Google is proud to announce that its HP Chromebook 11 is now available at Australian retailers for AU$399.

Caesar Sengupta, vice president of product management for Chromebooks, boasts that the Chromebook 11 will satisfy its busy owners with its 6 hours of battery life, neat edges with "nothing digs into your wrists while you type."

At first impression, it is like a tablet with a keyboard rather than a touchscreen.

Hopefully, its Australian launch will not be as troublesome as its US launch in October 2013 when users were reportedly disappointed by its overheating power adapter. Its manufacturer, HP, had to make a product recall to fix the issue.

Chromebook 11 comes pre-installed with some Google apps that syncs with Android phones and tablets.

Users' takeaway:

  • Gmail Offline and Google Docs to allow users working offline
  • 100 GB of Google Drive cloud storage for free for 2 years
  • Slim and light at 297 x 192 x 17.6 mm; weighs 1.04 kg, with lightweight magnesium chassis
  • Powered by a Samsung Exynos 5 Dual dual-core mobile processor, with 2 GB DDR3 RAM and a 16 GB SSD
  • 11.6-inch display has a resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels with a 176-degree wide viewing angle and 16:9 ratio
  • Speakers are placed under the keyboard, two USB 2.0 ports and a micro USB port for charging as well as SlimPort video out

According to a November report from IDC, chromebooks only made 1 per cent of all notebook sales in the U.S.

However, by December, figures released by NPD Group shows a drastic increase of users switching to chromebooks reaching to 21 per cent in just a matter of a month.

"The market for personal computing devices in commercial markets continues to shift and change. New products like Chromebooks, and re-imagined items like Windows tablets, are now supplementing the revitalisation that iPads started in personal computing devices. It is no accident that we are seeing the fruits of this change in the commercial markets as business and institutional buyers exploit the flexibility inherent in the new range of choices now open to them. " said Stephen Baker, NPD vice president of industry analysis.

With any luck, Chromebook 11 might perform just as impressive in the Australian market.