Google debuts Chrome OS tablets ahead of Apple event

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Google went head-to-head with Apple yesterday as it launched the first tablet to run Chrome OS. Pitched as a rival to the iPad, the Acer Chromebook Tab 10 was unveiled a day before Apple's Education Event in Chicago.

Apple is expected to reveal its own affordable, education-focused tablet range at its imminent conference. Not one to be left behind, Google's Chrome OS-powered tablet goes toe-to-toe with its competitor on both performance and price.

Just like the iPad, the Tab 10 boasts a 9.7-inch, 2048 x 1536 display. It also comes with cameras that face both the front and rear, an OP1 processor, 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. A USB-C port, headphone jack and microSD slot complete the package. With an estimated nine hours of battery life, the Tab 10 is perfectly suited to riding out a whole school day.

One of the Tab 10's standout features is that it also has stylus support. This comes in the shape of a built-in Wacom EMR stylus that, unlike the Apple Pencil, doesn't require charging. It's a canny move, especially considering that the Tab 10 supports Adobe Illustrator Draw.

The Chromebook tablets are being pitched as the perfect tools for schools

Priced at just $329, the Tab 10 might be slightly more expensive than some Chromebooks, which tend to start at less than $300. For schools already used to working with Chrome OS that are after a tablet, this is still an attractive price. And it's also exactly the same price as Apple's most affordable iPad.

It remains to be seen if Apple will release a device that nudges ahead of the Tab 10 at its conference, but in the meantime we can expect to see Google's tablet roll out in North America during April, with a worldwide release lined up for May.

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