Chromebooks are getting better hardware while keeping prices low. That’s the case with the Samsung Chromebook 3 the company showed off early this year at CES.
The Chromebook 3 has good design and build quality typical of Samsung laptops, and with an Intel Braswell generation Celeron processor it’s a good deal at $200.
Chrome OS is a lightweight OS that’s always run well on earlier Celeron processors so this current generation CPU should run it quite well.
The Samsung Chromebook has an 11.6-inch display running at 1,366×768 so it’s not high resolution but that’s plenty for Chrome OS. It has 2GB of system RAM like other Chromebooks but Samsung will offer a 4GB model down the road. No word yet on timing nor pricing for the beefier Chromebook 3.
It has 16GB of local storage and a microSD slot for additional capacity when needed. It has Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0 for connectivity to the web and accessories.
There is a HDMI and a USB 3.0 port to work with peripherals. Estimated battery life is 11 hours.
All of this is in a package weighing 2.5 pounds that is reinforced with a metal body for handling bumps on the road. It has a good ergonomic keyboard to round out the offering.
The Samsung Chromebook 3 is available for $200 from Samsung when it appears on its web site. Note: there is a Chromebook 3 on Amazon but it’s an older version with an ARM processor. Don’t confuse it with this new Chromebook 3 with the Intel CPU.