Dell Chromebook Available Next Month In January 2014

Dell is jumping on the Chromebook bandwagon and will release its own version of Google's Internet-based laptop next month.

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The 11.6-inch Dell Chromebook 11 will run a 4th-gen Intel Celeron 2955U processor, Intel HD Graphics, and a 16GB Solid State Drive. It will get up to 10 hours of battery life and boot up in less than 8.4 seconds.
The laptop includes a 1,366 x 768, edge-to-edge glass screen. There's a front-facing 720p webcam, support for 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, two USB 3.0 ports, Bluetooth 4.0, and an HDMI port.
The Dell Chrsomebook 11 will be sold in the US and UK for under $300 (£183), Dell said. A 4GB version will debut in January, while a 2GB machine will be released sometime in the first quarter.
Dell is positioning its Chromebook 11 as ideal for teachers, students, and administrators.
"Dell believes that when implemented successfully, teachers, students and technology work together to enrich the learning process," Neil Hand, vice president of Dell's Tablet and Performance PC Group, said in a statement. "The Dell Chromebook 11 will give schools and districts another tool to consider as they plan their digital content and curriculum strategies, and its competitive pricing will help open access to technology for more students around the country."

"The Dell Chromebook 11 with Google Apps for Education will bring exciting new possibilities for learning and collaboration inside and outside the classroom," added Caesar Sengupta, vice president of product management at Google.
Dell will release its Wyse PocketCloud app in the Google Chrome Web Store next month, which will provide access to a "personal cloud" of devices. "Students and teachers can access, edit, save and share their digital assets such as presentations, documents, photos and videos regardless of where the original documents are located," Dell said.

Last month, Google officially launched tablets running Google Play for Education, a version of the Google Play app store specifically designed for K-12 schools in the US. Google first announced plans for Google Play for Education at its I/O developer conference in May, and tested the new educational offering for several months with thousands of students and more than 50 schools. Dell's news, meanwhile, comes shortly after the HP version of the Chromebook 11 was pulled from shelves amidst concerns about overheating chargers. More recently, Acer unveiled its first touch-screen Chromebook, the 11.6in C720P, which goes for $299 (£182).

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