After Microsoft announced the release of Windows 10 S, Acer and HP also have both announced budget laptops running the new operating system. The new OS which only allows programs from the Windows Store is education-focused and is clearly aimed to beat Chromebooks. Both tech giants have equipped their laptops with the student-friendly OS, and give them a very cheap price of $299.
The two companies are announcing that they are selling cheaper versions of existing laptops with identical specs identical except for the operating system. First up is HP which is selling a new version of the rugged ProBook x360 Education Edition. It has an 11.6-inch, 1366 x 768 display, and is being run with Intel Celeron processor, with 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage.
HP's budget laptop typically sells for $329 or more with full Windows 10 but running with Windows 10 S, it's price goes down right now for $299. According to Laptop Mag, the drastic price shift can make you wonder how great the latest Windows OS model would be. Next Up is Acer's laptop which is the company's first 2-in-1 with the TravelMate branding called the TravelMate Spin B1.
According to The Verge, it's also available now for $299.99 with its 11.6-inch, 1080p touch-screen display, and Celeron processor with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The device is equipped with a stylus, features a shock-absorbent rubber bumper, and spill-resistant keyboard. The specs of these two cheap laptops seem good enough for schoolwork and other student activities.
HP and Acer have announced the sales after Microsoft also announced its own Windows 10 S slick laptop, called the Surface Laptop. It debuted at a rather expensive price of $999 with a Core i5 CPU, which suggests that the company is letting other laptop brands combat Chromebooks. Affordable laptops running on Google’s lightweight OS is becoming popular in schools, and it’ll take the help from HP and Acer to make Windows a more affordable and compelling alternative.
