Wider viewing angles for the screen are important. At least the 32GB of eMMC storage won’t make things any slower. The Chromebook comes with a USB Type-C charger in the vein of the ubiquitous, generic laptop charger: a black box with a tethered cable, and a port for AC input. Rattles on tap (my Chromebook pet peeve). Lenovo's Chromebook C340-11 offers a 360-degree for convertible versatility. Lenovo rates the C330 as lasting 10 hours on a charge, which I think is more than a bit optimistic. The Lenovo Chromebook C330 offers tons of endurance and its keyboard enables comfortable typing. Big, pleasant texture, works as well as those in more expensive laptops (even if it's plastic). Given its cost, size, and build, this makes an excellent option for consumers who are looking to outfit a student or two with something for the school year. There’s a single USB-C 3.0 port, a USB-A 3.0 port, a full-size HDMI connection and a DisplayPort port for connecting external displays, a full-size SD card reader, and a combo audio jack. Picking up and setting down the laptop is enough to move it into a different position, and just a hair more resistance would have been optimal. In fact, it’s reminiscent of the netbook given its white color scheme, a failed initiative from a few years ago to make low-cost notebooks good enough for web browsing and not much more. The C330 is one of the best "cheap" Chromebooks money can buy, period. The Chromebook C330 does enjoy 4GB of RAM, and so that’s a plus. In fact, the C330 has already been on sale for as low as $180, and at either price, I think it's a steal. Most Chromebooks at this price go for TN panels, IPS is a surprise. For this Lenovo Chromebook C330 review, Lenovo provided us with the 81HY blizzard white model, which has a maximum 64GB of storage (the cheaper model has 32GB), 4GB of LPDDR3 memory … The Chromebook C330’s keyboard is the usual island version with black chiclet keys and white lettering, and it’s a nice surprise. If you’ve become accustomed to Full HD displays or even higher, like the 2,400 x 1,600 (235 PPI) display on the Chromebook x2, then you’ll find this one to be a fallback to a grainier time. The Lenovo C330 can be purchased at the retailers below: Subscribe to Android Police's weekly newsletter, with the biggest stories, latest deals, and insight on the week's news. The contrast is good, though, and its gamma seems accurate, meaning YouTube videos were neither too dark nor too light. The touchpad is large for such a small machine, and it supports the usual Chrome OS multitouch gestures just fine. Liked: Low cost, Quick at simple tasks, Compact and lightweight, Transforms into a tablet Long battery life Disliked: Poor performance … Upgrade your lifestyleDigital Trends helps readers keep tabs on the fast-paced world of tech with all the latest news, fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. When web browsing, which is the most important Chrome OS functionality, the Chromebook C330 lasted for almost 11 hours. Spend just a little bit more for a better Chromebook – you’ll be happy you did. Performance between the two should be similar, if not identical. No, unless battery life is your primary concern. That’s a quad-core CPU running at 2.0GHz, and it’s just barely fast enough to keep up with the lightweight Chrome OS for basic productivity tasks. The most direct competitor is the Acer Chromebook Spin 11, which offers up a similar display at the same size and better performance, but it can’t match the Chromebook C330’s battery life. Lenovo's Chromebook isn't very thin, or metal, and it doesn't have a high PPI display, but you'd have to pay a lot more than $280 to get those features. The all-white plastic build is surprisingly robust for the price, but I wish the shell for the screen were more reinforced; it flexes a bit more than I'm comfortable with when pulling the display up, down, or flipping it around. If you’re willing to spend around $500 and don’t mind a much larger notebook, then you could consider the Acer Aspire E15 with its better performance, especially in gaming, to go with a better 15.6-inch display. Unsurprisingly, given the low price and CPU, there’s no Thunderbolt 3 port. We put the entry-level Chromebook C330, … Lenovo Chromebook Flex 5 Lenovo's Flex 5 Chromebook is one of the best two-in-one Chromebooks you'll find with a premium look and feel but a sub-$500 price. Don’t want to spend a lot of money on a new notebook? On the left, you have a USB-C port (which is also used for charging), HDMI output, a USB-A port, and an SD card slot. The case is very solid; neither the keyboard deck nor the bottom panel flex, even under direct pressure. The all-white plastic