ASUS C302CA Chromebook Flip Starts With Pentium, Not Core M

Sometimes, when something sounds too good to be true, it turns out to be exactly the case. That might also be the case with the ASUS "Chromebook Flip 2", a.k.a. the "accidentally" sold C302CA. The listing on Newegg raised hopes of a rather decent Chromebook, one with an Intel Core M processor and 64 GB of storage. Chrome Unboxed immediately purchased one before the product page was pulled down and discovered somewhat to their disappointment that the $499 Chrome OS device actually came with slightly lower specs.

The one thing that Newegg got right, says Chrome Unboeed, is that the starting price will really be $499, a massive dive from the earlier leaked $800. Still, it's twice as much as the first gen Chromebook Flip, though that one also had half the hardware.

Newegg listed the starting model as running on an Intel Core m3 with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. That might have been a clerical error though, as the actual device delivered only had a slightly lower Intel Pentium and half the storage at 32 GB. In that context, the $499 might look like a pretty high amount for a somewhat niche computing device.

The one ray of hope is that the C302CA has side-mounted speakers. The bottom-blasting speakers of the previous Flip muffled the sound, especially then the device was folded up into a tablet form.

Despite having been leaked early, ASUS still hasn't officially announced the C302CA Chrome-book. It is most likely bidding its time this week when it drops all its new devices at CES 2017.

VIA: Chrome Unboxed