superior mobile working experience, but with the availability of Dell’s leading security, management and ProSupport Plus service, it is also easy to integrate into wider device ecosystems."
The Chromebook 13 will start at $399 for a Celeron-based configuration and will be available beginning September 17.
Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook
From maximumpc
from http://bit.ly/1UI9n2Q
