Chromebooks have sparked negative reviews ever since they were brought into lights. But over the past years, it has grown somewhat popular thanks to the constant update to the core operating system, Chrome OS, that enables various function as well as offline capability. Google is even encouraging developers to make apps that run on Chrome as standalone apps which are categorized as apps “For your Desktop”.
However, all that will fail if a similar laptop that looks like a Chromebook was to hit the market but with a twist: Android as the operating system. Wait, it is going to happen. HP revealed that it’s going to release what it calls HP Slatebook 14 that looks a lot like a Chromebook but is actually powered by Android. Imagine all the capabilities the extra screen state and the attached keyboard could bring along with the huge list of apps that you can download and use for real work!
A lot of people thought that Chrome OS would eventually be merged with Chrome OS. But Google kept both operating systems separated. But HP isn’t necessarily bound to follow Google. So the company is now making this laptop that looks and feels like a Chromebook (presumably) but runs on Android which enables a whole new world of possibilities. Now you can Skype with your friends from your Android-powered laptop whereas your Chrome OS-powered Chromebook is unable to do so.
So what exactly is HP trying to do here? The company makes Chromebooks, too. So it’s obvious that it won’t try to do something that’ll switch all its customers to one particular product. So what I think is HP will price the Slatebook 14 significantly higher than the Chromebooks it sells. That way, people would know that if they want extra convenience of running Android, they’ll have to pay more. And if they want an affordable device, Chromebook is the way to go.
But one thing is for sure that if they choose to keep the price range of both of these laptops (Chromebook and Slatebook) close, people, or at least majority of them, will presumably opt for Android. Because honestly, apps matter. And app-wise, Chrome OS is still immature; a child, if I were to compare it to Android.
So what do you think? Would people still buy a Chromebook if an Android-powered laptop like the HP Slatebook 14 were to be available at the similar price?
