New York – Toshiba America Information Systems (TAIS) gave its new Chromebook 2 family a special sendoff, Skullcandy-style, Thursday with a rocking Manhattan gala to match the thumping bass of the Skull Crusher headphones.
Partners TAIS, Google and Skullcandy brought in up-and-coming LA rockers Dorothy to entertain media and friends as they celebrated the retail launch of the newest Toshiba Chromebook 2 models, outfitted with internal audio systems developed in cooperation with Skullcandy and the streamlined Chrome OS.
Both new Chromebook 2 editions feature enhanced sound from improved Skullcandy speakers positioned at the left and right sides of the keyboard.
Both new models also include 13.3-inch LCDs with 1,366 by 768 (TN) or FullHD 1080p (IPS) resolution and Intel N2840 Bay Trail Atom processors.
The 1,366 by 768 TN version carries a $249.99 suggested retail and is paired with 2GBs of RAM and 16GBs of SSD storage.
The Full HD model carries a $329.99 suggested retail and includes 16GB SSD and 4GB RAM.
The new-generation models swap out the Haswell processors from the first edition model for less powerful Bay Trail versions, in order to gain improved battery life.
The lower resolution model is said to provide up to 11.5-hours of battery life while the FullHD version is rated up to 9.5 hours.
Carrie Cowan, TAIS digital products division product manager, said the newest Chromebooks were developed with focus group studies that showed extended battery life as a major desire among the target user base.
The new Chromebook 2s are also thinner and lighter than previous versions announced in January, with each unit weighing around 2.96 pounds and measuring 0.76 inches thin.
Both also feature one USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0 port, full-size HDMI output, headphone jack, HD webcam and an SD card slot.
Connectivity is supported with Bluetooth 4.0 and 802.11ac Wi-Fi capability.
Toshiba also provides a range of color accents for the new models with a range of snap-on cover choices in charcoal, aqua and rose.
Cowan said the FullHD version will be on sale at Best Buy beginning this weekend and is available now at Fry’s Electronics. The standard HD model will be on sale at office superstores and Amazon is carrying both.
She said Toshiba and Skullcandy are working on an in-store dual branding program to help cross-promote the Chromebook 2s with audio by Skullcandy and Skullcandy’s various deep bass headphones including popular Skull Crusher models.
Cowan said Toshiba is targeting the Chromebook 2s at a three-tiered target audience including students, families with 25-44 year-old buyers who understand the benefits of “Chrome in the home” and boomers tasked with the need to find a user-friendly PC that their parents can use.