Apple just unveiled a brand new iPad aimed at the education market, and it’ll start shipping later this week. It’s… nice. It’s pretty much the same as the entry-level iPad it replaces, but it has a few specs updates and it costs $329. Unless you’re a school, in which case you can buy them for $299 a pop. Neither of those sums include the $89 Apple Pencil the company spent so much time touting on Tuesday, and you’ll also need to buy a keyboard separately. Yeeeeah.
iPads are great, but Chromebooks are still where it’s at if you’re looking for an affordable but capable machine for productivity. In this post, we’ll show you five Chromebooks that are all great alternatives to Apple’s new 9.7-inch iPad that are less expensive and more conducive to productivity, to boot.
ASUS Chromebook C202SA-YS02 11.6″ (Ruggedized and Water Resistant)
- Intel Celeron N3060 Processor (2M Cache, up to 2.48 GHz)
- Designed for rugged use with reinforced rubber guards, easy grip handles, and a spill resistant keyboard
- Can open/edit MS Office files using free embedded QuickOffice editor or Google Docs, and can download Microsoft Office Online (an online version of Microsoft Office) for free. Cannot install standard MS Office software.
- 4 GB DDR3 RAM; 16GB Flash Storage; No CD or DVD drive
- 11.6 inches HD 1366×768 Anti-Glare Display, up to 10 hours of battery life
Samsung Chromebook 3 (11.6″, 4GB RAM, 16GB eMMC)
- 11.6 inch ( 1366 x 768), 16:9
- Intel Celeron Processor N3060, 1.6 GHz to 2.48 GHz
- 4 GB Memory
- Google Chrome system
Acer R11 11.6″ Convertible HD IPS Touchscreen Chromebook
- 360° flip-and-fold design, 11.6 in HD IPS touchscreen (1366×768 ), Energy-efficient LED backlight, 10-finger multi-touch support ; Intel HD Graphics 400 with shared graphics memory
- Intel Dual-Core N3060 1.6 GHz, Up to 2.48GHz, 4GB DDR3L 1600 MHz; 16GB eMMC storage. SD card reader, No Optical drive
- Bluetooth4.0, 802.11ac, HD Webcam, 1 x USB 2.0; 1 x USB 3.0; 1 x HDMI; 1 x Headphone output/Microphone input combo
- Chrome OS, 3-cell lithium ion battery., Weighs 2.76 lbs. and measures 0.8″ thin, Color: White
HP Chromebook 14-inch Laptop
- Processor: Intel(R) Celeron(R) Processor N3350, Dual-Core, 1.1GHz up to 2.4GHz.
- Google Drive: Get 100 GB two-year cloud storage with Google Drive.
- Display: 14.0-inch diagonal Full HD AntiGlare IPS WLED-backlit Display (1920 x 1080).
- Memory: 4 GB LPDDR4-2400 SDRAM (not upgradable).
- Storage: 32 GB eMMC.
- Battery life: Up to 10 hours and 30 minutes (mixed usage).
- Dimensions and weight (unpackaged): 13.27 inches (W) x 8.94 inches (D) x 0.72 inch (H); 3.39 pounds.
- Operating system: Chrome OS.
HP Chromebook 11 G5
- 11.6″ HD UWVA anti-glare LED slim (1366 x 768)
- Intel Celeron N3060 with Intel HD Graphics 400(1.6 GHz/2.48GHz, 2M cache)
- 4 GB DDR3L-1600 SDRAM
- Chrome System
