With a sticker price of $179 and the simple to use Chrome OS making the transition from Windows easier, expect the little Asus Chromebox to make big waves.
What is the Asus Chromebox?
Asus, a world-leader in technology manufacturing, has recently announced the upcoming release of a new Chrome-based desktop mini-PC, the Asus Chromebox. The new product is a fully functional PC with all the specs and inner-hardware of a Chromebook, but in a compact box nearly small enough to fit in your hand.
The Asus Chromebox is a mini-PC designed around the same hardware of the recently released Chromebooks, like the Acer C720, but in a package that is meant for use on a desk with an accompanying monitor, mouse, and keyboard.
The power behind the Chrome-based systems is the lightweight operating system, Google's Chrome OS, which provides access to Google's web-based ecosystem through the browser based interface. Users are meant to access the web, videos, and productivity services all through the Chrome browser and Google account. This will allow access to Google services such as YouTube, Google Docs, Google +, Gmail, Google Drive, and more.
The two main features of the Asus Chromebox that really stand out are its size and price point. First, Asus is listing the price of the Chromebox at $179, which brings the new PC in at a substantially lower cost than the Chromebook. Then comes the overall size, the Asus Chromebox is said to measure 4.88" by 4.88" by 1.65", which is easily small enough to fit on almost every desk.
The Chromebox will be available in higher-end variants with a 1.7GHz Core i3 and a 2.1GHz Core i7 and up to 4GB of RAM. Unfortunately, the Core i7 versions are not planned for release in American markets.
At this time, no word has been given as to the scheduled release date of the new product.