Google from their ‘Made by Google’ keynote has stepped into the land of tablet/laptop hybrid computers much like the Microsoft Surface with it’s latest 2-in-1 device the Google Slate.
It’s a Chrome OS tablet with a detachable keyboard with the addition of a touch-sensitive pen for taking notes or drawing your heart out. Trond Wuellner, a director of product management at Google said it is “completely new experience” rather than being a tablet mimicking a laptop or an oversized phone trying to be a tablet.
Here’s what we know so far.
What is the spec for the Slate?
Google is offering a range of different configurations as you would expect.
Display
The display is the same across any spec you get, with a 12.3-inch 3000×2000 resolution LCD display.
CPU
The lowest CPU is an Intel Celeron, with it going up to an Intel Core M3, to an i5 and the highest being an i7. They’ve not mentioned as of yet what exact CPU will be in the machines.
Memory
You can get the Slate with either 4GB up to 16GB depending on the spec you want and the processor.
Storage
The two lowest models with the Celeron and M3 come with 32GB or 64GB, the i5 has 128GB and the i7 rocks a 256GB. All are SSD.
Battery & Camera
All the batteries are the exact same as well as the camera which is an 8MP Camera on the front of the device and one on the back.
How Much will the Google Slate cost?
The Slate is going to cost £549 for the base unit. The M3 unit will cost £749, i5 will cost £969 and the i7 is £1549.
The keyboard will cost £189 and the pen will be another £79.
All together for the full base package as an example, it would cost you £817.
When is the Google Slate being released?
The date for the Slate was not yet announced at the Google event but we know it is coming sometime later this year.
Other Google News
The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL were also announced and we have the price, release date and more on the new smartphone. At the same time, they also revealed the Google Stand which turns the Pixel 3 / 3 XL phones into a smart alarm clock which you can read up on too.