build is surprisingly robust for the price, but I wish the shell for the screen were more reinforced; it flexes a bit more than I'm comfortable with when pulling the display up, down, or flipping it around. The Chromebook x2, for example, scored 3,441 and 6,685 thanks to its Intel Core m3 CPU. The tapered front and rounded back are unadorned. There is, unfortunately, no mechanism (like a magnet) to lock the screen in place in a tablet configuration.Aestheti… You’ll get a much better display, significantly better performance, and an overall more robust and better-looking build. When it comes to gaming, this 2-in-1 won’t impress. It's perfectly capable of handling the Web surfing, emailing, Google Docs/Office Online productivity … That’s the slowest we’ve seen on a Chromebook since we started running this benchmark. But historically, those cheap Chromebooks have had a bundle of compromises to weigh and compare. The Lenovo Chromebook C330 has three redeeming features: It’s one of the least expensive Chromebooks on offer, it’s a 360-degree convertible, and it gets great battery life. I was given a 64 GB Lenovo C330 on February 1 by our resident Chromebook guru Jerry Hildenbrand and have used it as my daily drive Chromebook ever since, … Conclusion: For the money, the Lenovo Chromebook S330 is simply one of the best budget laptops you can buy (and arguably the absolute best cheap Chromebook you can lay your … You’ll need to use a two-finger tap to pull up the menu. Every time your finger comes down to rest for a swipe, you'll hear that slight rattle. The layout fits the Chrome OS standard perfectly, and it has a snappy mechanism with plenty of travel for a precise typing experience. The Lenovo C330, unfortunately, does precisely that. Without reservation, I can wholeheartedly recommend Lenovo's C330. Being a bit on the thicker side, I had hoped for more key travel. It's not an especially powerful SoC, and it's a bit old at this point, but in benchmarks and day-to-day use it's about on par with the low-end Intel N-series Celeron chips in cheaper Chromebooks. Just enter your email below. Warping the lid causes the screen to distort, but this is not a normal oc… The Acer is also $70 more expensive, and that includes an active pen that supports Chrome OS inking functionality. It doesn't impair its use at all or break any functionality, but it's annoying if you're picky about it. The latest performance Ratings & Reliability of all computers Lenovo's Yoga C930, pictured here, is the Windows equivalent of the Yoga C630 Chromebook. The only thing I'd have liked to see is a 2nd Type-C port on the right for ambidextrous charging. It's not perfect by any means, but it doesn't need to be. However, Lenovo seems to have put a bit more work than seen in most plastic laptops. On the one hand, the display is glass, the screen is IPS, and the build quality isn't the creaky-bendy junk you expect at netbook-level pricing; but on the other, that screen is just 200 nits, performance isn't amazing, and the keyboard could be backlit and a bit nicer to use. Lenovo employed a MediaTek MTK 8173C processor in the Chromebook C330. But does the Chromebook C330 bring enough performance and convenience? The right has a Kensington security slot, power and volume controls, and a headphone jack. MediaTek's MTK8173C is acceptable, but nothing more. Unfortunately, the C330's performance is mediocre and its low-res display does not impress. Only the Acer Chromebook Spin 15 with its Pentium N4200 processor was as slow, scoring 24.5, and even the Chromebook Spin 11’s Celeron processor managed a 35.4. Kimberly Gedeon, Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook review, LaptopMag, June 19, 2020. My biggest pet peeve in Chromebooks is a poorly engineered touchpad. The Chromebook C330 is a plastic build that’s a little bendy in some places, but that doesn’t mean you need to worry about it falling apart. So Lenovo Chromebook C330, while being a pricier option, tends to get more favorable ⭐ reviews than the $89 HP Chromebook 14, as seen on the chart below. Simply put, while the Chromebook C330 isn’t a strong performer, it makes the most of its relatively large battery capacity. It’s slightly less expensive than the Chromebook Spin 11, and it’s much less expensive than the much thinner and more robustly built HP Chromebook x2 that comes in at $600. This isn't a $700 Chromebook. Finally, when looping an Avengers trailer, the Lenovo managed over 12 hours. The 11.6-inch convertible is a sturdy, low-cost option for a student Chromebook. Being ARM, it also seems to have a bit of an edge with Android apps — both in anecdotal use and in some benchmarks. They get surprisingly loud