Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Chromebook 14inch FHD Laptop (MediaTek MT8183, 4 GB RAM, 64GB eMMC, ARM Mali-G72 MP3 Graphics, Chrome OS) – Abyss Blue

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It’s essentially a big web browser, but with the added advantage of apps like Google Docs working offline and the ability to run Android apps on your laptop.

LENOVO Chromebooks - Cheap LENOVO Chromebook Deals | Currys LENOVO Chromebooks - Cheap LENOVO Chromebook Deals | Currys

This plastic is also very smooth, which feels tackier on your palms than either anodised aluminium or textured plastic. The sound from the stereo down-firing speakers is listenable at lower volumes, too, though we’d advise against pushing the volume much past the halfway mark.That being said, if you use your laptop for editing photos, videos or any kind of professional creation, then you’ll probably find the limitations of the platform quite irritating. This doesn’t mean that Lenovo has skimped on the connection ports though, as investigating both flanks reveals two standard USB ports, two USB-C (one marked for charging), a microSD card reader, 3. The microSD card slot is located on the IdeaPad 3’s left edge, where you’ll also find a USB-C port, a USB 3.

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Some budget Chromebooks are clearly cheap-looking, with ugly styling and questionable build quality. If you’re using apps in full-screen mode (which is always the way I tend to use Chromebooks), then everything is clear and readable on the 1366 x 768 resolution, if somewhat washed out in the colour department. The laptop has limited RAM and storage, and the restricted software is a heads-up of who it’s meant for. Our only grumble is that if your fingertips are even slightly wet – say, after you’ve just washed and dried your hands – they seem to stick on the surface more than on other budget laptops. The Lenovo IdeaPad 3’s colour saturation is very weak, contrast is low and the effects of the panel’s contrast shift are obvious.It’s true that most of us are stuck at home far more now than in previous years, but you still need a laptop to be free from needing a power-point otherwise you might as well get a big old desktop machine. It may be the case that a larger trackpad would compromise the excellent keyboard, and as I much prefer the one on the Lenovo, I think this arrangement is perfectly acceptable. The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 has a 35Wh battery, a fairly low capacity for a laptop you might want to take out to work somewhere far from a power socket. Since everything is plastic, the keycaps feel a bit too shallow, and pressing too hard causes the keyboard deck to bend slightly.