Lenovo c330 11.6 hd touchscreen chromebook review

Lenovo Chromebook C330 Review

“The Chromebook C330’s performance offsets its excellent battery life and low cost.”

Great value

The keyboard is top quality

Excellent battery life

A wide selection of ports

Disappointing display

Poor performance

Large bezels and plastic build

Don’t want to spend tons of cash on a replacement notebook? Just want an additional machine for web browsing and therefore the occasional YouTube video? If so, then you would possibly alright be considering a Chromebook, a platform that offers some low-cost options whilst it moves upscale. 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 else.

Lenovo c330 11.6 hd touchscreen chromebook 

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. That model will set you back $280, and you'll spend another $20 to upgrade to 64GB of storage.

That’s a bargain-basement price, for sure, which sounds appealing for a 2-in-1 that’s not getting to weigh you down. But does the Chromebook C330 bring enough performance and convenience?

It’s tiny, and that’s its best trait

The Chromebook C330 sits at almost the other end of the dimensions spectrum from the Acer Chromebook Spin 15. In short, where Acer’s 2-in-1 is comically large, Lenovo’s option seems so small it almost borders on cute. It’s like the netbook given its white color scheme, a failed initiative from a couple of years ago to form low-cost notebooks ok for web browsing and not far more.

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Of course, we are saying it “almost borders on cute” because it's very large bezels for such a little notebook. Unfortunately, the 11.6-inch display seems to float during a sea of the bezel, which combined with the all-plastic build makes the Chromebook C330 one among the few we’ve reviewed that seems like it’s a budget machine. The flexing within the chassis and keyboard deck does nothing to vary that impression.

Interestingly, the Chromebook C330 isn’t the thickest (0.77 inches) or the heaviest (2.6 pounds) 2-in-1 in its class. the simplest comparison machine, the Acer Chromebook Spin 11, is slightly thicker at 0.77 inches and slightly heavier at 2.76 pounds. But the Acer also feels tons more robust than the Lenovo, and it manages to seem more modern despite its almost equally large bezels.

The Chromebook C330’s keyboard is that the usual island version with black chiclet keys and white lettering, and it’s a pleasant surprise.

We do get to confine the mind that the Chromebook C330 is a cheap Chrome OS 2-in-1. It’s slightly less costly than the Chromebook Spin 11, and it’s much less costly than the much thinner and more robustly built HP Chromebook x2 that comes in at $600. The low price doesn’t completely mitigate our concerns, but it does leave some leeway.

The Chromebook C330’s connectivity is certainly in its favor. There’s one 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. That’s an honest selection of ports for connecting both legacy and more modern peripherals. Unsurprisingly, given the low price and CPU, there’s no Thunderbolt 3 port.

The input options punch above the load class

The Chromebook C330’s keyboard is that the usual island version with black chiclet keys and white lettering, and it’s a pleasant surprise. The layout fits the Chrome OS standard perfectly, and it's a quick mechanism with many travels for a particular typing experience. It’s better than the keyboard on the Chromebook Spin 11 and rivals the one the Chromebook x2. It’s an only real weakness is the lack of backlighting.

Lenovo Chromebook C330Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

The touchpad is large for such a little machine, and it supports the standard Chrome OS multitouch gestures just fine. the whole surface is clickable, but there’s no right button. You’ll get to use a two-finger tap to tug up the menu. The display is touch-enabled, of course, as long as this is often a 2-in-1 – but there’s no pen support, which leaves it behind the Chromebook Spin 11 for anyone who wants to write down or draw on the display.

A dim display with little contrast disappoints

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. If you’ve become familiar with Full HD displays or maybe higher, just 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 display is bright enough for many indoor environments, but it'll get quickly washed out with any significant amount of ambient lighting. The contrast is sweet, though, and its gamma seems accurate, meaning YouTube videos were neither too dark nor too light. this is often nothing unusual for low-priced notebooks, and in fact, costlier Chromebooks just like the Chromebook x2 and Google’s Pixelbook have far better panels.

Lenovo Chromebook C330Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

Two downward-firing speakers are on audio duty, and that they put out a sound that’s ok for notifications and other system sounds. You’ll want to tug out your headphones or connect a Bluetooth speaker for love or money else, including music and video because the audio is either too soft or it’s distorted at a reasonable volume. Highs and mids are muddled, and there’s no bass to talk of.

