For a lot of folks who don’t spend a lot of time on their laptops, spending several hundred dollars on something that isn’t going to see much use feels like a waste. On the other hand, if you spend too little, you get a Windows device that’s underpowered and frustrating to use. There is a middle ground in the form of Chromebooks, which are much more basic and, therefore, cheaper than your average Windows laptop. Right now, you can grab a 14-inch HP Chromebook from Best Buy for just $169, a substantial $130 discount from the regular $299 price tag.
Under the hood, you’ll find an Intel Celeron N4120 processor, a budget-oriented chip that would struggle to run Windows but does fine with the more lightweight Chrome OS. Similarly, you get 4GB of RAM, which is usually an abysmal amount on a Windows device but does pretty well for a Chromebook. Put both together, and you get a reasonably smooth overall experience if you need to get the basics done like email, watching stuff or browsing the internet.
One thing that’s pretty nice about this Chromebook deal is that you get a 14-inch screen with a 1,366×768-pixel resolution. While that’s certainly on the lower end, you won’t notice the difference in resolution that much due to the smaller screen, and it should be fine for watching stuff. The one spec that might cause issues for some is the 64GB of storage, which isn’t a lot. That means you’ll have to either rely on cloud storage or use an external hard drive, which you can connect with one of the two USB-A or one USB-C ports.
Overall, while this 14-inch HP Chromebook isn’t going to win any awards, it’s a great budget-friendly device that will let you get the basics done. That said, if you want something a bit more robust, check out these Chromebook deals for some alternatives.
