ASUS has been rumored of working towards putting two Chromebooks on the market

Apr 5, 2014 08:18 GMT  ·  By

ASUS was one of the last big brand vendors expected to launch a Chromebook and it appears this date is drawing near. Now, the first pictures of the first ASUS Chromebook have made an appearance online.

Swedish Google Apps Authorized Reseller Online Partner has posted a few (unconfirmed) photos of the new Chrome-enhanced lappy dubbed C200 (via Craig Tumblison).

Back in February, we told you the leaked information revealed ASUS was gearing up to release two Chromebook models, the C200 and C300 with 11.6-inch and 13-inch screens respectively.

So far, the 11.6-inch form-factor can be considered to be the standard for Chromebooks, but Toshiba and Samsung have both put out models with 13.3-inch screens.

So the new pictures showing the ASUS C200 are consistent with previous information. The photos show a slim and sleek grey and black Chromebook with a visible Chrome OS login screen and an array of other Chrome OS keys.

There’s a large sticker over the left palm rest that claims “all-day battery life,” a large touch pad, “high quality audio” and 2 years of free Google Drive storage, something we’re accustomed with when it comes to Chromebooks.

But we can’t tell you whether the model showed in the photographs is the 11.6-inch one or the larger counterpart.

The pictures give us a hint about what kind of chip architecture is pumping power into the Chromebook. There’s a visible Intel sticker, so the ASUS Chromebook might be the 1.9GHz Intel Atom E3845 processor combined with 2GB of RAM we have seen show up late last year.

So far, we have yet to uncover any trace of the elusive C300, but judging by recent developments in the chip industry, ASUS might as well use Intel’s freshly squeezed Braswell chip instead to power its Chrome devices.

In related news, ASUS is expected to launch a lot of new products this year. The same February leak claimed the Taiwanese maker is not only focusing attention on Chromebooks, but also on bringing to life a new ASUS Transformer Book T200 with a larger 11.6-inch screen.

Anyway, ASUS presence is long overdue in the Chromebook market. The particular niche is growing steadily and a few days ago we told you ABI Research claimed 2.1 million Chromebooks shipped worldwide in 2013.

The firm expects the CAGR of 28% up to 11 million in 2019, so the trend seems to be favorable for the Chrome laptops. ABI calls the devices a “disruptive force for the portable PC market” and ASUS is getting ready to make its own contribution.

Photo Gallery (4 Images)

ASUS C200 first images appear
ASUS C200 first images appearASUS C200 first images appear
+1more