One of the slowest Chromebooks available today

Lenovo employed a MediaTek MTK 8173C processor within the Chromebook C330. That’s a quad-core CPU running at 2.0GHz, and it’s just barely fast enough to stay up with the lightweight Chrome OS for basic productivity tasks.

Productivity apps like Microsoft’s OneNote are fine, but that’s as far as you’ll want to push things.

We ran our usual Chromebook benchmarks on Lenovo’s 2-in-1, and it’s one among the slowest we’ve tested. Geekbench 4, running in Android, produced a single-core score of 1,446 and a multi-core score of two,938. The Celeron processor within the Samsung Chromebook Plus V2 came in at 2,107 and 3,656, and that’s slow compared to more modern Chrome OS machines. The Chromebook x2, for instance, scored 3,441 and 6,685 because of its Intel Core m3 CPU.

In the Speedometer 2.0 test that gives a thought of how well a notebook will surf the online, the Chromebook C330 scored a low 23.3. That’s the slowest we’ve seen on a Chromebook since we started running this benchmark. 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. By comparison, the Chromebook x2 was quite 3 times as fast at 75.1.

The Chromebook C330 does enjoy 4GB of RAM, then that’s a plus. you'll keep tons of tabs open in Chrome and run a couple of Android apps without running out of memory, but you’ll find things to be rather sluggish regardless of what you’re doing. a minimum of the 32GB of eMMC storage won’t make things any slower.

Lenovo Chromebook C330Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

When it involves gaming, this 2-in-1 won’t impress. you'll run casual titles no problem, but open up an action game like Asphalt 8, and you’ll suffer a choppy experience. Productivity apps like Microsoft’s OneNote are fine, but that’s as far as you’ll want to push things.

Battery life adds significantly to the worth

There are 45 watt-hours of battery capacity tucked away inside the Chromebook C330’s chassis, and Chrome OS may be a lightweight OS. Given the low-power CPU and therefore the small, low-resolution display, we thought the 2-in-1 should get a great battery life.

We were correct in our prediction. In our most demanding Basemark web benchmark testing, the Chromebook C330 lasted for nearly six and a half hours, which may be an excellent score. The Chromebook Plus V2 lasted for slightly longer than four hours while the Chromebook Spin 11 managed slightly below four hours.

When web browsing, which is that the most vital Chrome OS functionality, the Chromebook C330 lasted for nearly 11 hours. That’s a very strong score compared to the Chromebook Spin 11’s nine and a half hours and therefore the Chromebook Plus V2’s seven and a half hours.

Finally, when looping an Avengers trailer, the Lenovo managed over 12 hours. That compares to the Chromebook Spin 11 at around nine and three-quarters hours and therefore the Chromebook Plus V2 at eight and three-quarters.

Simply put, while the Chromebook C330 isn’t a robust performer, it makes the foremost of its relatively large battery capacity. You get through far more than each day at work or school and have plenty left over for a few Netflix binging.

Our Take

The Lenovo Chromebook C330 has three redeeming features: It’s one among the smallest amount expensive Chromebooks on offer, it’s a 360-degree convertible, and it gets great battery life. But it’s also very slow, its display is disappointing, and it feels considerably sort of a budget notebook.

Is there a far better alternative?

The most direct competitor is that the Acer Chromebook Spin 11, which offers up an identical display at an equivalent size and better performance, but it can’t match the Chromebook C330’s battery life. The Acer is additionally $70 costlier, which includes a lively pen that supports Chrome OS inking functionality.

You could also spend almost twice the maximum amount, or around $600, and upgrade to the HP Chromebook x2. You’ll get away better display, significantly better performance, and an overall more robust and better-looking build.

There aren’t many good Windows 10 machines within the same basic price range. If you’re willing to spend around $500 and don’t mind a way larger notebook, then you'll consider the Acer Aspire E15 with its better performance, especially in gaming, to travel with a far better 15.6-inch display. You won’t get an equivalent battery life, though, and you’ll be carrying around a touch more heft.

How long will it last?

The Chromebook C330 may be a plastic build that’s a touch bendy in some places, but that doesn’t mean you would like to stress about it falling apart. For this much money, it’ll last long enough to pay back the investment. The one-year warranty is industry-standard.

Should you buy it?

No, unless battery life is your primary concern. Spend just a touch bit more for a far better Chromebook – you’ll be happy you probably did