Microsoft and HP: Ripping off the head of Chrome OS?

HP (NYSE:HPQ) seems almost ready to launch its low-cost Windows laptop. Vanguard of the next phase in Microsoft’s battle against the ever-growing threat of the Google Chromebook advance, the HP Stream 14 has fairly decent specs at a dirt-cheap price.

We were expecting some sub-$250 units, but aggressive pricing like this is bound to make the market pay attention.

Hallo und guten Tag, Roland Quandt! Sie sind Zwischen den Welten?

A few weeks ago, Microsoft showed the HP Stream as the first example of upcoming super-cheap Windows 8.1 notebooks.
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At the low end…for just under $200…you get a 14-inch notebook [with] an AMD A4 Micro-6400T Quad-Core SoC at…up to 1.6 GHz and Radeon R3 integrated graphics, which only needs 4.5 Watts…2GB of RAM…32GB internal flash…14 inch display [at] 1366×768…720p webcam, Beats Audio (with four speakers)…Bluetooth 4.0… one USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports.
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The buyer will also receive 100 GB of storage space in Microsoft’s cloud service OneDrive for two years.  MORE

Analyze this, Kevin C. Tofel:

HP will help lead the charge toward lower-priced Microsoft Windows computers this year with an expected $199 laptop called the HP Stream 14. [It’s] a definite reaction to the small but growing market for Chromebooks.
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The 3.9-pound laptop runs Windows 8.1, of course, and is tied directly to Microsoft’s cloud storage services, much the way a Chromebook works with Google Drive. … I expect many other similar low-cost laptops to arrive by year’s end, since last month Microsoft publicly acknowledged the threat of Chromebooks.  MORE

What dreams may come to Alex Wilhelm?

To make machines running its operating system more competitive, Microsoft has reduced the price of Windows for small and inexpensive machines. … Google and Microsoft are using inexpensive PCs as a way to pick up more cloud storage market share. … Both companies currently charge $1.99 per month for 100 gigabytes.
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Each company is willing to swallow that cost to make computers running their platforms more tempting [so] the price that companies can charge for cloud storage is rapidly approaching zero. If it is being given away…attached to devices that must generate small revenues to the companies providing the storage, there is strong pressure driving the situation’s economics.  MORE

Look who’s talking: It’s Paul Thurrott:

So what does a $200 PC look like, you ask? Brace yourself: It looks almost exactly like a Chromebook. …

• The HP Stream starts at $199, while the similar HP Chromebook 14 costs…a full $100 more. …
• The HP Stream [has] a quad-core 1.6 GHz AMD A4…with integrated graphics; because of its ultra-low 4.5 Watts [TDP], it requires no fan. The Chromebook 14, meanwhile, provides a dual-core 1.4 GHz Intel Celeron. …
• Both devices feature…the same exact screen. …
• Both devices ship with 2 GB of non-accessible, non-expandable RAM. …
• The base Stream ships with 32 GB of eMMC. … On the Chromebook, HP offers a 16 GB SSD. … 32 GB is an absolute minimum for Windows 8.1 with Bing …
• Both devices offer 3 USB ports, but the Chromebook’s configuration (2 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0) is better than the Stream’s. …
• The Stream is Miracast-compatible, and both work with Chromecast.

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Amazingly, inexplicably, the Windows-based HP Stream is a better deal. … And Windows is of course more powerful and can do more while offline especially.  MORE

Race you to the bottom, David Panduro:

a chromebook with those specs performs pretty well. a windows laptop with these specs is usually junk.
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chromeOS only uses about 4GB of the SSD for the install. windows uses like 40GB.  MORE

source:http://blogs.computerworld.com/cloud-computing/24273/hps-199-windows-notebook-vs-chromebooks-fight-itbwcw