The Asus Chromebook C300 ($249) is a reasonably priced Chrome OS laptop with a relatively large 13.3-inch screen. It's a stablemate to the 11-inch Asus C200 Chromebook( at Amazon), with an identical set of internal components. If you need a simple, Web-bound system for everyday tasks, take a look at the C300($256.99 at Staples). It's an all-day companion with good connectivity.
Design and Features
This modern-looking laptop has a matte-black chassis and nicely textured, faux-brushed-metal polycarbonate top lid and keyboard deck. Unfortunately, the look doesn't extend to the sides of the laptop, where the shiny plastic looks a little cheap. Thankfully, you won't have to look at the sides unless you're plugging peripherals into the system's HDMI port, headset jack, AC power adapter, SD card reader, single USB 2.0 port, or USB 3.0 port.
The chiclet-style keyboard is pleasant to use, as is the wide touchpad that supports multitouch gestures like right click and two-finger swipe. The system measures 0.8 by 13 by 9 inches (HWD) and weighs 2.87 pounds, so it's easy to carry around the house or to your favorite coffee shop. You can even fit it on an airline tray cable in coach to use the 12 free Gogo Inflight Internet coupons that come with the system. Other Google offers like a 60-day Google Play All Access subscription and 100GB of Google Drive storage (for two years) are also included. (Google Drive has a Chromebook-only holiday special: free 1TB of storage for two years if you register before January 1)
Similar Products
Acer Chromebook 13 (CB5-311-T9B0)
HP Stream 13 (13-c020nr)
Toshiba CB35-B3340 Chromebook 2
You'll need that cloud storage, since the C300 only comes with a 16GB solid-state drive (SSD) and 2GB of system memory. The 16GB SSD is typical of most Chromebooks, though the Acer Chromebook C720P-2600($299.00 at Acer) offers double the system memory (4GB) and local storage (32GB) for around the same price. You can, of course, supplement local storage with an SD card, though there is no way to increase the C300's system memory.
The 13.3-inch screen has a 1,366-by-768 resolution, identical to the Asus C200 Chromebook and budget Windows ultraportables like the HP Stream 13 (13-c020nr)($349.00 at Amazon). If you need more screen room, the Acer Chromebook 13 (CB5-311-T9B0)( at Amazon) and the Toshiba CB35-B3340 Chromebook 2($99.00 at Amazon) both have 1,920-by-1,080-resolution displays. This means you can view 720p videos on the C300, but not 1080p HD without downscaling.
The display is of good quality, though like all LCD screens, it doesn't have a wide viewing angle and is not quite as clear as an In-Plane Switching (IPS) screen like the one in the Editors' Choice HP Chromebook 11 (Verizon LTE)($249.99 at eBay) and its Wi-Fi only sibling HP Chromebook 11($130.00 at Amazon). The C300 comes with a one-year warranty.
Performance
The C300 is equipped with an Intel Celeron N2830 dual-core processor with Intel HD Graphics. The system takes only a few seconds to boot up and to wake from sleep, but you will have to connect to a Wi-Fi network for most functions in Chrome OS. 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 are standard. The system loads Websites quickly and is adequate for most multimedia-heavy sites. Many browser-based games work fine, and Google has a Chrome plug-in store in case you need to add programs to your system. Google Docs and Drive worked fine in testing, but your mileage will vary, depending on the strength of your Wi-Fi signal.
Battery life is a major highlight. The C300 ran for 10 hours 42 minutes on our battery rundown test. That's much longer than the Acer Chromebook 13 (8:20), the HP Stream 13 (9:09), and the Toshiba CB35-B3340 (7:04). Only the Acer C200 (11:14) outlasted them all.
If you need all-day computing, and then some, with a larger display, the Asus Chromebook C300 is a top choice, provided you've got constant Internet access. If you absolutely need Windows programs and compatibility, the HP Stream 13, our Editors' Choice for budget ultraportables, is an option in the same price range. However, if all you need is to get on the Web, then the C300 should be more than enough. We still prefer the Editors' Choice HP Chromebook 13 for its construction quality, IPS screen, and micro-USB charging, but if you need a larger screen and longer battery life, the C300 comes a close second.
The Asus Chromebook C300 is a low-cost laptop with a relatively large 13.3-inch screen and excellent battery life.
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