HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook review: a first attempt at Chrome OS that cuts too many corners

HP Pavilion 14 Chromebook review: a first attempt at Chrome OS that cuts too many corners

Things have been pretty quiet on the Chromebook front since the launch of Google's gorgeous, but pricey flagship, the Pixel. It's arguably a hard product to beat, but then again, the Chromebook battle is really taking place at the low end of the market with machines like Acer's inexpensive $199 C7 and Samsung's delightful $249 ARM-based model. This is exactly the arena HP's decided to enter with its $329 Pavilion 14, the first Chromebook with a 14-inch display. Apparently, the company's research indicates there's room for a larger Chromebook that's used primarily at home where thickness, weight and battery life are less critical. While that's difficult for road warriors like us to understand, it only takes a visit to Best Buy to see row upon row of large, cheap, generic Windows laptops, so perhaps HP is onto something. Like Acer's C7, the Pavilion 14 is a Chromebook based on an existing PC chassis. It features an Intel Celeron processor, 2GB RAM, a 16GB SSD and Bluetooth. So how does it compare to the aforementioned competition? Is there a market for a larger Chromebook that mostly lives at home? Read on to find out.

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HP refreshes its laptops for back-to-school season, one has a 3,200 x 1,800 screen (updated)

HP refreshes its laptops for back-to-school season, one has a 3,200 x 1,800 screen (updated)

With back-to-school season upon us and Intel's Haswell launch just around the corner, now's a great time for PC makers to start unveiling their summer lineups. Two weeks ago we heard from Sony and today it's HP's turn: the company just refreshed everything from its mainstream notebooks to its high-performance machines. Heck, even the pint-sized dm1 got a makeover. With the exception of that machine (now called the Pavilion TouchSmart Notebook), everything here will be offered with Haswell. There's a little something for everybody, and it's all waiting for you in a neat summary after the break. Join us as we break it down.

Update: We've added one more model to the list, and we think you're going to like it: an Ultrabook with a 3,200 x 1,800 display. HP hadn't meant to announce it today, but you know the internet -- sometimes the cat gets out of the bag anyway. In any case, we've added a quick blurb, as well as hands-on photos. Enjoy!

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