Asus will debut the ASUS Chromebook Education series along with the Asus Mini PC ProArt PA90 PCs at CES 2019.

ASUS Chromebook Education series

The series includes two traditional clamshell laptops — the 11.6-inch ASUS Chromebook C204 and the 14-inch ASUS Chromebook C403 — and the 14-inch ASUS Chromebook Flip C214 convertible. There's also a new form factor introduced, with the ASUS Chromebook Tablet CT100, a 9.7-inch QXGA wide-angle touch-display tablet. The new series features durability, spill- and tamper-resistant keyboards and all-around rubber bumpers to withstand the rigors that electronics often face in schools. This lineup provides educators and parents with a full-range of ruggedized options that can cater to their specific curriculum choices. The new ASUS Chromebook Education series will be available in the coming months.

The ASUS Chromebook C204, ASUS Chromebook Flip C214, ASUS Chromebook C403 and ASUS Chromebook Tablet CT100 boast similar specs and a common design aesthetic, but with a few crucial differences. The C204 is the successor to the ASUS Chromebook C202, an 11.6” laptop made for elementary school students, while the ASUS Chromebook Flip C214 is the follow-up to last year’s 2-in-1 convertible, the C213. With a touchscreen display, stylus support, and a 360° hinge, it bridges the gap between laptop and tablet, and allows for laptop learning as well as more traditional lessons based on pen-based input.

The ASUS Chromebook Tablet CT100 is designed to serve as an easy and familiar introduction to technology for much younger kids. This rugged tablet has the same version of Chrome OS that is available on the notebooks and Chromebox desktops they’ll encounter later on, but it’s fitted into a recognizable form factor that’s reinforced to withstand life in the hands of children. The rubberized chassis measures less than 10 mm thick. And if it does end up in freefall, it’s rated for drops up to 100cm; the height of most tables and desks.

The 9.7-inch QXGA display is covered in a tempered glass to help it stay protected against scratches and gouges while it travels to and from school. The stylus slides into a little garage in the tablet’s frame for safekeeping, when it’s not being used for art, tracing letters, or practicing numbers. Inside this slate is a Hexa-core OP1 processor, made especially for Chromebooks. That works alongside 4GB of RAM to keep performance smooth as students skip between Chrome windows and Android apps. School work can be stored on the 32GB of onboard storage. The Chromebook Tablet CT100 has a 35Wh lithium-polymer battery, enough for a full school day, and it charges via the same standard USB Type-C (USB-C) connection that’s found on most smartphones.

The ASUS Chromebook C204 strikes a subtler tone, with its dark grey finish, than its predecessor, the blue-and-white ASUS Chromebook C202. In addition, the chassis is thinnerd. The rubberized chassis is reinforced with thick bumpers on each corner to absorb shock, and the keyboard is tamper-resistant, preventing the keys from being pried out. It can survive falls up to 120cm when dropped flat, and up to 80cm when dropped on its sides. A raised rubber rail on the bottom of the laptop makes it even easier to hang onto, so it’s less likely to be dropped in the first place.

The 11.6-inch HD display features an anti-glare coating is attached to the base via a 180° hinge that allows the laptop to lie completely flat. Its hinge has been tested for 50,000 open and close cycles, so it won’t loosen over time. The keyboard is the primary source of input and features a deep 1.5mm of key travel, which is more than most laptops. The deeper travel allows for fewer errors than shallower keys where it’s easier to accidentally press the keys. A touch screen variant further expands the functionality of the display and allows for more interactive lessons.

Under the hood, there is a dual-core Celeron processor from Intel, as well as 4GB of RAM. There's 32GB of onboard storage for studying materials offline, though most students will spend their time in the cloud, working through G Suite for Education, Google’s suite of cloud-based education apps, such as Google Classroom, Google Docs, Google Drive, and Google Slides. A USB Type-A port makes it easy to connect external storage or plug in a mouse, and there are two reversible USB Type-C ports for newer peripherals or hooking up to monitors in at home, in at the computer lab, or in the library. The microSD card makes it easy to transfer photos from a camera to the cloud, and the audio combo jack lets students plug in to listen to virtual lessons or make video calls using the HD webcam.