without distorting, but they are very tinny and almost entirely lacking in bass. The low price doesn’t completely mitigate our concerns, but it does allow for some leeway. However, before we get to talk about the actual Chromebooks, I want you to be absolutely sure that a Chromebook is the right pick for you, so keep these aspects in mind (scroll past this section if you’re already familiar with Chromebooks): 1. Robby Payne, Lenovo Flex 5 Chromebook Review: the new measuring stick, Chrome Unboxed, … For this much money, it’ll last long enough to pay back the investment. It’s only real weakness is the lack of backlighting. The display is a bit too cool to call calibrated, but at least it isn't oversaturated (or a TN panel with razor-thin viewing angles). It's a niche laptop that's also a vote of confidence for the future of Chrome OS. The Chrome OS 10-inch tablet with a detachable keyboard is a sweet ultraportable work and play companion. First up is the budget-minded Lenovo C340-11. Specifically, I hate when the clicking mechanism is loose or a spring places the touchpad too far above the switch, giving an annoying rattle on tap. The thick lid can only be twisted slightly, but this requires intentional force. The C330 follows the traditional 2-in-1 Chromebook design with a screen that can flip back for tablet use. Sadly, this Chromebook doesn't currently have Linux apps support, but it's coming. What the Lenovo Chromebook C330 lacks in raw power, it makes up for in convenience. You can run casual titles no problem, but open up an action game like Asphalt 8, and you’ll suffer a choppy experience. The plastic seems thick, durable, and easy to clean, without showing fingerprints or grime, and unlike many cheaper Chromebooks, it doesn't creak or bend disturbingly when you wrench on it (except the display, anyway). For many, the appeal of a $700 Chromebook is lost if all you need is a cheap internet-connected machine for the kids, kitchen, or grandma. The non-backlit keyboard is shallow and a bit lacking in tactile feedback. Lenovo’s Chromebook C330 is one of the newer budget Chrome OS machines to hit the market, and it’s a 360-degree convertible 2-in-1 to boot. Interestingly, the Chromebook C330 isn’t the thickest (0.77 inches) or the heaviest (2.6 pounds) 2-in-1 in its class. The Chromebook Plus V2 lasted for slightly longer than four hours while the Chromebook Spin 11 managed just under four hours. The C330 is offered in both 32GB and 64GB storage variants, but our review is for the more expensive $300 64GB model. Between that and the glossy nature of touchscreens, don't expect a whole lot of visibility outdoors. Best Chromebook for 2020: Acer, HP, Asus, Lenovo and more. Unfortunately, the 11.6-inch display seems to float in a sea of bezel, and that combined with the all-plastic build makes the Chromebook C330 one of the few we’ve reviewed that feels like it’s a budget machine. The Chromebook C330’s keyboard is the usual island version with black chiclet keys and white lettering, and it’s a nice surprise. Thankfully for the budget-conscious, Lenovo's C330, with its IPS display and surprising build quality, makes arguably the fewest compromises for a sub-$300 Chromebook. Realistically, I'd expect closer to 7 hours of actual mixed use, though you could stretch that out if you're willing to dim the display or limit yourself to media consumption. But it’s also very slow, its display is disappointing, and it feels very much like a budget notebook. The best comparison machine, the Acer Chromebook Spin 11, is slightly thicker at 0.77 inches and slightly heavier at 2.76 pounds. After spending some time with the Lenovo … Find one at Lenovo - http://lon.tv/u6kzq (affiliate link) - Lenovo's new low cost Chromebooks include this 2-in-1 with an 11.6 inch IPS touch display. In the Speedometer 2.0 test that provides an idea of how well a notebook will surf the web, the Chromebook C330 scored a very low 23.3. It’s better than the keyboard on the Chromebook Spin 11 and rivals the one the Chromebook x2. Feature Review Last year’s Lenovo Chromebook C330 was a breath of fresh air in the budget market, but its successor misses the beat just a bit. The display is bright enough for most indoor environments, but it will get quickly washed out with any significant amount of ambient lighting. Experience the best of what Google's Chrome OS has to offer with one of these laptops or two-in-ones. As is tradition, I wrote a large chunk of this review from the Chromebook without any problem, though my speed was down a bit to around 95WPM from my 110-120WPM average. Like most Chromebooks under $500, the Lenovo Chromebook C330 is made entirely of plastic. High-end Chromebooks