One day before Apple's education event at which it's expected that a new, lower-priced iPad could debut, Google and Acer have announced their own new tablet aimed at the education market.
The Acer Chromebook Tab 10 is now official. It's the first Chrome OS tablet and it features a 9.7-inch 2048x1536 touchscreen and an OP1 chipset that includes dual-core Cortex-A72 and quad-core Cortex-A53 processors. It's also packing 32GB of built-in storage with a microSD slot for adding more storage, 4GB of RAM, 5MP rear and 2 MP front cameras, USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack, and a 34Wh battery that's estimated to last 9 hours on a single charge.
Also of note is that the Chromebook Tab 10 comes with a Wacom EMR stylus. This allows users to draw, take notes, and more on the tablet. The stylus doesn't require charging and can be stored in the tablet itself when not in use.
On the software side, Acer's Chromebook Tab 10 comes with Play Store support for downloading Android apps as well as Google apps like Gmail and Google Drive. Google and Acer also tout that the Chromebook Tab 10 will soon gain augmented reality support that'll enable Google's Expeditions AR, a feature that maps the room and places 3D objects in it, letting users study things like the Great Barrier Reef and International Space Station on their device.
The Acer Chromebook Tab 10 will be sold to education and commercial customers. It'll launch in North America this April for $329 USD and in EMEA in May for €329 (including VAT).
Apple is expected to introduce a new low-cost iPad model aimed at education tomorrow, so it's likely that Google wanted to get out in front of that announcement with a similar one of its own. The Chromebook Tab 10 will be attractive option for education because of its integration with Google apps and services, and the inclusion of a stylus that doesn't need to be charged is a nice touch.