Google launches affordable Chrome devices in India

Google India on Friday launched a range of new and affordable Chromebooks and Chromebox targeted at education and businesses.

"The Chromebook was launched in India a year ago. Now we are launching three new Chromebooks," Smita Hashim, global product manager, Chrome OS, said here.

Two Chromebooks, from Xolo and Nexian and priced at Rs.12,999, will be available from Amazon and Snapdeal and the pre-order booking will start from Friday. The third one from ASUS will be available in a couple of months.

"There will be more Chromebooks in the coming months from ASUS and Samsung," she added.

The Chromebooks are targeted at schools.

"Since launching Chromebooksin India, we've been working to ensure that Chromebooks work in an environment where connectivity can be spotty, and many people's first experiences with technology are through a phone rather than a laptop," Hashim said.

She mentioned that the company has done pilot projects in Indian schools to see the adaptability of Chromebooks.

"On the education front, easy to use, easy to share, and easy to manage, Chromebooks have proved a hit with teachers and students around the world.

"In fact, according to IDC's latest report on tablets and laptops in K12 education, Chromebooks were the bestselling device in the US last year. Now Chromebooks are available for Indian schools and educational institutions nationally," she said.

On the business front, Google is introducing Chromebox for meetings for Indian businesses. The package will be priced at Rs.90,000.

A Chromebox is a personal computer running Google's Chrome OS operating system. The device is a desktop variant of the Chromebook laptop.