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Chromebooks have only been around for a few months, but they are starting to multiply. Toshiba is the latest notable computer maker to join the Chrome OS party. The company is bringing its 13 inch Toshiba Chromebook to New Zealand where it will go on sale for just NZ$480.

Toshiba says its Chromebook uses a Haswell-based Intel Dual Core processor. If this was a Windows laptop that would set alarm bells ringing. Here the specification means little - what matters is there's more than enough computer power to run Chrome OS where everything is done using a browser.

Nine hours on a single charge

A more interesting point is the processor gives the Toshiba Chromebook "up to" nine hours of battery life. Even if we take that with the usual pinch of salt, it means you can get a full day's work on a single charge.

There's an HD webcam, two USB 3 ports, a HDMI connector, SD card slot and, of course, Wi-Fi. The wee beastie weighs just 1.5kg, so it is Ultrabook light even if at 20mm deep it's a little chubbier.

Buyers also get 100GB of Google Drive storage as part of the deal - this would normally cost around NZ$70 a year.

Toshiba's standard Chromebook specification

Toshiba Chromebook is spec-for-spec almost the same as most other branded Chromebooks currently on sale. It has the same 1366 x 768 screen resolution but bumps the display size from the 11 inches found elsewhere to 13 inches.

By 2014 standards that relatively low 1366 x 768 screen resolution  is the only real disappointment. On the other hand,  you can't argue with the NZ$480 list price.

Chromebooks appear to be filling a market niche that Microsoft appears to be abandoning. While PC sales are falling, there's still a need for low-cost, lightweight machines for basic computing.

[digitl 2014]

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