tablets are not your game, then you might be interested in this budget laptop, which is very much one of the first such devices that is powered by Windows 8.1 with Bing — a flavor of the operating system is identical to the base version. Only that it comes with Bing as the default search engine. This is an option that can be changed, of course, but Windows 8.1 with Bing costs less and allows device makers to the keep the prices of their products low. So anyway, the laptop has appeared on the website of a French retailer, and comes with a price tag of €250, which in most probabilities will translate to $250 in the US and other markets. So essentially a Chromebook, but running Windows 8.1. Interesting. Going by the name of ASUS Vivobook F200MA, the device offers an 11.6-inch HD display with a resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels — without a touchscreen. Inside you will find an Intel Celeron N2830 Bay Trail dual core-processor that runs at speeds ranging from 2.16GHz to 2.41GHz. A 500GB hard drive cruising at 5400rpm, and 2GB of RAM complete the bare essentials, while ports and jacks include 1 USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, HDMI out, VGA, Ethernet, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and 3.5mm audio. Pretty decent and nicely rounded specifications at the price point. Chromebooks now have a new competitor, surely.]]>
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A nice response. Seems a little like Redmond hedging their bets. If the Chromebook is successful or becomes popular, Microsoft already has a response out on the market. A smart move at this point.