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It has been more than four months since ASUS’ detachable Chromebook CM3 surfaced in some obscure online listings. Since then, ASUS has dropped an official marketing video for the Duet competitor, and the 10.5″ 2-in-1 is even available in a few markets overseas. CDW Canada listed the device a few weeks ago but it is still listed as “back-ordered” as of the publication of this post. Here in the states, an Amazon listing for the CM3 has popped up but it is a third-party seller that shows a shipping date of July. On top of that, it is listed for over $800. My guess is that this seller is trying to capitalize on pre-orders in the hopes of making a quick buck off of uninformed buyers.
If you have been holding out for the ASUS Chromebook Detachable CM3, you may not have to wait much longer. Over at Android Police, Michael Crider discovered two listings for the MediaTek-powered Chromebook on – of all places – ASUS’ storefront. We pretty much knew everything there was to know about the versatile Chromebook but now we have specific U.S. pricing for both storage configurations. The only difference between the two models is the storage with the base model coming in at 64GB and the other version featuring 128GB for only $20 more.
We’re still on the fence about this Chromebook for a number of reasons. One, it is coming to the market very late in the game. The Lenovo Duet has been available for more than a year and you can regularly grab the 128GB model from Best Buy on sale for $249. Granted, the ASUS comes packing a slightly larger display, stowable USI stylus, and that snazzy 2-way kickstand keyboard but the Duet is significantly brighter at 400 nits. (The ASUS comes in at 320 nits which is very good but it’s not 400. Just saying.) ASUS did have the foresight to add a headphone jack to their tablet which was, in my opinion, a mind-boggling omission from the Duet.
Then, there’s the processor. The MediaTek MT8183 is a great little SoC for lightweight tasks and some Android gaming but it is already a bit long in the tooth. We fully expect MediaTek’s next generation of SoCs to hit the market in the next 12 months and the current chip is likely going to feel very sluggish in comparison. That said, ASUS has made a beautiful and thoughtful device and I’m sure that many are waiting to get their hands on it. There’s no official release date listed for the CM3 but I’ll drop the link below and update this post as soon as we know more.
ASUS Chromebook Detachable CM3
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