I tend to be very against these “basic” computers and Chromebooks that come with entry-level processors, because for over $300 (which is what they usually cost), they’re a scam. If they were always this price, though, it would be a different story completely.
This HP 14″ Chromebook is as basic as a computer in this day and age can get, but it has a $330 MSRP, which is horrible. Right now, though, you can get it for more than half off, at just $130. It’s a really good back-to-school deal if all you wish is a laptop that gets the basics right and works well for web apps.
Let me be extremely clear here—this laptop has decidedly entry-level specifications. It has an Intel Celeron N4500 processor, 64GB of eMMC storage, and 4GB of RAM, making it pretty bad at everything that’s not web browsing, answering emails, or using web apps such as Google Docs. It’s as basic as a laptop can get these days. But if your workflow is mostly done online and you don’t need to install any Android/Linux apps except for the most basic ones, you can probably squeeze a lot of juice out of this one. It’s great if you work online and you don’t need absolutely everything else, and it’s great to give a kid their first laptop.
At $130, we’re basically in “pocket change I can use to grab a used laptop off eBay” territory. And you might be able to grab a 13-year-old MacBook or an unsupported Windows 10 computer that you won’t be able to update to Windows 11, but you’ll be lucky to get anything better than that for this little. And it will also probably have similar specs to this—maybe more storage if you get something with a spinning hard drive. This is not the best computer, but it’s a brand-new computer in its box, it’s still getting updates (including security updates), and it can get some work done. I would much rather buy something like this if I were looking for something in this budget.
This deal might not last forever, though, so check it out while it’s still live.
