The Lenovo C330 is an example of a Chromebook that makes the right compromises. I’ve recently been using the C330, and my impressions are positive. The 4GB RAM and 32GB storage, considering this is a Chromebook, are both enough (there is a 64GB version of the C330). It is also possible to expand storage via a full-size SD Card slot. The screen isn’t full HD, but it is an IPS one with good colour reproduction and viewing angles. Again, Lenovo made the right compromise as a non-IPS screen would be unusable on a convertible Chromebook. Importantly performance from the quad-core Mediatek MT8173 processor is adequate. Performance is closer to a quad-core Intel Celeron Apollo Lake N3450 than the slower Celeron N3350. The laptop weighs 1.2 KG – it is not the lightest in this category but still portable to be easily carried.
There is no stylus input control, but the C330 is a convertible with a touch screen. Many popular Android applications are not supported on non-touch Chromebooks, and this makes a touch screen an essential hardware feature. Further, the touch interface vastly enhances the user experience on Android applications. From an e-reading perspective, it is possible, for example, to install Xodo Reader, Moon+ Reader, Kindle, Kobo, Libby and One Note. The possibility to install One Drive, Google Drive and Dropbox also mean it is possible to sync page location and annotations between e-books and PDF documents.
Lenovo, like most vendors, over-estimates the battery life to be ‘up to 10 hours’. In real use, the C330 gets a full day of mixed-use. With extra care, for example, turning down brightness closer to 25% and turning off WiFi when not needed, battery life can be extended closer to the 10 hours mark. The C330 charges via USB-C; the charger provided is on the larger side, but I found smaller high-powered third-party USB-C chargers work too.
Overall, the Lenovo C330 is a budget convertible Chromebook that makes the right compromises and gets the basics right. It has a nice screen, enough power, ample storage, USB-C charging, good battery life and a touch screen that provides access to most Android applications. The Lenovo C330 is an excellent all-rounder Chromebook.
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