Toshiba’s Chromebook 2 earned high marks last year for its high-quality display and other premium options including 802.11ac WiFi and up to 4GB of RAM.
Now Toshiba is launching a new model with more powerful processor options. The new Toshiba Chromebook 2 should be available in October for $330 and up.
The new Chromebook 2 is available with Celeron or Core i3 chips based on Intel’s 5th-gen Core “Broadwell” architecture. The entry-level model with a Celeron chip is priced at $330, while Toshiba will charge $430 for a model with a Core i3 chip.
Both models have 13.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel IPS displays with wide viewing angles and LED-backlit keyboards.
Other features include 802.11ac WiFI, USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports, HDMI output, and an SD card reader. There are stereo front-facing speakers, dual-array microphones, and the laptops weigh about 2.9 pounds.
Note that while the original Chromebook 2 was fanless, the new models are not. That’s at least partly due to the move from the low-power Intel Celeron Bay Trail processors in the 2014 models to the more powerful Broadwell chips in the 2015 Chromebook 2 models.
Sounds fantastic, definitely consider picking 1 up to play around with chromeOS.
Is their a windows 10 equivalent to this machine?
This is everything I want in a chromebook. Haswell, 4GB ram, 1080p under 3lbs @$330. Hope they take market share from the 1366×768 chromebooks.
Baytrail version is $270 @amazon. I totally would pay the extra $60 for Broadwell (or Haswell I really don’t see any effective difference).
The core i3 model looks compelling. Might be time for me to trade-in my Samsung ARM chromebook.
Are all models fanless?
Good question. The previous generation was, so lets hope so.
Nope. Just received confirmation from Toshiba. Moving from Bay Trail to Broadwell means an increase in performance, but also an increase in heat.
I don’t think this will be fanless, since Broadwell Chromebooks like the Acer C740 and 15 are all vented. The Toshiba Chromebook 2 was only fanless b/c it downgraded in performance from the 1st gen’s Haswell to a Bay Trail. I have the Bay Trail Chromebook 2 right now b/c I wanted the 1080p IPS screen, but there was a palpable reduction in performance from the Haswell Chromebook 1 and Acer C720 that I owned before.