TECH BREAK: HP’s Chromebook x2 is impressive
The HP Chromebook x2 is light, thin and sexy -- everything a Chromebook should be. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
Video on this is one of the best experiences out in the wild. You get two cameras, a rear 13MP camera and a front 5MP camera, but if hoping to take the best selfies this side of the Sahara, this probably isn’t the device for that.
Though it looks very expensive, it is actually is affordable at a base cost of around Sh60,000.
HP was looking for a premium look, and premium they got. It has a ceramic-like finish, which makes it look absolutely nice and classy.
Many thought that HP’s Chromebook would come with a fixed keyboard hybrid, but it happens to be detachable. It still does all the hybrid things it is supposed to do though. Light, thin and sexy, it is everything a Chromebook should be.
Inside, you get an Intel Core m3-7Y30 that is backed by a choice of either 4GB or 8GB RAM, which is plenty on a Chromebook. For storage, you get 32GB that is expandable via a Micro SD card to 256GB.
VIDEO
It has a 12.3 inch screen that supports 2,400x1,600 pixel resolution that is absolutely gorgeous. Video on this is one of the best experiences out in the wild. You get two cameras, a rear 13MP camera and a front 5MP camera, but if hoping to take the best selfies this side of the Sahara, this probably isn’t the device for that.
It is a WiFi only device with 802.11 AC WiFi as well as Bluetooth 4.2. To chug this along, you get a 48WHr battery that is more than ample, giving it a near 10-hour workout, given that its Intel processor consumes barely 4.5 watts of power.
You get two USB Type C ports for connectivity. HP chose an Intel Core m3-7Y30 dual-core processor, which kicks off at 1.0 GHz and runs all the way to 2.60 GHz over what everyone might have thought should have been an ARM or Atom processor.
Why? With mobility as a priority for Intel, newer, better and more powerful platforms are popping up that give a nice balance between power and performance, and, they do not need a fan to cool them, meaning thinner and lighter devices.
POWER
It also means that you can get much more power, but for less. HP was looking for a premium look, and premium they got. It has a ceramic-like finish, which makes it look absolutely nice and classy.
The best part is that though it looks very expensive, it actually is affordable at a base cost of around Sh60,000. Everything you need to get this laptop going is available in the packaging, and this includes the Stylus.
In a nutshell, while you will have to live with the limitations of ChromeOS, after all, it still is a Chromebook, I am more than certain that someone will figure out how to get Linux on this. It ships in on June 10.
