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Hisense Chromebook review

Chromebooks are synonymous with cheap PCs. I mean, they run Chrome OS, a bare-bones operating system that’s essentially Google Chrome with some Google apps sprinkled around it.

In many ways, Chromebooks are "lesser" computers; they usually cost only a couple of hundred bucks, they’re made from cheap materials (Google’s Chromebook Pixel is one of the rare exceptions to this rule), they aren’t designed for real multitasking, can’t run any "real" apps and can’t handle anything more than casual games like Angry Birds and Cut the Rope.

See also: 8 Google Chrome Extensions to Boost Your Productivity

Chromebooks also don’t have much storage — the encourage you to put all of your files in the cloud. And you can’t do many things offline.

Like the netbooks of yesteryear, most Chromebooks are a race to the bottom. So when Hisense announced its $150 Walmart-exclusive Chromebook, I had to wonder, how many corners did it cut to get the price so low?

Inexpensive, but doesn't look too cheap

Forgive me if you don’t agree, but I think most Chromebooks are ugly. Sure, there are a few good-looking ones, like the Toshiba Chromebook 2 and Samsung Chromebook 2, but they’re all still made from cheap plastic.

The Hisense Chromebook straddles the line between super cheap and not too cheap. Its plastic construction is as low-end as it gets, but the weaving pattern on the exterior and the metal palm rest classes the laptop up just enough.

And it’s sturdy, too. I fell asleep with it on top of me one night and when I woke up, it was laying on its side on the floor, looking like it just got sucker punched by Floyd Mayweather, Jr. I’m normally not this clumsy, but it was dark and I somehow tripped over a surge protector after I had recovered the laptop. I thought the Chromebook was doomed after it flew out of my hand and hit the hardwood with a thud. It sustained no damage and even if it had been damaged, big deal, it’s only $150 — not even worth crying over.

The bare minimum

You don’t buy a Chromebook expecting blazing fast performance. And if you do, there’s only one Chromebook you’d be interested in: Google’s own Pixel 2.

Hisense’s Chromebook doesn’t have a fancy Intel Core processor, or even an Intel Atom or Celeron processor. It’s powered by a 1.8GHz quad-core processor made by Rockchip, a Chinese semiconductor company that makes chipsets for budget devices.

Great keyboard? Check. Great trackpad? Check. Great display? Eh, it's alright. Image: Luke Leonard/Mashable

It doesn’t sound like much — the specs actually read more like a tablet or smartphone — but don’t let those numbers fool you. Somehow, Hisense has made a Chromebook that’s capable of running a handful of Chrome tabs without chugging too hard. The 2GB of RAM is a bottleneck that runs out quickly with more open tabs, but if you manage them well and close them when you’re done, it’s just enough to get by.

Lag rears its ugly head when you’re doing too much and taxing the processor too hard — typing slowed to a crawl in Google Docs a couple times — but again, if you keep your multitasking to a minimum, you’ll be fine.

The 11.6-inch screen’s 1,366 x 768 resolution is acceptable. I knocked the Samsung Chromebook 2’s screen last year for being terrible to look at. Side-by-side, the Hisense screen actually looks better, but just barely. Viewing angles could be a lot better and I wish the display was brighter when set to 50% and 75%, but for a budget Chromebook, it’s quite good.

Like virtually every entry-level Chromebook, Hisense’s Chromebook comes with 16GB of internal storage. More demanding users can expand the storage via a microSD card, which, by the way, are so damn cheap nowadays.

The point of a Chromebook, however, is not to store all of your files locally, but in the cloud. Between Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon Cloud Storage and all the other cloud storage services out there, not having enough storage really isn’t an issue anymore.

The right stuff

The keyboard has Chiclet-style keys; they’re plasticky, and a little slippery, but not bad at all. The keys have a nice springiness to them and they’re as large as the ones on my MacBook Air.

The trackpad is responsive and two-finger scrolling is smooth with no perceptible lag. It’s comical that a $150 Chromebook has a better trackpad than $1,000 Windows ultrabooks.

And unlike a certain other small-sized laptop, Hisense’s Chromebook has a good amount of ports including two USB 2.0 ports (although I wish they were USB 3.0 ones), a full-sized HDMI port for video out and a microSD card slot.

I’m accustomed to weak speakers on small laptops, so it was a big surprise to hear the Chromebook’s speakers could get very loud. The second Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer is louder and clearer on the Hisense than on my MacBook Air.

Like all Chromebooks, this laptop runs Chrome OS. If you're not down with storing most of your stuff in the cloud, you shouldn't get one. Image: Luke Leonard/Mashable

Hisense rates battery life at 8.5 hours. This too impressed me. I got six to seven hours with normal usage, which included having Chrome open with eight to 10 tabs, Google Docs in one tab and Google Music or Spotify streaming in another. I also streamed a dozen or so YouTube videos at 1080p HD each day. It’s nothing extravagant — just the usual work-related and time-wasting stuff everyone does.

One thing I would recommend: Don’t install too many Chrome extensions or any at all. Battery life will nosedive and so will performance. That isn’t just a tip for Chromebook users, but for everyone in general.

Competent portal to the Internet

While wrapping up my testing on this Chromebook, I realized something: My review reads a lot like the one I wrote for Samsung’s most recent Chromebook 2.

The screens are about the same; average up close, but otherwise usable. Performance, despite the different processors, is similar with moderate usage — both Chromebooks can handle eight to 10 tabs without conking out hard and stream 1080p HD video smoothly on YouTube.

Both machines have solid keyboards and trackpads. And they both have fairly good speakers that can get pretty loud.

Samsung’s Chromebook 2 lasts a little longer and it’s slightly better-looking, but Hisense’s Chromebook is $100 cheaper. If you're embarrassed by the Hisense branding, just get some stickers and cover it. You'll look cool and your nobody will know your Chromebook is from Walmart.

I expected the Chromebook to be total junk, but it’s actually quite good, especially for a $150 laptop. It’s a great machine for kids, who are rough on their gadgets and don’t need a whole ton of power. As a spare machine for a guest room. Or for anyone who doesn’t have demanding computer needs.