I visited the Google Chromebook outlet in Delhi to check out the new Chromebooks selling in India. Enthused by the fact that we could buy Google Chromebooks in India and Croma was selling them online as well as offline, I decided to visit the Croma store in Delhi to get a first hand view of the first Google outlets selling Chromebook in India.
Google Chromebook Store
Here are some photos of my visit to the Google Chromebook outlet.
The Croma technology store in South Extension II, Delhi hosts a whole range of laptops from across various brands. While Apple has previously commanded its own counter and Apple team to showcase the products, this time it was Google’s turn to showcase the Google Chromebooks in a prominent location. Released just in time for the Indian festive season sales, it is a smart move to push Chromebook sales in India.
The HP Chromebook 14 was prominently displayed in a white color. The display was beautiful and the screen a good 14′ size. I shut it down and it was off in 2 seconds. I turned on the power button and in 5-7 seconds it was full on.
The only links seen at the bottom were for the Google Chrome browser, Apps, etc. Chrome opened instantly on clicking the icon! It was superfast and there is no doubt about that. But then there are not many applications and software running to slow down the computer and overpower the RAM
Next I checked out the Acer Chromebook. It was small 11′ screen and much lighter than the HP Chromebook. The screen was not as brilliant as the 14′ Chromebook and the Google advisor explained they had some kind of anti-glare coating over it.
Surely the lights on showroom were not much reflected in the Acer Chromebook, while the reflections were seen bright and clear in the HP Chromebook. But personally I like the larger, more brilliant screen better.
A detailed view showcased the Chromebook as a ‘New Kind of Computer’, which indeed it is. The sticker highlights all the features like the 7 second bootup, automatic updates, built in security, free apps, 8.5 hrs battery life, SSD data access, 100GB Google drive and antivirus protection (without any antivirus software needed, in the super secure Chrome OS!).
They do not highlight the 16GB only disk space. They need to highlight what common features/software are missing or different (or cannot be installed), so buyers understand how Chromebooks are different from usual laptops, and understand if they actually need a Chromebook.
Here are the pricing tags applied to the Google Chromebooks. These are similar to the prices quoted online on the websites. There is a slight difference in price from Flipkart. The HP Chromebook 14 is selling for Rs 26,990 while the Acer C720 Chromebook is selling for Rs 22,999.
The online prices are fluctuating off and on. Before you buy, do remember to check the online and offline price to get the best deal.
So now here is the foldable brochure which opens to display all the features of the Google Chromebook. This high gloss thick paper brochure was on display to pick up for free and spread the word. It highlighted key features about the Chromebook, information about the models, and what makes it a ‘New computer’ that will rock the laptop market. Here are some snaps of the foldable brochure.
But remember that before you go ahead and buy a Chromebook, do look at the screen display quality as it is not only about screen size, the display quality between both is markedly different… so I would suggest you at least check it at a Chromebook store before buying online if you so wish.