Earlier this week, the HP Chromebook X360 debuted with a $599 base model price and retail availability expected on October 21. Now the HP.com store shows the 14-inch Chromebook for sale, saying it ships within one business day:
This price is for the base model and there aren’t any upgrade configurations, such as the Core i5 HP says to expect, are not available as of now.
Here’s what you get for $599: An 8th-gen Intel Core i3-8130U with a 2.2 GHz base frequency, turbo-boost up to 4GHz; a 14-inch full HD touch display with thin bezels on the sides, 8GB of memory, 64GB of eMMC storage, 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. There are a pair of USB Type-C ports and one Type-A, plus a headphone/microphone jack and microSD card reader. HP says to expect 13.5 hours of run-time per charge.
It’s interesting that this device is priced the same as the HP Chromebook X2. While the X2 has a detachable, smaller display, the Core i3 of the X360 paired with double the memory and storage might be the better deal for those who don’t need a true tablet.
Well actually, Best Buy is currently selling the ultra-thin 12.3-inch HP/CB X2 for $539. Its Gorilla Glass 4 display is 2400:1600 => 3:2, and the price includes the active pen. But no keyboard backlight.
The $599 HP/CB X360 HP will compete with the not-yet-available $799 Acer/CB Spin 13 base model. But the Acer’s 13.5-inch display is 2256 x 1504 => 3:2. While the X360’s 14-inch display is 1920 x 1080 => 16:9. In small laptop screens, the taller, sharper display is often noticeably better, particularly in tablet mode.
I could easily be happy with any one of these, though the Acer may be my current favorite, despite its higher price and 11% smaller screen area compared to the x360, due to its display’s aspect ratio and higher resolution.