Asus Chromebook Flip C434 now available for direct orders

Asus planned to release the Chromebook Flip C434 by the end of March and it has delivered. You can now order the base model of the Asus Chromebook Flip C434 directly from the company for $569.99. As of time of writing, there are no other configurations available, even though we know there’s an i5 model coming soon from a third-party reseller.

The Asus Chromebook Flip C434 is a refreshed and redesigned version of the very popular C302 model. The C434 display is larger at 14-inches although it now has more of a widescreen aspect ratio. Nearly gone are the display bezels as well thanks to what Asus is calling a NanoEdge display.

Here’s a rundown of the base model specs at this price:

• Intel Core m3-8100Y, 2C/4T, 1.1GHz (4MB cache, up to 3.4GHz)
• 14” LED-backlit IPS NanoEdge display, 100% sRGB, 1920 x 1080 with 5mm bezels and a 360-degree hinge
• 4 GB LPDDR3 memory
• 64 GB eMMC storage
• MicroSD card reader, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
• Two USB Type-C ports, one USB Type-A port (all ports are USB 3.1)
• Backlit keyboard and multi-touch trackpad
• HD webcam, presumably 720p based on the lack of a “FullHD” mention
• 48 WHr battery with an estimated 10 hours of runtime
• 3.2 pounds

I spent some time with this 2-in-1 back in January and came away mostly impressed with two caveats: I’m not fan of the widescreen aspect and although performance seemed excellent, I could only get my hands on the Core i7 model at the time.

So any early orders are taking a bit of a chance as no formal reviews have landed just yet. I don’t think there’s much risk as long as you know that a Core m3-powered Chromebook with 4 GB of memory will meet your personal use cases. I don’t think it would meet mine, which is why my Pixel Slate has a Core i5 processor and 8 GB of memory; that combination easily handles my coding classes, Android apps and heavy browser use.

Given that Promevo is showing the same Core m3 model with 8 GB of memory for $599.99, it may make sense to wait and see if Asus rolls that version to its store soon. Unless you really can’t wait for the Chromebook Flip C434, the extra $30 for double the memory is a great investment.