Two brand new Chromebooks have been unveiled by the Oregon-based computing company CTL.
Similar to their previous Chromebook, the new ‘CTL Chromebook J2’ and ‘CTL Chromebook J4’ notebooks are being aimed at education and feature ‘rugged’ designs aimed at withstanding classroom bumps and scrapes.
Specifications
Both Chromebooks use an 11.6-inch anti-glare HD display with a resolution of 1366×768. This is standard fare for such devices, and expected at the lower-end of the device spectrum.
For keeping class notes and work CTL is equipping the notebooks with 16GB eMMC storage. This can be expanded by using the flush MicroSD card slot and 2× USB 2.0 ports available.
Memory size is the only differentiator between the two devices with the J2 version offering (you’ll never guess) 2GB RAM (oh you did guess…) and the J4 model sporting 4GB RAM.
The CTL Chromebook J-series arrives amid a raft of other Chromebooks based around the new ARM Cortex-A17 RK3288-C processor from Chinese chipmaker Rockchip. This chip has been designed specifically for Chromebooks.
Price & Availability
In addition to the nuts and bolts the CTL Chromebook J2 and J4 Chromebooks for Education are being made available with a 3-year warranty. A host of extra services are also being offered including the “White Glove provisioning”, a process where the devices are set-up and configured to work within an organisation’s infrastructure ‘out of the box’.
The CTL Chromebook J2 with 2GB RAM is available to order today priced from $179. Educators can purchase a model packaged that includes a Chrome Device Management license for $199.
The CTL Chromebook J4 with 4GB RAM will be available in mid-April with pricing starting at $209 (making it the cheapest 4GB education Chromebook on the market) and $229 when purchased with a Chrome Device Management license.
“Proud”
CTL COO Erik Stromquist says the company is “…proud to partner with Google to bring our education customers a Chromebook that provides students, teachers and IT managers with a powerful and durable device that enhances the learning experience.“
“We understand the budgetary constraints that school districts are facing today. The new CTL J2 and J4 Chromebooks for Education are part of our ongoing mission to provide educators with innovative, cost effective solutions.”
last year the company released the CTL Education Chromebook based on the Intel reference design and based around an Intel Bay Trail processor.