HP Is Coming On Strong With Solid Offerings

With an 11.6" screen, Windows 8.1, and free Office 365 for a year, the $199.99 solid-state HP Stream 11 laptop is positioned to make people think twice about Chromebooks (add $30 for the HP Stream 13). 

But will it?

 "The HP Stream 11 is clearly both inexpensive and a great value," writes Paul Thurrott.

 "At just $200, it's cheap, of course. 

But it also features a solid-feeling construction, a bright and fun form factor, a surprisingly high-quality typing experience and a wonderful screen.

 This isn't a bargain bin throwaway. The Stream 11 is something special."

 The HP Stream Family also includes the HP Stream 7, a $99.99 Windows 8.1 Tablet that includes the Office 365 deal.

 By the way, at the other end of the price spectrum, HP has introduced the Sprout, which Fast Company calls a bold and weird PC that's bursting at the seams with new ideas, from 3-D scanning to augmented reality.

HP seems to be making some interesting moves lately, looks like they're getting on the smartwatch bandwagon, too.

 If you're looking at the Stream as a cheap platform for OSes other than Windows, be cautious: one of the reviews at the Amazon page linked describes trouble getting recent Linux distributions to install.