2018 - the year of the ChromeBox ?
At the CES this year a number of vendors including Acer, Asus and HP committed to releasing NUC-like devices running Googles ChomeOS called ChromeBoxes.
Well those devices are beginning to show up and offer a very viable alternative to Windows.
Versus the early days of ChromeOS devices - which were often under-powered with low-end features - these OEMs are now including the latest 8th Gen Core CPUs, good RAM and Storage options along good graphics and WiFi.
Each of them has taken slightly different approaches to product options - but in almost all cases you can get a device with Core i7, 16Gb of RAM and 32, 64GB or more SSD Storage. These devices also have plenty of USB ports including Type-C, HDMI, etc.
Now while this has pushed the price tags from the $200 - $300 range all the way to the $800 range - it also had provide customers with a lot more options and shows how ChromeOS devices are taking hold.
It also shows that OEMs are looking outside of Windows to increase sales. As is well documented - traditional PC sales have been falling for 6 consecutive years as user move more and more towards mobile. So the OEMs are looking to anything to try and boost sales.
But I also have to argue that MS contributed to that decline with poorly executed Windows versions - like Windows 8 and to a slightly lesser extent Windows 8.1.
ChromeOS on the other hand is showing that for many use cases - a "full OS" machine really isn't needed. I know that in my own family - two of my users - my wife and daughter - don't really need a Windows PC. They spend the vast majority of their time in Chrome browser and rarely run traditional apps - even Office.
Google then upped the ante with the Pixelbook - which while pricey - shows the potential of ChromeOS. Especially with Android app support.
Now I certainly don't expect ChromeOS to suddenly shoot passed Windows as the desktop OS market leader - but for many folks - it certainly covers their day to day usage with a lot less baggage than Windows OS.
The new HP Chromebox G2 in 7th gen Core i5 with 8GB of RAM and 32GB M.2 SSD is less than $600. While some may argue that it's light on storage is also has an SD Slot - so you could easily add 256GB if you wanted.
And even for MS Office folks - you can easily run Office365 Web edition and store all your content on OneDrive.
Finally with Windows RS5 - MS themselves are slowly moving towards a tabbed Web based UI with Windows Sets - that in theory would make the Windows experience very ChromeOS like.
HP has also announced some Pixelbook competitors - so this tells me that they see something in the market and are willing to make the investment.
And with the recent reorg by MS around the Windows platform and a more cloud based focus - the "PC" as we know it for many folks will change. If you have folks in your home that live in the browser all day - I would take a serious look at the ChromeBox options out there.
Well those devices are beginning to show up and offer a very viable alternative to Windows.
Versus the early days of ChromeOS devices - which were often under-powered with low-end features - these OEMs are now including the latest 8th Gen Core CPUs, good RAM and Storage options along good graphics and WiFi.
Each of them has taken slightly different approaches to product options - but in almost all cases you can get a device with Core i7, 16Gb of RAM and 32, 64GB or more SSD Storage. These devices also have plenty of USB ports including Type-C, HDMI, etc.
Now while this has pushed the price tags from the $200 - $300 range all the way to the $800 range - it also had provide customers with a lot more options and shows how ChromeOS devices are taking hold.
It also shows that OEMs are looking outside of Windows to increase sales. As is well documented - traditional PC sales have been falling for 6 consecutive years as user move more and more towards mobile. So the OEMs are looking to anything to try and boost sales.
But I also have to argue that MS contributed to that decline with poorly executed Windows versions - like Windows 8 and to a slightly lesser extent Windows 8.1.
ChromeOS on the other hand is showing that for many use cases - a "full OS" machine really isn't needed. I know that in my own family - two of my users - my wife and daughter - don't really need a Windows PC. They spend the vast majority of their time in Chrome browser and rarely run traditional apps - even Office.
Google then upped the ante with the Pixelbook - which while pricey - shows the potential of ChromeOS. Especially with Android app support.
Now I certainly don't expect ChromeOS to suddenly shoot passed Windows as the desktop OS market leader - but for many folks - it certainly covers their day to day usage with a lot less baggage than Windows OS.
The new HP Chromebox G2 in 7th gen Core i5 with 8GB of RAM and 32GB M.2 SSD is less than $600. While some may argue that it's light on storage is also has an SD Slot - so you could easily add 256GB if you wanted.
And even for MS Office folks - you can easily run Office365 Web edition and store all your content on OneDrive.
Finally with Windows RS5 - MS themselves are slowly moving towards a tabbed Web based UI with Windows Sets - that in theory would make the Windows experience very ChromeOS like.
HP has also announced some Pixelbook competitors - so this tells me that they see something in the market and are willing to make the investment.
And with the recent reorg by MS around the Windows platform and a more cloud based focus - the "PC" as we know it for many folks will change. If you have folks in your home that live in the browser all day - I would take a serious look at the ChromeBox options out there.
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