Google’s product lines were bound to come into conflict, and this HP SlateBook 14, which broke cover on HP’s website (via MobileSyrup) in the official trailer you see above, definitely leaves me scratching my head about the continued existence of Chrome OS. The SlateBook 14 in the video is powered by Android, not Chrome OS, and it begs the question of why every Google-powered laptop can’t say the same.
The design of this unit even resembles that of the HP Chromebook 11 the company released late last year, with colors accenting a black-dominated color scheme. It works as you might expect Android to work on PC, with a larger home screen and more room for apps, but it can arguably do more than a Chrome OS device can out of the box, thanks to the huge library of Android apps with resolution-independence already programmed in. You could, for example, conceivably run Skype on this thing, which is not something you can do on a Chromebook even now, despite many years of me wanting that to happen really hard.
The laptop is powered by an Nvidia quad-core processor, which bodes well for gaming, and has a touchscreen, plus a microSD card slot, HDMI port, 3 USB ports and a 3.5mm audio port. Its full spec list and availability haven’t yet been officially announced, but already it seems like a compelling alternative for those curious about Chromebooks, so long as the price is right.