Oh, look. Another new Chromebook!
In the past two weeks, it feels as if we’re sharing news of another Chromebook release on a near-daily basis. That’s an awesome problem to have. Clearly, manufacturers are anxious to get their new models on shelves ahead of that glorious event we all know as Black Friday.
Today, one of ASUS’ budget models has popped up online and is ready to ship should you be in the market. Unveiled just a couple of weeks ago, the ASUS Chromebook C423 is a 14″ Apollo Lake Chromebook that looks to be competing with Acer’s ongoing line of inexpensive 15.6″ Chromebooks. There are supposed to be a number of configurations of the C423 coming to market that includes up to an N4200 Pentium processor, 8GB RAM and an optional touch display.
We’ll have to wait a bit longer to see the top-tier version but for those looking to get a larger Chromebook for very little cash, the base model may be for you. Coming in at a respectable $279, the ASUS Chromebook C423-DH02 comes equipped with a dual-core N3350 processor from Intel, 4GB RAM and 32GB of eMMC storage.
There isn’t a touchscreen on the C423 but that’s not a big deal as it isn’t a convertible. You will, however, get a 180-degree fold-flat hinge which we have been told helps to alleviate wear and tear on the hinge should the little ones tote it around by the display. **CRINGE**
Around the sides, you’ll get a good balance of ports with 2 USB-C, 2 USB-A, MicroSD and a good ole’ headphone/microphone jack. For a device that will get you out the door under $300, that’s a commendable number of options. The ASUS C423 will eventually have an FHD option. Sadly, this model is rocking 1366×768 on a 14-inch display. Not horrible but definitely not great if you’re going to be looking at it for extended periods.
As far as ASUS’ “NanoEdge” nomenclature, that’s a bit of a stretch but the side bezels are an improvement over many Chromebook models.
Still, at the end of the day, this is a budget Chromebook and it fits the bill for consumers looking for a cheap device to keep around the house that is still capable of daily web consumption. We’ll be snagging one of these very soon and letting you know our thoughts. If you’re in the market now, you can pick one up from Amazon or ASUS direct.
