Google announces an Asus-made Chrome OS HDMI stick called Chromebit for less than $100 and new ARM Chromebook laptops from Hisense and Haier starting at $149
“Get more done and worry less.” Larry Dignan / ZDNet : Google pushes the computer as an appliance theme with Chromebit, Chromebooks Sean Hollister / Gizmodo : Google's Chromebit Turns Any TV Into a Chrome PC for Under $100 Stephen Glasskeys / Computerworld : Google tries STICKING it to Microsoft with Chromebit announcement Cade Metz / Wired : Google Unveils a Stick That Turns Any Display Into a PC Gareth Halfacree / bit-tech.net : Google announces Asus Chromebit Carly Page / Inquirer : Asus Chromebook Flip is a $249 convertible Chrome OS hybrid Manish Singh / BetaNews : More Android apps coming to Chromebook as Google opens ARC program to all developers Matthew Humphries / Geek.com : Google announces Chromebit, Chromebook Flip, $149 Chromebooks Electronista : Google outs new Chromebooks, upcoming Chromebit HDMI dongle Cyrus Mistry / Google for Education : Even more affordable Chromebooks and Android tablets Brian Womack / Bloomberg Business : Google Unveils $149 Chromebooks in Challenge to Microsoft Chris Chavez / Phandroid : Google announces new Chromebooks and Chromebit HDMI stick to supercharge your TV BuzzFeed : Google's New Chromebit Computer Is Ridiculously Small Derek Kessler / Android Central : Google Chromebit packs an entire Chrome OS computer into an HDMI stick Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority : Google unveils four new budget-friendly Chromebooks for under $250 Mike Prospero / Tom's Guide : Chrome On A Stick: $100 Asus Chromebit Announced Mark Hachman / PC World : Google's App Runtime for Chrome to bring native Android apps to Chromebooks Rex Hammock / SmallBusiness.com : Small Business Gadget: The Chromebit Tim-o-tato / Droid Life : Google Intros Affordable Lineup of Chromebooks, Unveils the Chromebit HDMI Dongle Alex Wagner / PhoneDog.com : Chromebit is made by ASUS and Google, offers Chrome OS on a stick Zac Hall / 9to5Mac : Microsoft unveils iPad-priced $499 Surface 3 as Google shows sub $100 Chromebit HDMI stick, $149 Chromebooks Jared DiPane / Android Central : Google announces four new Chromebooks under $249, aimed towards those on a budget Jamie Lendino / ExtremeTech : Google launches least expensive Chromebooks yet (just $149) and first convertible Christian Zibreg / iDownloadBlog.com : Google unveils Chromebit, full Chrome-on-a-stick computer under $100, and other new Chromebooks Edwin Kee / Ubergizmo : More Chromebooks Set To Hit The Market Napier Lopez / The Next Web : Google launches $100 Chromebit dongle that turns your TV into a Chrome OS computer, shows off flipping Chromebook Nathan Olivarez-Giles / Wall Street Journal : Google's Cheapest Chromebooks Yet: $149 Hisense and Haier Laptops Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat : Google and Asus unveil new Chrome OS form factors: $249 Chromebook Flip convertible, $100 Chromebit HDMI stick Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica : Cortex A17 chips allow ARM Chromebooks to limbo down to $149 Matt Weinberger / Business Insider : Google just upped the pressure on Microsoft with a bunch of dirt cheap Chrome computers AppleInsider : Google unveils new $149 Chromebooks, Asus-made Chromebit stick computer Blair Hanley Frank / GeekWire : Google unveils a salvo of new Chrome computers, including one smaller than a candy bar Jordan Kahn / 9to5Google : Google announces new $149 Chromebooks, convertible Chromebook Flip, & sub $100 Chromebit dongle Michael A. Prospero / Laptop Mag : Asus Unveils $249 Chromebook Flip with Touch Screen Seeking Alpha : Google unveils sub-$100 Chrome OS PC on a stick Tweets: Larry Dignan / @ldignan : Also worth noting that the Chromebit competes with the Intel Compute stick. http://www.cnet.com/... vs. http://zd.net/1xTyngw Christopher Mims / @mims : Glad Google's latest Chromebooks are inexpensive, but no one should use Chrome OS on an ARM processor unless they have no other choice. Dan Gillmor / @dangillmor : Asus is going to sell a zillion of these Surface-like tablet/notebook Chromebooks. http://chrome.blogspot.com/... David Pierce / @piercedavid : Google Chromebit is GENIUS: turn your crappy old desktop rig into a great Chromebook for $100 http://www.wired.com/... pic.twitter.com/RQHSHaLU2J
Context & Ripple Effects
This announcement is the moment Chrome OS stops being just cheap laptops: alongside Asus's $249 Chromebook Flip convertible, Google is putting the whole OS on an HDMI dongle priced under $100 and recruiting consumer-electronics makers Hisense and Haier — not traditional PC OEMs — to build $149 ARM notebooks. The companion move opening the App Runtime for Chrome to all developers is what makes these stripped-down devices viable, since Android apps fill the software gap.
The pricing is also a direct shot across Microsoft's bow, coming months after HP's $180 Windows-based Stream Mini tried to counter Chromeboxes on price — Google is answering by undercutting that number outright with a full desktop-on-a-stick.
First-order effects
- Hisense and Haier become Chromebook OEMs overnight, entering the PC hardware market at the $149 tier where Intel-based rivals can't match their cost structure.
- Microsoft's low-cost Windows counterplay — the $180 Stream Mini — is instantly undercut by a Chrome OS device that costs less than half as much and needs no separate computer.
Second-order effects
- Any TV or monitor becomes a potential Chrome OS endpoint, which pressures Microsoft and Apple to defend the low end of the desktop market they've largely ceded, and gives display makers a new bundling angle for smart-screen hardware.
- With ARC opened to all developers, the Android app catalog becomes a de facto Chrome OS app store, deepening the Google ecosystem lock-in that makes future cheap Chrome devices easier to sell.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, Chrome OS stratifies across every price tier — the announced sub-$100 stick ultimately ships at $85, while years later Google formalizes premium tiers with Chromebook Plus and even gaming Chromebooks — turning what began as a budget laptop experiment into a full-stack platform competing with Windows from below and above.
- Sourcing hardware from appliance-grade manufacturers rather than PC incumbents signals that the Wintel OEM model is no longer the gatekeeper for who can build a computer.
The trend: Chrome OS is expanding from budget laptops into every form factor and price point of personal computing, using Android apps and non-traditional OEMs to commoditize the desktop.