A big part of the reason for the low price is the AMD processor -- which are typically cheaper than their Intel alternatives. The HP Chromebook 14 uses a dual-core AMD Stony Ridge A4 or A6 CPU with integrated Radeon graphics, and it chugged along smoothly as I pulled up multiple websites during my brief hands-on. Unfortunately, I didn't get to load any graphics-intensive games or websites to see if the Radeon GPU makes a difference here, and frankly you probably won't be running anything too taxing on a Chromebook.

A sub-$300 Chromebook isn't unique -- most of the early Chromebooks cost about $250 or so. But because HP presumably saved some money with an AMD chipset rather than an Intel one, it was able to squeeze in some bonuses. The Chromebook 14 comes with dual speakers tuned by Bang & Olufsen for crisp audio, as well as a battery that the company says should last up to nine hours.