All I Want For Christmas… Is a $99 Google Chromebook!

Google seems to be getting into the Christmas spirit a little bit earlier than usual, offering a huge bargain for anyone looking to get their hands on a dirt cheap laptop.  A brand, spanking new Samsung Series 5 Chromebook could be yours for the rock-bottom price of just $99 — a staggering $150 off the regular price of $249!

The Samsung Series 5 Chromebook

Unfortunately, as with all great offers that seem to be just too damn good to be true, there is a catch with this one — in this case, the discount is only being offered to licensed teachers in the US, and only those that are working full time at a public school.

Worse still, teachers can’t actually buy the devices themselves — instead, Google is asking them to apply to DonorsChoose.org, one of its partner charity organizations which connects donors to specific public school needs. On the site, teachers can make a ‘funding request’ that basically means asking for charitable donations to support their bid for new laptops in their classroom. Only those teachers who meet their ‘funding goal’ will actually be able to get their mitts on the new Chromebooks, courtesy of Lakeshore Learning.

According to Google, the idea is to assist cash-strapped classrooms across the country during the season of giving, which is why the offer is only available through DonorsChoose. Google also uses the occasion to point out how widespread Chromebook adoption has become in the US, with more than 1,000 schools now using the computers in classrooms. Of these schools, many have handed out thousands of Chromebooks to needy students.

Google says that Chromebooks have been adopted by over 1,000 public schools in the US so far

Google says it chose the Samsung Series 5 model because it’s become the favorite choice of schools in the US. It’s easy to see why that might be, given the power of these little machines, which boast 2GB of RAM and an extended battery life of up to six-and-a-half hours.

Google also took the opportunity to remind us that Chromebooks are quite unlikely to get malware, promising teachers that once students get their hands on one of these devices they’ll never be forced to listen to the “virus ate my homework” excuses ever again…

Just be warned all you teachers out there — the offer only lasts until December 21, just ten days from now, so you’ll need to get a move on!

Image credits: Samsung and Robert Kneschke – Fotolia.com