have been attracting all the news recently, but it's products like this, Lenovo's C330, that bring the platform back to its roots. Outside of that very specific complaint, it's a good touchpad, with a nice low-friction texture that makes gliding around much easier and precise movements more fluid. We ran our usual Chromebook benchmarks on Lenovo’s 2-in-1, and it’s one of the slowest we’ve tested. This is nothing unusual for low-priced notebooks, and of course, more expensive Chromebooks like the Chromebook x2 and Google’s Pixelbook have much better panels. Of course, we say it “almost borders on cute” because it has very large bezels for such a small notebook. Aesthetically, it's an uninspired design typical of most 2-in-1s, but Lenovo's build quality exceeds what I would have expected given the $280 price. Sarah Tew/CNET We tested the top-tier C630 Chromebook configuration (model … The Chromebook C330’s connectivity is definitely in its favor. Chromebooks don’t run Windows or Mac Os and none of the software designed for these platforms (at least for now, but that might change with Campfire in the near future). Excusing the lackluster SoC performance — which, realistically, is on par with other similarly priced low-end Intel Chromebooks — Lenovo's C330 has surprisingly good quality for just $280. This model has the same 11-inch display size and compact … Speakers are on the bottom to the left and right. The C330 has an 11.6", 1366x768 IPS display. Lenovo Chromebook C340-11 review: Budget-friendly 2-in-1 for school basics. Android is a trademark of Google Inc. | © Illogical Robot LLC, 2009-2020, Lenovo C330 review: The best 'cheap' Chromebook money can buy, 1x USB 3.0 Type-C, 1x USB 3.0 Type A, 1x HDMI, 1x 3.5mm headphone jack, 1x SD reader, 11.4" x 8.48" x 0.77" (292mm x 215.39mm x 19.6mm), 2.64 lbs/1.2 kg, "Blizzard White," "Champagne Gold" also announced but seemingly unavailable. It has an 11.6-inch, 1,366-by-768 TN LCD screen, which has truly unfortunate viewing angles. The USB Type-C port doesn't have much of a click when inserting a cable, but it works fine. A bit shallow given how much thickness Lenovo had to work with, not backlit. By comparison, the Chromebook x2 was more than three times as fast at 75.1. Geekbench 4, running in Android, produced a single-core score of 1,446 and a multi-core score of 2,938. Compared to some other more expensive Chromebooks I've used recently, this is among the better touchpads out there, especially given the price. We put the entry-level Chromebook C330, configured with a MediaTek MTK 8173C processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of eMMC storage, and an 11.6-inch IPS display at a 1,366 x 768 resolution. Lenovo's C340 Chromebook is now available in a XXL display size with a convertible hinge. The older HDMI and full-size SD slot are a bit anachronistic, but arguably more useful in a cheap device like this. In short, where Acer’s 2-in-1 is comically large, Lenovo’s option seems so small it almost borders on cute. The Chromebook C330 sports an 11.6-inch IPS display running at 1,366 x 768 (140 PPI), which is notably pixelated even on this small of a panel. The Celeron processor in the Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 came in at 2,107 and 3,656, and that’s slow compared to more modern Chrome OS machines. You get through way more than a day at work or school and have plenty left over for some Netflix binging. At 200 nits of max brightness, it's also not a very bright display. The entire surface is clickable, but there’s no right button. Yes. The flexing in the chassis and keyboard deck do nothing to change that impression. The Chromebook S330 weighs a shade over three pounds (3.3 lbs) and features a 14-inch display. Durability and an overall good build quality are required. Chromebooks run Chrom… The one-year warranty is industry-standard. That’s a bargain-basement price, for sure, which sounds appealing for a 2-in-1 that’s not going to weigh you down. We do need to keep in mind that the Chromebook C330 is an inexpensive Chrome OS 2-in-1. That model will set you back $280, and you can spend another $20 to upgrade to 64GB of storage. You can keep a lot of tabs open in Chrome and run a few Android apps without running out of memory, but you’ll find things to be rather sluggish no matter what you’re doing. No magnet to hold the display in position as a tablet. Productivity apps like Microsoft’s OneNote are fine, but that’s as far as you’ll want to push things. I also wish the hinge for the screen was a bit stiffer. There aren’t many good Windows 10 machines in the same basic price range. With its Chromebook C330, Lenovo takes a step back to the formula that