Late last month, Lenovo announced their new lineup of Chromebooks that would soon be landing on the market.
At MWC Barcelona this week, Lenovo unveiled the EDU Chromebooks to the world and two of the devices are already available directly from the manufacturer.
We already knew the specs from the Lenovo 500e, 300e and 100e but thanks to a great hands-on video from The Verge’s @vladsavov, we’ve learned that Lenovo still had a couple of tricks up their sleeves.
Initially, we were a bit perplexed by the Chromebook 300e as it appeared to be another clone of the N23 Yoga and Flex 11. However, around 1m 30s into the video, Vlad whips out an old-school No. 2 pencil and starts taking notes on the display of the MediaTek-powered convertible.
This is a very different take on educational devices as Lenovo’s competitors have been content offering stylus-capable models for an extra $50 above an already steep price of around $350.
Purchasing and keeping track of styli in the classroom sounds like a task comparable to a root canal if you ask me but what classroom doesn’t have a surplus of pencils at their disposal? Well played Lenovo.
The Lenovo Chromebook 300e is already available and comes in at an impressive $269!. This is a big win for schools and for Lenovo. My experience with the very similar Flex 11 Chromebook was very positive and seeing a new iteration hitting the market at the same price will give other OEM’s a run for their money in the EDU sector.
The entry-level Chromebook 100e will run around $220 but as Vlad points out, you get what you pay for. Viewing angles on the display are sub-par and honestly, if you’re going to spend the money, the MediaTek goes toe-to-toe with the N3350 and it’s only $50 more for a much better experience.
The top-tier Chromebook 500e is also available for purchase from Lenovo and is priced at $309. This is another huge win for Lenovo for a couple of reasons. Most of the current Appolo Lake EDU Chromebooks start around $350 and get you the dual-core N3350 processor and get you 4GB RAM along with 32GB or 64GB of storage.
The 500e comes standard with the quad-core N3450 chipset and has a garaged stylus included. You get 4GB RAM, 32GB of storage, Android apps, dual cameras AND a stylus that’s easy to keep track of for around $100 less than similar models from other companies.
If the build quality of these devices is anything close to the Flex 11, Lenovo may have just hit a home run in the education Chromebook market. We’ll be getting our hands on these ASAP and are looking forward to seeing what Lenovo has to offer in these new devices.
Chromebooks by Lenovo on Amazon
Source: The Verge