Troubled HP Chromebook 11 launches in Aust

HP and Google have launched the Chromebook 11 in Australia, reassuring customers that the charger issues that marred the US release have been fixed.

HP and Google have launched the Chromebook 11 laptop in Australia, several months after the US launch was marred by a troublesome overheating power adaptor.

The sleek machine, which sports an 11.6-inch display, went on sale on Wednesday for $399.

US sales were briefly halted in November after users reported the device's micro-USB charger was overheating during use, reportedly causing a burn in one case and damage to a pillow in another.

In December, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 145,000 of the chargers.

Models on sale in Australia have a different charging cable, a local Google spokesman confirmed.

The Chromebook 11 weighs just over one kilogram and has a battery that will last about six hours before needing a charge, Google says.

It comes with a 16:9 display sporting a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels, with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard memory.

That's boosted by 100GB of Google Drive cloud storage that comes free for two years.

Many Google apps are pre-installed, and it syncs automatically with Android phones and tablets so users can pick up where they left off across multiple devices.

Chromebooks run Google's Chrome OS, which is based around Google's suite of online apps and services, such as Google Drive and Gmail.

The devices work best with an internet connection but can function without one. They're carving out a niche as a budget alternative to Windows and Apple laptops.


2 min read

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Source: AAP


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