Samsung made its Chromebook 3 more durable for education

Samsung Chromebook 3

After making headlines with its Galaxy TabPro S and Notebook 9 Windows products at CES 2016, Samsung quietly unveiled a new Chromebook. Designed to meet the needs of students and the education market, the Chromebook 3 comes with a reinforced metal body and a spill-resistant keyboard, making it suited for the classroom.

"We're seeing more and more people flocking to Chromebooks as families, students and other consumers seek out easy-to-use, highly portable and affordable laptops as resources for personal use, education and even work," said Gary Riding, Senior Vice President, Mobile Computing at Samsung Electronics America.

The Chromebook 3 comes equipped with an Intel Celeron N3050 processor, 16GB of storage and up to 4GB of memory in a durable form factor with an 11.6-inch HD screen. Samsung said the device is now more comfortable to hold and is "designed for improved grip".

Strong battery life

One of the attractive features of the Chromebook 3 is its battery life. Samsung rated the battery for up to 11 hours of use on a charge.

Even with its more durable frame and long battery life, the Chromebook 3 manages to be light. The device weighs just 2.53 pounds (1.15kg), and measures 11.36 x 8.04 x 0.70 inches (28.85 x 20.42 x 1.78cm).

Samsung didn't disclose pricing information, but the company said the Chromebook 3 will be available in early 2016 at selected retailers.

With its more durable build quality, the Chromebook 3 will compete against other education-centric Chrome OS notebooks, like Dell's Chromebook 11 and offerings from Acer and Asus.