Meet The 50k Laptop That'll Take All Your Troubles away

In mid-July, Microsoft announced its
uber-cheap line of Windows 8.1
notebooks , with the cheapest model
from HP, called “the Stream,” costing
just $199.

With such a cheap price point,
Microsoft is taking aim at Google’s
line of super-cheap Chromebooks ,
which also start at $199.
Chromebooks are flying off the
shelves thanks in part to the
education sector, which is swiping up
Google’s cheap internet-powered
notebooks for classroom use. But
Microsoft believes its own cheap
laptops could better compete in the
enterprise, particularly in financial
services and banking, thanks to its
popular Windows software.
Microsoft and HP didn’t show off the
Stream notebook when it was
announced in July, but thanks to
some sleuthing from German site
Mobile Geeks and Liliputing , we can
now see several purported listings of
HP’s Stream 14, which will rival the
company’s Chromebook 14 in terms
of technical specifications, even
though the Windows 8.1 model will
be roughly $80 cheaper.
As PCWorld’s Ian Paul points out, the
Stream 14 and Chromebook 14 share
many of the same specs, including
the same number of ports, same 2GB
of RAM, and same 14-inch display
with a 1,366x768 resolution. But the
Stream 14 comes with a more
powerful quad-core 1.6 GHz system-
on-a-chip from AMD, compared to
the 1.4GHz Intel Celeron processor
that powers HP’s Chromebook 14.
The Stream will also boast more
onboard storage: Compared to the
Chromebook 14’s 16GB of storage,
the Stream will offer 32GB and 64GB
options.

Based on the leaks, the Stream will
also boast a 720p front-facing
webcam, Bluetooth 4.0, a USB 3.0
port, four speakers with Beats audio,
and a 2,960mAH battery. The laptop
will also run on Windows 8.1 and
ship with two-years and 100GB of
cloud storage from Microsoft’s
OneDrive.
But of course, the Stream 14
notebook hopes to attract users with
its price point. Compared to most
entry-level PCs, which typically cost
around $1,000, Google’s various
Chromebooks average at about $300.
Microsoft’s first batch of cheap
Windows 8.1 notebooks will cost
between $199 and $279.
Microsoft has an anti-Google website
called “Scroogled,” where the
company collects and creates
material to put down Google’s
various services.

When it comes to
the Chromebook, Microsoft’s main
criticism is that the computer “is a
brick” when it’s not connected to the
internet, since most Chrome OS
applications require an internet
connection. Google looks to address
some of those criticisms by adding
more apps that work in offline mode.
So, as it turns out, Microsoft and
Google have succeeded at creating
near-identical laptops at near-
identical prices. But the HP Stream
14 laptop might get the slight edge
right now since it can do more when
it’s offline.