Not to be outdone by Toshiba and Acer, HP today announced a new pair of Chromebooks. Like its current models, HP will be offering two screen sizes, 11 and 14 inches. At first glance, the 11-inch model appears to be a big step up over its predecessor — instead of the ARM-based Exynos processor found in HP's current model, this new Chromebook will feature Intel's Bay Trail Celeron processor. It won't be as fast as the Chromebooks running Core i3 processors, but it should still be an improvement in the speed department.

Another benefit will be the ability to get one of these computers with 4GB of RAM — the older 11-inch HP Chromebook only came with 2GB. Other specs include the expected 1366 x 768 screen resolution, 16GB of storage (plus 100GB of Google Drive space), and an improved battery that HP says will last for more than eight hours. It's not quite as stylish as its predecessor, coming only in silver or turquoise colors, but in most other departments this machine appears to be a big improvement. The new 11-inch Chromebook will be available on October 5th, but we're not sure of the price yet. HP's press release says it'll start at $279.99, but a product description page lists a starting price of $199.99.

HP's new 14-inch Chromebook is a bit different than the one it released late last year — instead of the more powerful Intel processor, HP decided to equip the new 14-inch with Nvidia's K1 processor. It can be configured with 2GB or 4GB of RAM and either 16GB or 32GB of storage (plus the 100GB of Google Drive storage). If our time with the new Nvidia-powered Acer Chromebook is any indication, however, this new HP machine might be less powerful than users will want. It's also not clear if the 1366 x 768 screen will be any better than the frankly terrible one found on HP's older 14-inch Chromebook.

On the plus side, this new model is a bit slimmer and lighter than the one it replaces, and comes in four colors: silver, turquoise, orange, and green. Battery life for the bigger model is also rated at over eight hours. It's priced the same as its predecessor, as well: $299.99. HP says it'll be available on October 22nd.