Just like with the recently-reviewed ASUS Chromebook C425, the story of the Flip C433 has been quick, odd, and full of questions. In a matter of weeks we found evidence of its existence, got an FCC leak, saw retail images leak, and then had an official announcement from ASUS about an imminent launch in the UK. I know Chromebook launches aren’t coordinated efforts like their mobile phone counterparts, but this one has been as wild as they come.
Now that you know a bit about the brief history of this all-new Chromebook, one part of the story has been filled in that has been a bit of a mystery up to this point: US availability. For whatever reason, when ASUS put out the press release on the launch and availability of this device, nothing was mentioned about US availability. While we are fans of other countries getting Chromebooks and getting involved in the Chrome OS ecosystem, a launch of a new device without US availability is basically DOA at this stage of the game.
Thankfully, we now have confirmation on US availability of the ASUS Chromebook Flip C433 brought to us by PC Mag. According to the outlet, they’ve been in touch with an ASUS representative and have confirmed the Flip C433 will launch in the US in mid-October. This lines up with the UK launch slated for the same timeframe, but leaves out the crucial part of info we’d love to have at this point: price. At £499 in the UK at launch, it is not confirmed how that price will translate into US dollars.
We’ve seen devices cross this barrier before and the translated price stays the same: i.e. £499 = $499. That’s not always the way it goes, though, so we’ll be keeping an eye out for the first listing we see with the much-anticipated Flip C433. If ASUS can get this device started at $499, it will be one of the best deals around right out of the gate. With a standard MSRP of $569, the Flip C434 doesn’t offer any upside we can currently see over the Flip C433, so its hard to even understand what ASUS’ plan is with these two very similar Chromebooks.
Once we have one, know pricing, and get enough time to formulate a review, we’ll be sure to keep everyone updated. The good news is we shouldn’t have to wait but a few more weeks to actually have all the answers about ASUS’ latest flagship Chromebook.
