Intel And Google Show Off New Haswell And Bay Trail Chromebooks

Google, Intel and a number of PC manufacturers have taken the wraps off a number of new Bay Trail and Haswell-powered Chromebooks, with Intel claiming it is now the “number one” processor manufacturer for Chrome OS.

Acer, Asus, Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba were among those revealing new hardware in San Francisco, while Google also revealed some details about previously announced Chrome OS devices.

Intel was keen to point out the benefits that the Celeron Bay Trail-M processors would bring to Chromebooks at lower price points, and claimed that the Haswell-powered models are the “most powerful OEM Chromebooks on the market,” delivering additional performance power that would boost web-based and offline applications.

Intel Chromebooks

“Intel has been a strong partner since the inception of Chromebooks,” said Caesar Sengputa, vice president of product management at Chrome OS. “So it’s exciting to see the continued innovation as evidenced by this new wave of Intel-based Chrome devices.

Dell showed off a new Haswell configuration of its Chromebook 11, indicating it would use the device to target SMBs who are keen to try out Chrome OS, but have so far resisted because they needed additional performance. It will launch later this year alongside another fourth generational Intel Core i3-powered model, the Acer C70.

Google and Intel claim the Celeron Bay Trail-powered devices will offer up to 11 hours battery life and superior connectivity through the inclusion of 802.11ac wireless compatibility at an affordable price.

Chinese manufacturer Lenovo revealed its first consumer Chromebooks, the N20, and the touch-enabled N20p, which features a stand position in addition to the more traditional laptop configuration. Both will debut in July and August, with the former costing $279 and the latter $329. Asus announced the 11.6-inch C200 and 1.3-inch C300, which will ship this summer, while Acer will release its 2014 Chromebook later this year.

Intel support

It was also revealed that the Celeron-powered HP Chromebox desktop will be available in June, while the first ever All-in-One Chromebook, the LG Chromebase, will be available in the US from 26 May.

“We’ve been working on five generations of Chrome and after Google, Intel is the largest contributor to the Chromium OS,” said Navin Shevoy, vice president and general manager of Intel Mobile Client Platforms Group. “Intel chips are the first and only to support 64-bit Chrome OS. This deep history and investment combined with our stellar Bay Trail and Haswell SoCs mean Intel can offer the best performing devices at every price point in the Chrome category.”

Earlier this year, Intel announced two new 64-bit Merrifield and Moorefield chipsets, as well as multi-year agreements with Lenovo, Asus, Dell and Foxconn as the chip manufacturer seeks to make an impact in the mobile market, which is currently dominated by processors based on designs from ARM.

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