Dell Chromebook 5190: Rugged Chrome OS Laptop Specs, Features Revealed

Texas-based computer company Dell has introduced its latest entry to the Chromebook market. Simply called Dell Chromebook 5190, the Chrome OS-running laptop is a rugged 2-in-1 targeted at the educational sector.

Just this past Wednesday, Dell announced its all-new Chromebook 5000 Series that’s kicking off with the 11-inch Chromebook 5190. In its press statement about the new product, Dell revealed that its new series is really intended for schools, so that the educational sector can “reinvent teaching and learning in a way that embraces the digital age.”

The first entry, the Chromebook 5190, is an 11-inch clamshell or convertible 2-in-1 whose rugged form provides durability to withstand the classroom environment. It also delivers 13 hours of battery life, enough for students to do all their assignments and projects for the day.

Dell is known for its durable computers, so it’s not surprising for the Chromebook 5190 to boast this property. The new Chrome OS laptop has a robust chassis that can survive 48-inch regular drops and 30-inch drops onto steel. Dell also performed tests that involved “10,000 micro-drops” at 4 inches in multiple angles to replicate the device damage that students typically cause at two to four-year usage.

Powering Dell’s new Chromebook is a dual-core or quad-core Intel Celeron processor. The company has yet to disclose RAM and onboard storage sizes, but they could be announced ahead of the laptop’s release in February 2018. Interestingly, Dell already revealed that pricing for its new Chromebook 5000 Series starts at $289.

Dell also announced some interesting features of the Chromebook 5000 Series, but it did not mention if all of them will be included in the 5190 model. The announced features include World Facing Camera options for creating videos, EMR pen support for a natural pen-to-paper writing experience and USB Type-C connectivity.

Dell’s announcement comes days after Acer introduced its new Chrome OS devices: the 2018 Chromebook Spin 11, the Acer Chromebox CX13 and the Chromebook 11 C732. All three devices are powered by an 8th generation Intel chipset and have Google Play Store support, which means they are capable of running Android apps.

Based on specs and features, Dell’s 11-inch Chromebook 5190 is the U.S. company’s response to the Taiwanese firm’s Chromebook 11 C732, which also boasts of an 11-inch display and a durable body for the classroom environment. Unlike Dell’s new series, Acer’s Chromebook and Chromebox devices are scheduled to hit the North American market sometime in March.