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There's a new ultra-thin Chromebook and it's gorgeous

HP Chromebook13 3
HP

HP just announced a gorgeous-looking new device, the Chromebook13 G1.

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The three most significant things about this gadget: its Intel Core M processor, its 13.3-inch 3200 x 1800-pixel display, and its ultra-thin 12.9mm profile.

Putting a Core M processor on a Chromebook is a bit funny, though it should lead to blazing speeds. The ultra-efficient processor line from Intel was built to make Windows work on fanless tablets and other slim, lightweight devices. Installing the already zippy mobile Android operating system on a laptop with the Core M processor swings the pendulum in the other direction. The over-the-top 16GB of RAM on this baby should help in that department as well.

HP Chromebook13
HP

The quad-HD display on the Chromebook13 isn't entirely unique, but it is on the fancy end for a genre of laptops first imagined with low-cost value in mind.

That thin aluminum frame is probably the most impressive feature though. At 12.9mm it's just over one-third the width of the stunningly-svelte new MacBook. (Though of course, as a ChromeOS device it only has a fraction of a Macbook's functionality.) And 2.86 pounds puts it near the light end of laptops as well.

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HP Chromebook13 2
HP

Like all Chromebooks, the Chromebook13 built for people who will have WiFi most places they use it. ChromeOS is a laptop version of Android designed for people who will store the majority of their files in the cloud, and this machine only has 32gb of storage on board. That's enough to download a movie for a flight or keep important documents handy, but nowhere close to what you'd expect from a Windows or OS X laptop.

Chromebooks are machines for people who need to write, get online, stream video, and do other straightforward computing tasks with a high degree of speed and reliability. At $500 and spec'ed up like crazy, the Chromebook13 looks set to do that very, very well. But it's much more expensive that many of its competitors. The lower-key Acer Chromebook 13, for example, will cost you only $230

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