Earlier this month, Acer debuted the first Chromebook with a dedicated numeric keypad and HP has followed that up with its own edition this week. The HP Chromebook 15 has a large, full HD display, long battery life expectation and number keys with a reasonable $449 starting price.
That cost is for the base model, which is listed as coming soon on HP’s website and runs on a new Pentium processor; the company expects to offer higher-performing configurations with Intel Core chips as well, for an extra cost.
Here’s a rundown of the base model HP Chromebook 15 specs:
- 2.3GHz Intel Pentium Gold 4417U CPU, with two-cores and four-thread capabilities. The 15W TDP of that chip suggests a cooling fan to me.
- Intel HD Graphics 610 CPU with support for 4K resolution on an external monitor
- 15.6-inch IPS BrightView WLED-backlit touchscreen at 1920 x 1080 resolution
- 4 GB of DDR4 RAM
- 64 GB of eMMC storage
- Two USB Type-C 3.1 ports, a single USB Type-A 3.1 port, microSD card slot
- Full backlit keyboard with the additional numeric keypad
- Dual speakers tuned by B&O
- Dimensions of 14.11 x 9.69 x 0.7-inches
- Weight of just under 4 pounds
- Expected battery life of 13 hours on a charge
There are several large Chromebooks in this price range, so the big standout feature on the HP Chromebook 15 is that dedicated number row.
I’ll admit, I don’t really have use for that, but for business workers and other spreadsheet crunchers, this function is key. Note that with the addition of the number keys, the trackpad is offset to the left of center, so if you’re one of those people that prefer design symmetry, this might not be the Chromebook for you.
HP hasn’t specified the actual date of availability but it should be within weeks, if not the end of this month, based on that “coming soon” tag on HP’s site.
