A wave of cheap, Chromebook-like Windows notebooks are likely coming later this year. One of these will be HP’s Stream 14, whose specs apparently just leaked out.
The HP Stream 14 will allegedly feature a 14-inch 1366×768 screen, a low-power AMD A4 processor clocked at 1.6GHz (as opposed to the Celerons and Pentiums found on many Chromebooks), 2GB of RAM, and between 32GB and 64GB of solid state storage. The included SSD is supplemented by 100GB of Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage for two years.
Related: Why 2014 will be a great year for Chrome OS
Google and Chromebook makers take the same approach with those devices, typically pairing the low amounts of storage that come with those systems with 100GB of Google Drive storage for two years. However, it’s worth noting that most Chromebooks come with a 16GB SSD. The lowest-end Stream 14 doubles that, apparently.
The Stream 14’s ports will include three USB, one of which will be USB 3.0. You’ll also get HDMI. Wireless connectivity comes in the form of 802.11n, and Bluetooth 4.0. We wish the Stream 14 came with an Ethernet port, and 802.11ac instead. The Stream 14 will weigh 3.9 pounds, and cost somewhere between $199, and $249.
Related: Acer Chromebook 13 hands-on, impressions
It’s no secret that Chromebooks make their living in the sub-$500 laptop space. All you have to do to see this notion at work for yourself is to peek at Amazon’s best selling laptop list. A bunch of Chromebooks occupy the top 20 slots, and have done so for quite some time.
Microsoft and PC OEMs are well aware of this, which is why the former is recommitting itself to taking a bigger bite out of this market, while several members of the latter have made Chromebooks themselves. The 2014 holiday shopping season should see the release of multiple Windows-based Chromebook-like devices priced in the $200 – $350 range, which is right about where most Chromebooks live, including HP’s upcoming Stream 14.
