Toshiba’s upgraded Chromebook 2 packs a high-res 1080p screen on the cheap

By Konrad Krawczyk September 3, 2014

Chromebooks aren’t known for having 1080p displays, but that’s slowly changing. Toshiba just revealed a new Chromebook, dubbed the Chromebook 2, at this year’s edition of the IFA tech show in Berlin, Germany. And yes, it wears a 1080p screen.

The 13.3-inch Toshiba Chromebook 2 is powered by an Intel Celeron N2840 2.16GHz dual-core processor, and, as is the case with almost every Chromebook on the market, ships with 16GB of storage via SSD. On the bright side, this is supplemented by 100GB of free Google Drive storage for two years, which is also par for the course. Thankfully, there’s a memory card slot on the Chromebook 2, which you can use to expand its storage space.

The Toshiba Chromebook 2 will come in one of two flavors. One includes the aforementioned 1080p screen, along with 4GB of RAM. Toshiba will also sell a version of the Chromebook 2 that scales the screen back down to 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, which is where most Chromebooks live. This flavor will also include half the RAM (2GB) that the 1080p version does.

Related: Toshiba Click 2 Pro review

Port selection consists of HDMI, one USB 3.0, one USB 2.0, a combo headphone/mic jack, and a security lock slot as well. Wireless connectivity comes courtesy of 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.0. The Chromebook 2 runs on a three-cell battery, which can provide up to 11 hours of battery life on the 720p model, and up to 9 hours on the 1080p version, Toshiba says.

Slathered in a silvery finish that Toshiba’s laptops are known for, the Chromebook 2 measures 12.6 x 8.4 x 0.76-inches, and weighs at least 2.95 pounds. This should make the Chromebook 2 quite easy to carry from point A to point B.

Toshiba says that pricing for the Chromebook 2 will range from $250 to $330, and will launch on October 5 here in the States.

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Konrad Krawczyk

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…

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