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Asus, HP launch new 2-in-1 Chromebooks at $299

Take your pick: HP 's ruggedized x360 Chromebook with 11.6-inch screen and Intel Celeron processor, or the 10.1-inch Flip C101 with an ARM hexa-core CPU.
Written by Sean Portnoy, Contributor
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The Asus Chromebook Flip C101 features a hinged touchscreen display, just like the HP Chromebook x360.

They certainly don't have the razzle-dazzle of Google's just-leaked Pixelbook, but the new Chromebooks from Asus and HP will appeal to a lot more people with their budget-friendly pricing.

We've seen HP's offering before in the form of the Chromebook x360 11 G1 Education Edition, which was released last spring. The folks at HP must have been happy enough with the convertible laptop to offer it to the general public in a non-education version.

And there's plenty to be happy with, as the x360 comes with an 11.6-inch touchscreen, Intel Celeron N3350 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 16GB of built-in storage. None of these are earth-shattering specs for a Chromebook, but HP has also retained the rugged features of the Education Edition, such as a scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 3 display and spill-resistant keyboard.

At first glance, the Asus Flip C101 doesn't seem to offer enough to justify its similar pricing as the x360. It includes a smaller 10.1-inch display and an ARM-based CPU rather than an Intel one, and does not come with the durability extras of the HP. But it's roughly a pound lighter, and its Rockchip processor has six cores instead of the Celeron's two. Its bigger brother, the Flip C302, is well-regarded, as ZDNet's own Sandra Vogel found when she reviewed it a few months back.

Both hybrid Chromebooks share a 360-hinged design (allowing you to use it in tablet mode), the ability to run Android apps, and the same price tag of $299. Which one would you buy for the money?

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