The first Chrome OS tablet has been revealed in the same week that Apple is expected to reveal a new low-cost iPad.
Google has teamed up with Acer for the Chromebook Tab 10 – a 9.7in tablet with stylus support that’s being framed as an “education tablet” for Chrome OS.
The budget tablet come with a 2,048 x 1,536 IPS LCD display, front- and rear-facing cameras, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, a USB-C port, a microSD slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.1.
With an estimated nine hours of battery life, and an in-built Wacom-branded stylus, the Chromebook Tab 10 is being pitched by Google as a new entry to its Chrome OS classroom toolkit. In a blog post, the company claims the tablet is “perfect for students creating multimedia projects—and also comes with a world of immersive experiences with Google Expeditions AR”.
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The Chromebook Tab 10 is being sold for $329 in the US and €329 in the EU (which makes a £329 UK price likely). That’s around the same price as Apple’s entry-level iPad, although things could change tomorrow, when Apple is expected to launch a cheaper model. Even though a cheaper iPad may be coming, it’s worth noting that this price may not include the Apple Pencil, which currently costs £99 on its own – plus requires charging and storing.
The low cost of Chrome OS devices means Google currently dominates the classroom, and this launch will inevitably be read as an attempt to stem Apple’s push for the educational space. At $329, the Chromebook Tab 10 is a bit pricier than the cheaper Chromebook laptops, but if a classroom is looking for a tablet to match with Google’s cloud offerings, Acer just gave them an option.
Chromebook Tab 10 will launch in the US next month, and elsewhere in the world in May.
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