ASUS Chromebook C204 has been upgraded to a 50Wh battery; enough to last all day long. And to make sure there are no dropped connections, dual-band Wi-Fi (802.11ac) allows for connections on the 2.4GHz band as well as the less crowded 5GHz frequency.

The ASUS Chromebook Flip C214 has a convertible design that transforms between a tablet and a laptop.

The C214 has the same rugged exterior, spill-proof keyboard, and dark grey color scheme. The hardware includes a N4000 and optional N4100 Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage complemented by expansion via MicroSD or USB Type-A. Students can connect to external displays or charge up via either of the two USB Type-C ports, and a stable and reliable internet connection is facilitated by the dual-band 802.11ac.

The C214 has a 11.6” HD display with an anti-glare coating (available on certain configurations) and is anchored by a durable 360° hinge that allows it to switch between laptop and tablet mode depending on the type of lesson. An optional stylus slots into a garage on the side. Asus ha salso adjusted the placement of the world-view camera based on feedback from C213 users. The new location in the bottom right corner of the palm rest is better suited for video calls and recording when the laptop is in tablet mode. In its old location above the keyboard, it was easily obscured when the computer was turned on its side and help up in portrait.

The C214 is reinforced to minimize damage, but in the event that there is an accident, the C214 is easy to repair. With just a few tools, it is easy to replace the battery, the motherboard, the keyboard, or even the thermal module.

The ASUS Chromebook C403 utilizes the same ruggedized design as the C204, but places it in a larger form factor. Its 14” HD display provides ample workspace for longer and more complicated projects. It has a matte coating to minimize distracting reflections from overhead lights, and a 180° hinge that allows for more freedom of motion and different work positions.

In addition to being bigger, the C403 is also the most powerful. It can be equipped with up to a dual-core CPU from Intel, and features 4GB of RAM. While most students will access and use G Suite, Google’s suite of cloud productivity apps, including Google Classroom, Google Docs and Google Slides, and store their work in the cloud – backed up to Google Drive for safe keeping - there's 32GB of onboard storage for working on assignments offline.

In addition to enlarging the screen, the travel distance on the keyboard has also been increased. The ASUS Chromebook C403 keyboard features 2mm of travel. And, thanks to its increased size, the C403 can squeeze in an additional USB Type-A port.

There are also two USB Type-C ports with support for outputting to external displays. Both ports are also capable of charging the laptop, and the C403 is rated for up to 11 hours on a single charge. Rounding out the collection of I/O ports is an audio combo jack for when students want to buckle down and do some work while listening to music, or need to watch video presentations for school. The included stereo speakers feature extra-large chambers that pump out volume up to 80dB.

In keeping with other newly introduced ASUS Chromebooks, the C403 is ruggedized, and made for rough handling. The durability includes reinforced corners and a rubberized exterior to protect it from bumps and falls. The spill-resistant keyboard adds extra protection, and the hinge allows for a full 180 degree range of motion.

The C403 is the largest of the new ASUS Chromebooks, but even with the ruggedized chassis, it’s only 13.5” wide and just over 9” deep; no bigger than a textbook, and easily fits into any bag or backpack.

The ASUS Chromebook Tablet CT100, ASUS Chromebook C204, ASUS Chromebook Flip C214 and ASUS Chromebook C403 will be available in the coming months.

New Mini PC ProArt Series for Professional Content Creation

ASUS also today announced ASUS Mini PC ProArt PA90, a new series of compact, workstation-class PCs that deliver performance for designers and content creators. Featuring 9th Generation Intel Core processors, NVIDIA Quadro graphics, up to 64GB of 2666MHz DDR4 memory, Thunderbolt 3 connectivity and a triple-storage design that blends SSD and high-capacity HDD storage (up to two 512GB M.2 PCIe SSDs and one 1TB 2.5-inch HDD ), Mini PC ProArt PA90 provides performance for computer-aided design (CAD) workflows for architecture, engineering and manufacturing in an attractively modern, compact form-factor that fits easily into any workspace.

Mini PC ProArt PA90 is equipped with an all-in-one CPU liquid cooler. The cooler also enables a quieter working environment, operating at just 32dB at full CPU load, 36% quieter than average desktop PCs.

The ASUS Mini PC ProArt PA90 will be available in the coming months.