Seems like only yesterday we were sitting around pontificating as to why we were in the midst of a massive Chromebox drought. Well, the dry spell has certainly passed. With 8th Gen Kaby Lake boxes on the way from Acer, ASUS and HP, a new device was just announced from a less-likely OEM and this one comes with some exclusive options.
CTL
The Oregon-based PC maker may not ring a bell for many of you but they have been in the business of producing laptops, PCs, monitors and digital signage since 1989. They entered the Chromebook market in mid-2015 with the introduction of their Chromebook J2 built off of the same RockChip rk3288 baseboard as the ASUS Flip C100.
Since that time, they have designed and produced a number of Chrome devices for the education market and are a Google Education Premier Partner. CTL has now added a Kaby Lake Chromebox to their resume. Check out the specs for the CTL Chromebox CBx1 below.
- Intel 3865U Celeron Processor
- 4GB DDR4 Ram with 32GB of SSD Storage
- 802.11 AC Wireless 2×2
- 10/100/1000 Ethernet Port
- 2 USB 2.0, 3 USB 3.0, HDMI and 1 USB C port(for dual monitor support)
- Bluetooth 4.2
- VESA mounting option
- 2 way shipping warranty included for the first year.
- 1-year warranty
All-in-all, the new Chromebox sports the same specs as its counterparts from HP, Acer and ASUS but CTL is offering two bundling options for schools to be able to purchase an all-in-one package at a very affordable price. The base price of the Chromebox is $199 which is very little in my humble opinion. We haven’t seen the price on the ones from other OEMs but I can almost assure you it will be more.
Upgrading to the bundle will get you a CTL 22″ monitor or 22″ touch monitor and all the required cables for the setup for $329 or $399 respectively. The price also includes CTL’s exclusive 2-way paid shipping for RMAs.
The Chromebox CBx1 is available for pre-order directly from CTL today. Contact them directly or speak to your reseller for more details and availability.
CTL Chromebox CBx1
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Correction CTL launched their first Chromebook in Spring of 2014, the CTL NL6 with the Intel BayTrail processor. In other words, they’ve been around and they know Chrome. 🙂
Source: CTL
