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Lenovo announced a slew of education-focused Chromebooks last month, in the Chromebook 100e, 300e and 500e. Now, at Mobile World Congress, Lenovo is letting the press get their hands on these new Chromebooks. These will be available to purchase in the coming months – they will not be solely for schools to purchase, though that is the main customer here.
All three of these Chromebooks feature some of the same, like the reinforced hinge that is also 360-degrees. There’s also a spill tray here, so that when kids do inevitably spill liquid on these Chromebooks, it won’t be destroyed. Lenovo also reinforced each of the ports, the trackpad and the keyboard. So that the individual keys can’t be removed, and so that liquid doesn’t seep inside the Chromebook through the keyboard and trackpad. Definitely a good feature for these.
The 100e is actually the “entry-level” model, which doesn’t sport a touch screen, and does have a rather large bezel around it. Of course, that is to keep the display from getting damaged when it does get dropped. It does sport an Intel Celeron N3350 processor that is clocked up to 2.4GHz, there’s also 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of SSD storage available here. There’s an 11.6-inch display, with a 1366×768 resolution display. Finally, Lenovo says that the battery can last around 10 hours on a single charge. There’s not a lot special about the 100E, it’s more about giving users the basics, at an inexpensive price, and in a durable package.
With the 300e, Lenovo does include a few other great features here, including its Enhanced Pen Technology. This used to be called the AnyPen Technology, but Lenovo needed to rename it. What this means is that you can use any pen or pencil on this Chromebook’s display. For example, you can use a pencil to write notes on the display, or even do math problems. It actually works really well. Now as far as specs go, this one surprisingly runs on a MediaTek MTK 8173C processor. It also has 4GB of RAM, 32GB of SSD storage, and its battery also lasts up to 10 hours. The display is also an 11.6-inch 1366×768 resolution panel, and it is protected by Dragontail glass.
Now the Chromebook 5ooe is perhaps the most exciting Chromebook out of the bunch. It has an integrated stylus, with a place to store it when it’s not in use. So you can use it for taking notes and such, but also playing games. It actually works really well, and the note-taking app is able to read your handwriting as well as save your handwritten notes here. Of course, it does also feature that Yoga-style hinge, like the 300e model. So you can also flip it over and use it as a tablet, or in tent mode. On the spec-side of things, there is an Intel Celeron N3450 processor inside, which is paired with 4GB or 8GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of SSD storage. Its battery can also last up to 10 hours on a charge. This model also has an 11.6-inch 1366×768 resolution display, but it is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 this time around.
The Lenovo Chromebook 100e is going to be priced at $219, with the 300e at $279 and the 500e at $349. The 100e will be available next month, while the other two Chromebooks are available for purchase right now from Lenovo’s website. They all come in just one color, black, as well.
Lenovo Chromebook 100e
Lenovo Chromebook 300e
Lenovo Chromebook 500e
