If you have the money, finding a good 2-in-1 Chromebook is simple. The detachable HP Chromebook x2 costs $599.99 and is our Editors’ Choice.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 11 and the Asus Chromebook Flip C213SA are more reasonably priced convertibles, coming in at $399.99 and $34.99, respectively.

However, Lenovo’s new Chromebook C330 costs just $279.99 with 32GB of eMMC storage ($299.99 with 64GB) if you’re looking for a machine that can convert from laptop to tablet form without spending a lot of folding green. It’s a desirable option for Chromebook purchasers on a tight budget.

A Cheap Convertible

Naturally, you make a trade-off in exchange for the C330’s low cost. It isn’t flimsy, but it hasn’t passed the same MIL-STD 810G toughness testing as the Asus and the aforementioned Acer, and it doesn’t have a stylus pen like the Acer.

But the Lenovo’s vibrant IPS touch screen will pleasantly surprise you if you were anticipating a low-cost TN display panel. Additionally, there are USB 3.0 Type-A and USB-C connectors, as well as an HDMI port, so you are not limited to using the USB-C port for an external monitor. (That’s good, because the AC adapter uses it when the system is charging.)

The screen’s diagonal measurement is 11.6 inches, and its 1,366 by 768 resolution is the most widely used. The MediaTek MTK8173C CPU, an ARM chip with two 2.1GHz and two 1.7GHz cores, and 4GB of RAM are additional specifications.

The Lenovo and Chrome logos are adorning the lid of the Chromebook, which is made of white plastic with black keys and wide black bezels surrounding the display.

The C330 is relatively lightweight for a convertible at 2.64 pounds. In contrast to the Acer Spin 11, which weighs 3.09 pounds, the 12.5-inch, aluminum-clad Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA weighs just 2.43 pounds.

Its tiny dimensions of 0.77 by 11.4 by 8.5 inches are comparable to those of the Spin 11 and slightly smaller than those of the Asus C213SA. All of these 2-in-1 Chromebooks are a little heavy to wield in tablet mode with one hand, but none of them are a problem in a briefcase.

The USB-C, USB-A, HDMI, and an SD card slot are all located on the left side of the Lenovo. (Like most Chromebooks, this one includes 100GB of two-year cloud storage from Google Drive.) An audio jack, the power button, a volume rocker, and a security-cable locking slot are all located on the right.

Sights and Sounds

The webcam, which has a resolution of 1,280 by 720 pixels and is positioned just above the display, produces generally acceptable, if soft and dark, images.

Even with the volume turned all the way up, the music stays muffled and flat with only a ghost of bass coming from the two bottom-mounted speakers. Their sound is soft and murky as well. For streaming video, it’s fine, but for music, you’ll need headphones.

Although the screen is significantly more appealing, its low resolution makes delicate details appear rather pixelated (as they do on other 1,366-by-768-pixel displays).

Although contrast is good and brightness is merely enough (you won’t want to bring it down very far to conserve battery life), text on browser or Google Docs sites appears properly black-on-white rather than dark-gray-on-light-gray.

Although there are many viewing angles, the glossy touch overlay is prone to reflections. The vivid, bright colours make both still photos and moving pictures appear sharp.

Acceptable, if not outstanding, performance

The C330 boots quickly, in 9 seconds after being turned off. (However, most Chromebook users prefer to just close and reopen the lid for speedier restarts.) That is speedier than most other low-cost models…

Subjectively, I’d place the convertible in the middle of the Chromebooks I’ve examined, behind Intel Core-based models like the HP Chromebook x2 but outperforming most low-cost ARM designs. Tabs opened and programmes launched quickly, and even with a dozen browser tabs open, the C330 didn’t lag.

I used a variety of low-cost Chromebooks and Chromebook 2-in-1s for the formal testing outlined below. I used the JetStream 1.1 JavaScript benchmark for a first impartial assessment.

Conclusion

Lenovo’s new Chromebook C330 costs just $279.99 with 32GB of eMMC storage. HP’s detachable Chromebook x2 costs $599.99 and is our Editors’ Choice.

It isn’t flimsy, but it hasn’t passed the same MIL-STD 810G testing. The 1,366-by-768-pixel display is bright and vivid, but low resolution makes delicate details appear pixelated.

It boots in 9 seconds after being turned off, and runs programs with a dozen tabs open at full speed.