High prices take the shine off Chromebooks - Business - The Boston Globe

Final paragraphs of a Hiawatha Bray Chromebook market dynamics reality check

"But what’s the point of paying $400 for a Chromebook anyway? Nowadays you can get a decent Windows machine for not much more than that. Matter of fact, Dell’s been running a promotion on a two-in-one laptop that converts into a tablet and runs Windows 8. Just $400. Such machines are underpowered and short on features. But so are Chromebooks. If you’re going to buy a stripped-down computer anyhow, you might as well choose one that can run Microsoft Word.

Unless you can find something else -- a sleek, simple machine that’s good enough for real work and cheap enough to purchase for the kids. I’ve seen a few. They’re called Chromebooks, and they sell for around $250. At least, they ought to."

High prices take the shine off Chromebooks - Business - The Boston Globe