Image: Asus, Samsung, LenovoDo you need a laptop on the cheap, and aren’t particularly married to Windows? Then a Chromebook is the way to get the best bang for your buck. While the OS is still heavily dependent upon the web — it’s built around a browser, after all — that’s gonna cover most people 90 percent of the time. Today Best Buy is selling a variety of new Chromebooks for as little as $149.
Nine models are on sale at the moment. If you need one for as little scratch as possible, then the Asus Chromebook CM14 should be your first port of call. This 14-inch model is powered by a MediaTek Arm processor with just 4GB of memory, so it might chug a bit if you throw dozens of tabs at it. But with a 1080p screen and a power-sipping setup, it should let you browse for the better part of a day at least. And at $149 flat, a full 50 percent off the sticker price, it’s an undeniable bargain.
If you’re looking for something a little more flexible, then the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 3 deserves a look. This is actually an 11-inch tablet, with a built-in kickstand cover and fold-down keyboard, making it a Surface-style convertible on the cheap. It’s also far more flexible than an Android tablet at the same price thanks to Chrome’s more powerful web browsing. It’s $100 off at the moment, down to $279.
But if I had to pick one of the lot, I’d go with the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2. It’s more than half off the sticker price, down to $329 from $700, and it’s easily the best-looking laptop of the bunch with its hot rod red finish. You’re also getting some more beefy specs with an Intel Core i3 processor and 8GB of RAM. That should be able to handle pretty much everything you can throw at it, including some games on its 13.3-inch touchscreen with a dual hinge.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer
Michael is a former graphic designer who’s been building and tweaking desktop computers for longer than he cares to admit. His interests include folk music, football, science fiction, and salsa verde, in no particular order.
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