The Asus Chromebook Flip C213SA ($349) is a less expensive and slightly less powerful version of our Editor's Choice chromebook, the Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA. A 2-in-1 convertible chromebook made for students, the C213SA is a tough, no-nonsense system that's built to withstand years of abuse. Two 360-degree zinc-alloy hinges allow you to twist the laptop into Stand, Tent, or Tablet modes as needed, and access to the Google Play store means that you can download Android apps too.

Takes a Licking

At 0.81 by 12.08 by 7.83 inches (HWD) and 2.75 pounds, the C213S isn't the smallest or lightest system you can get. It weighs more than the Samsung Chromebook Plus ($749.99 at Amazon) (2.34 pounds) or the 2.43-pound Asus Chromebook Flip (C302CA-DHM4), but it's not heavy enough to cause fatigue while using it with a single hand in Tablet mode.

Education Chromebooks aren't typically designed for looks, but if you can get over the massive plastic bezel, the C213SA is actually a good-looking system. The chassis is coated with a textured material that's both anti-scratch and anti-fingerprint. It is possible to scratch it if you try hard enough, but it's difficult to do so accidentally. The keyboard, however, is susceptible to scratching if you aren't careful where you place it when the laptop is in Tablet mode. The lid doesn't offer the whiteboard functionality you get with the CTL NL61TX Education Chromebook , but it's likely to last a lot longer.

Built tough, rubber bumpers protect the entire body, which is designed to meet MIL-STD 810G military specifications. My test unit took a couple of drops from desk height onto concrete with nothing to show for it but a slightly scuffed corner. Two rubber grips on the bottom of the laptop not only hold it in place while you're working, but also provide traction during transport.

The 11.6-inch HD touch-screen display offers a modest 1,366-by-768 resolution. At 200 nits it's not the brightest, but features an anti-glare coating and viewing angles are impressive. With the Acer Chromebook 11 N7, you get a brighter IPS display with the same resolution for $279, and on the flip side, the $449 Samsung Chromebook Plus packs a 12.3-inch 2,400-by-1,600 resolution screen.

The buttonless trackpad feels good and is large enough for two-finger scrolling and three-finger gesturing. Palm rejection is solid. And typing is comfortable, with keys delivering a generous 2mm of travel and the keyboard exhibiting little flex. As is typical for chromebooks, the Ctrl and Alt keys are enlarged to compensate for the lack of Windows/Command keys. The top row includes Chrome shortcuts as well as dedicated brightness and volume keys. There's no Delete key.

The keyboard is spill-resistant, but won't survive being immersed in water the way the Acer Chromebook 11 N7 would. Still, schools can place the laptops in K-12 classrooms without much fear, especially since the C213SA's modular components can be replaced individually.

Plenty of Power for School

As is the case with most chromebooks, there's not a lot of power here. The C213SA packs a 1.1GHz Intel Apollo Lake dual-core Celeron N3350 CPU, integrated graphics, and 4GB of RAM, which is more than enough to manage what the laptop is intended for.

Two webcams handle 720p video recording, although the 1-megapixel one at the top of the laptop doesn't offer much in the way of image quality. A 5MP camera just above the keyboard produced noticeably crisper images in testing, but because of its location, it's only useful when the chromebook is in Tablet or Tent mode.

Built-in stereo speakers offer solid sound for their size and location on the bottom of the laptop. Since they're near the edges, they're clear even when the laptop is folded up in Tablet mode.

Our test model doesn't include a stylus, but Asus offers a $399 configuration with an electro-magnetic resonance pen and a Gorilla glass touch-screen display, rather than the plastic anti-glare one.

Connectivity is excellent, including two USB-C ports, one on either side of the laptop. Having two ports available is a nice touch, since you can charge while using the other to connect an external drive or other peripherals.

On the left panel, you'll also find the power button, a USB 3.0 port, a microSD (SDXC) card reader, which supports cards up to 512GB, and a standard audio jack. On the right side, there's a USB 3.0 port, a volume rocker, and a Kensington lock slot. Having the volume and power buttons on the outside edge makes it easy to use them when you're in Tablet mode.

Wireless connections include 802.11a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.0. Asus protects the laptop with a one-year warranty.

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Performance

Chromebooks can't run our standard array of benchmark tests, but in testing, the Flip C213SA was able to handle most anything I threw at it without a hiccup. I was able to open multiple browser tabs without any noticeable lag, even when playing video from YouTube or on Amazon Prime Video.

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At 14 hours and 7 minutes, the C213SA places toward the front of the pack in our battery rundown test. It's just short of the Acer Chromebook 15 (14:17) and well ahead of the last-gen Chromebook Flip C302CA (10:23).

Play With Google

While the Chromebook Flip C213SA comes with the latest version of the Chrome OS, one of its most exciting features is out-of-the-box Google Play support, which puts thousands of apps at your fingertips. The Google Play integration is currently in Beta but worked very well in my testing, with apps appearing in a windowed mode unless you place the laptop in Tablet mode. Even newer games like Framed 2 and Titanfall Assault played smoothly. Since many apps are designed for smaller phones or tablets, some do look a bit pixelated on the 11.6-inch screen.

I downloaded Comixology to read comics with the crisp screen, OneNote to jot down notes and share them among my devices, and The Elder Scrolls: Legends to get my collectible card fix. If you download all of your favorite apps, the 32GB of flash storage will run out quickly, however. The Chromebook Flip C213SA also comes with 100GB of Google Drive storage for two years, as is standard with chromebooks.

A Lot for the Price

The Chromebook Flip C213SA may not offer the generous storage or the slick build of our current Editors' Choice, the Asus Chromebook Flip (C302CA-DHM4), but it brings a lot of features and functionality for a lot less money. But under-$300 convertible chromebooks, like the Lenovo Flex 11 Chromebook ($279) and the CTL NL61TX ($289), abound, and there are plenty of inexpensive Windows alternatives as well. Still, for students, a rugged, modular design with USB-C connectivity and killer battery life give the C213SA an edge over some similarly priced competitors.

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