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Lenovo is at it again and this time, they’re focusing on the budget-conscious buyer with a refresh to the Chromebook S340. Lenovo has decided to do something new and actually simplify the branding on the companies latest device. The new 14″ 180-degree Gemini Lake-R Chromebook will simply be called the Chromebook 3 (14″). Brilliant. Other OEMs should take note because Chromebook nomenclature is getting out of hands. Rant over. On to the new device.
The Lenovo Chromebook 3 takes notes from its predecessor, the Chromebook S340 but slaps on a new, Platinum Grey skin and installs an updated Gemini Lake-R CPU. However, the first iteration of the Chromebook 3 nixes the Full HD display in favor of a 1366×768 HD panel @ 220 nits. I’m not a fan of this resolution on a 14″ display but if Lenovo didn’t totally cheap out, it could still be a decent panel. The dual-core N4020 processor is matched with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage which is standard fare for a device in this price range. That price range happens to be $249 but I suspect we’ll see the Chromebook 3 on sale for less in the near future.
Port selection is generous with 2 x USB-C, 2 x USB-A and a MicroSD slot. The chassis is plastic and I’m sure that the trackpad will be as well but Lenovo has a good track record for inputs on their budget device. I would expect this to be comparable to the S340 which has a good keyboard. We actually have one of these arriving at the office any time now and we’ll get an unboxing out for you a.s.a.p. For now, you can head over to Lenovo and check out the Chromebook 3 and you can score an extra 8% cashback when you use Rakuten at checkout.