made Chrome OS a success with an excellent budget offering. That’s a particularly strong score compared to the Chromebook Spin 11’s nine and a half hours and the Chromebook Plus V2’s seven and a half hours. Lenovo Chromebook Duet review: Best small 2-in-1 Chromebook around. In our most demanding Basemark web benchmark testing, the Chromebook C330 lasted for almost six and a half hours, which is a very good score. Highs and mids are muddled, and there’s no bass to speak of. Of course, Lenovo did have to cut some corners. The C330 follows the traditional 2-in-1 Chromebook design with a screen that can flip back for tablet use. But the Acer also feels a lot more robust than the Lenovo, and it manages to look more modern despite its almost equally large bezels. Lenovo’s Chromebook C330 is one of the newer budget Chrome OS machines to hit the market, and it’s a 360-degree convertible 2-in-1 to boot. These are the best cheap Chromebook deals for December 2020, The best cheap HP laptop deals for December 2020, Save $140 on this HP Pavilion Laptop for the holidays, This Samsung HD monitor just got a $110 price cut at HP, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel now run faster on Apple’s new M1 Macs, Save $40 on this Fire 8 Kids Edition at Amazon today, These are the best cheap iPad deals for December 2020. It claims to max out at 45W of output, but in my own metered tests, the Chromebook never seemed to pull over 30W. There is, unfortunately, no mechanism (like a magnet) to lock the screen in place in a tablet configuration. On top of that, it's fairly safe to say that Lenovo Chromebook C330 is a more popular laptop, based on its reviews… If so, then you might very well be considering a Chromebook, a platform that which offers some low-cost options even as it moves upscale. Two downward-firing speakers are on audio duty, and they put out a sound that’s good enough for notifications and other system sounds. About this review. All rights reserved. You could also spend just about twice as much, or around $600, and upgrade to the HP Chromebook x2. While I do prefer a slightly taller aspect ratio, and the extra bezel beneath the display is borderline distracting in size, the quality of the screen is still significantly better than most sub-$300 Chromebooks, which tend toward TN panels. Clad in a plastic shell it travels extremely well and stands up to moderate physical wear. Productivity apps like Microsoft’s OneNote are fine, but that’s as far as you’ll want to push things. $524.99 at Walmart You’ll want to pull out your headphones or connect a Bluetooth speaker for anything else, including music and video, because the audio is either too soft or it’s distorted at reasonable volume. Copyright ©2020 Designtechnica Corporation. The display is touch-enabled, of course, given that this is a 2-in-1 – but there’s no pen support, which leaves it behind the Chromebook Spin 11 for anyone who wants to write or draw on the display. Given the low-power CPU and the small, low-resolution display, we thought the 2-in-1 should get great battery life. Its 133 PPI density means you'll see every individual pixel, but backlighting on my unit was even, with no bleed or glow outside the off-angle typical of IPS panels, though the housing for the screen is flexible enough when tilting backward and forward to give you a bit of that characteristic liquid effect. Just want an extra machine for web browsing and the occasional YouTube video? We were correct in our prediction. That compares to the Chromebook Spin 11 at around nine and three-quarters hours and the Chromebook Plus V2 at eight and three-quarters. The 100e, at $219, is definitely a cheap Chromebook. According to my own super-scientific testing (I scraped it with a pin), it is made of plastic, though, and not glass. There are 45 watt-hours of battery capacity tucked away inside the Chromebook C330’s chassis, and Chrome OS is a lightweight operating system. The C330 is powered by a MediaTek MT8173C. Two and three-finger gestures all worked as expected. The Chromebook C330 sits at just about the opposite end of the size spectrum from the Acer Chromebook Spin 15. That’s a good selection of ports for connecting both legacy and more modern peripherals. You won’t get the same battery life, though, and you’ll be carrying around a bit more heft. Lenovo Chromebook C330 reviews, pros and cons. Aren’T many good Windows 10 machines in the Chromebook Spin 11, is thicker... The lack of backlighting, where Acer’s 2-in-1 is comically large, Lenovo’s option so... Performance, and Chrome OS standard perfectly, and it supports the usual island version with black keys. 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