A new Lenovo Slim 3i Chromebook appears, but makes little sense

Mysteriously, a new model of the awesome Lenovo Slim 3i Chromebook has emerged at Best Buy and is oddly categorized under PC Gaming > Gaming Laptops. Regardless, it is there, on sale, and a device that even at a $50 discount you likely should not purchase.

Don’t get me wrong: I 100% think Lenovo should get the Slim 3i Chromebook Plus into Best Buy stores as soon as possible. It’s easily one of my favorite current Chromebooks available and is on sale with pretty good regularity. In fact, right now, it’s $125 off over at Lenovo’s site and we’ve seen it dip as low as $339 in the past. At those kind of prices, the Slim 3i Chromebook Plus is an absolute knockout.

Too many steps in the wrong direction

But this new model over at Best Buy isn’t a similar device. Instead, it’s a fully dumbed-down version that looks exactly like the Slim 3i Chromebook Plus, but strips it of most of the things that make that Chromebook so great.

First up, this new model takes the excellent touchscreen from the Plus model and replaces it with a 14-inch TN panel that is only 250 nits, 1366×768, non-touch, and only covers 45% of the NTSC color gamut. Translation: it’s not good. TN panels are the ones we used to get on a lot of Chromebooks that look terrible off angle, have poor color reproduction, and are generally awful to look at.

Next, this new model removes backlighting from the keyboard and presumably takes the webcam back to 720p. I can’t verify the latter since it isn’t listed in the specs, but including a 1080p camera is something Chromebook makers will point out in low-price units, so the fact that it goes completely unmentioned tells me all I need to know, here.

Finally, the internals are clearly a step back as well, opting instead for the Intel N-100 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. For an affordable Chromebook, I can deal with those internals. Encased in what I hope is still the same, rigid chassis from the Plus model of this device, the performance of this Chromebook shouldn’t be too bad. It’s clearly a downgrade from the Slim 3i we know and love, but it’s OK if the price is right.

Why you should skip it

For now, however, the MSRP of $349.99 and sale price of $304.99 puts this device in direct competition with something like the Lenovo Flex 3i, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2, and the Lenovo Duet 5 on a week like this. Other times, it will be in direct competition with the Slim 3i Chromebook Plus model that routinely drops to this sort of price.

Right now, you can get the same internals with a 300 nit IPS screen and a convertible form factor in the Lenovo Flex 3i for just $269. But that’s right now. Chromebook deals fluctuate with great regularity, and there are simply too many great devices that come in at the $300-$350 range to even consider a Chromebook like this new Slim 3 from Lenovo with the screen trade-offs they are offering.

Instead, keep an eye on our daily deals page, do your homework, and I promise there are better options out there on a weekly basis that will make far better use of your money. If this new Slim 3 drops to $150-$200, I’ll be singing a different tune. But for now, I’d recommend you steer clear.