Chromebooks May Get Cheaper By Adapting To Low-End Chips
The Chromebook is a stylish, Google-powered computer that is suited to casual users and low-demand tasks priced at an affordable range of $200-$250. A recent development attempts to bring the price lower to make the ultra-portable ultra-afforable. MediaTek has #-Link-Snipped-# for Chromium OS, the base of Chrome OS, which is the operating system Chromebooks are shipped with. The experimental setup uses a ARM Cortex-A7 processor which is in contrast to the standard Cortex A15/A7 hybrids and Intel Celeron chips that Samsung uses for a range of Chrome devices.
The use of A7 may introduce a sub-$200 version of the Chromebook but not before taking a huge hit in terms of speed. The Cortex-A7 is found to be sluggish in tablets and smartphones, but its low cost has made it an attractive option for low-end devices. In fact, the chips are immensely popular in the consumer markets of China and India (see Moto G). While MediaTek has not made any promises with the code, it is not presumptuous to believe that the processor could achieve similar success with computers for a target audience with a tight budget.
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#