Asus and Lenovo Expected to Launch $149 Chromebook Laptops in 2015

After HP and Toshiba unveiled their low-cost Chromebook notebooks during the IFA event this year, Asus and Lenovo seem set to introduce even cheaper low-cost Chromebooks in 2015, as per a new report.

Both Asus and Lenovo are expected to bring their 11.6-inch display Chromebook notebooks powered by Rockchip CPUs in 2015, according to a report from Digitimes. Also, the devices are tipped to arrive with a price tag of $149 (roughly Rs. 9,200). The specifications or the availability details of the Chromebooks are not yet known.

The low price point, as tipped by the report, is said to be 25 percent lower than the $199 (roughly Rs. 12,300) Acer Chromebook, which was launched back in 2012.

As the report speculates, the introduction of $149 Chromebook laptops will pressure Microsoft to further drop Windows 8.1 licensing fees, which were reportedly cut earlier this year by 70 percent.

Notably, Lenovo has already used a Rockchip RK3188 processor in a 10.1-inch Android notebook, namely Lenovo A10, which was launched in October this year. Asus is however yet to manufacture any laptop using the company's processors.

On a similar note, HP in September introduced two colourful Chromebook models with 11-inch screen and 14-inch displays. The 14-inch Chromebook sported an Nvidia Tegra K1 processor, while the smaller laptop was powered by an Intel Celeron N2830. Both 11-inch and 14-inch laptops were priced at $199.99 (roughly Rs. 12,300) and $299.99 (roughly Rs. 18,500) onwards, respectively.

Toshiba also introduced its Chromebook 2 in the same month, using an Intel Celeron N2840 processor. The Chromebook 2 comes with a starting price of $249.99 (roughly Rs. 15,400).