Review: Lenovo Chromebook C330 brings back the budget Chromebook for well under $ 300



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Years ago, Chromebooks were primarily aimed at those who were looking for very cheap Internet machines. Now, Google Chrome OS can be found on more expensive machines that are well worth their cost. However, if you want to stick to the basics, there are still options and the Lenovo Chromebook C330 is perhaps the best.

The best gifts for Android users

Cheap Chromebooks were everywhere and most were pretty solid. I still have good memories of my Acer Chromebook C720. At the time, however, Intel was the best choice in terms of performance, as ARM options were generally quite mediocre on this front.

By 2019, Intel's low-end and fanless chipsets are able to handle most tasks, but they are mostly affected by Chrome OS running Android apps. To solve this problem, the Lenovo Chromebook C330 uses a MediaTek MT8173c chipset coupled with 4GB of RAM and works pretty well considering the price.

I can even have multiple open tabs at once without problems. My daily workflow here at 9to5 usually includes some WordPress tabs, Slack, YouTube, other online tools and often Spotify open at the same time. Although I am sometimes faced with offset or reload issues, the overall performance is very good under load. For most users, this machine will power your usual use.

Android apps also work very well. The Play Store loads very well and, despite their typical usability issues, apps like Slack work pretty well too. The Stardew Valley game also works well on this material (with WASD support too!), Which is nice to see.

The C330 also supports ready-to-use Linux applications, but it's just not a good experience. The performance here takes an obvious hit, you will probably want to use this feature sparingly. It's really something better used on a machine powered by Intel.

The Lenovo Chromebook C330 also has a shocking screen for its price. The 11.6-inch 1366 × 768 display is a fairly clean, reasonably-priced, touch-sensitive IPS panel. Do not expect to take this to the park and use it without squinting in the sun, but it perfectly manages a bright room or does not work in the shade in the shade. Personally, I'm just happy that such an affordable device has an IPS panel.

The part of the touch screen is not very responsive in my tests, which is a shame because it is a convertible. The 2-in-1 design on the hinge means that it's easy to flip the 11.6-inch panel from a laptop to a tablet, but it's more than likely that you'll want it to work. use only for video.

However, using this machine for video exposes one of its biggest weaknesses, the speakers. Both speakers are pretty horrible. You can not expect much from a cheap laptop like this one, but even for 280 bucks I was expecting to a little more. Over time, I avoided using the speakers entirely.

This is a bit of a shame, as the low price, the small size and the lightweight unit, which weighs 2.64 pounds, could replace many tablets for many people. This lighter weigh is largely due to the all-plastic structure, which is also entirely white. By taking note of Google's application designs, the Lenovo Chromebook C330 is entirely white with just a Lenovo logo and a Chrome logo "decorating" the chassis. This plastic is quite durable, and although I have not damaged it for a few weeks of use, I bet it would not be difficult to do so.

On the sides of the machine, Lenovo has equipped the C330 with all the ports you can ask for an inexpensive Chromebook. There is a full HDMI port, a microSD card slot, normal USB-A ports on both sides, and two USB-C ports. Both can be used for charging as well as audio. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack that allows you to avoid these awful speakers.

The keyboard is one of the advantages of the Lenovo Chromebook C330. Lenovo never fails to impress here, and I think they make the little Chromebook keyboards better than anyone else.

The keys themselves are black plastic, a nice contrast with the white body, and are flat on the top. The key trips are not massive, but they are better than Apple's MacBook. It is comfortable to type with a good spacing between the keys. I was able to adapt it in just a few minutes. The trackpad below is not brilliant, but you risk being much worse with machines of this price range.

Finally, there is the life of the battery. Overall, it's pretty good. The ARM processor allows good endurance throughout the day and can certainly reach the limit of 10 hours requested by Lenovo. I've been a little disappointed with the latency that, from time to time, will flow randomly during a day. Overall, you will probably be satisfied with the battery life here, and the fact that the USB-C charging method is a definite advantage.

Looking at the Lenovo Chromebook C330 alone, it's a great machine for most people. However, if you look at it together, it becomes an important tool. Low-end Chromebooks are becoming increasingly rare and, at less than $ 300, the C330 literally offers a definite advantage to the more expensive models, especially when it's on sale (which happens often). At the time of publication, Best Buy and Amazon both sell the machine at less than $ 240.

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