Credit: Lenovo
Lenovo's C340 and S340 Chromebooks are built for consumers who want a little more style or substance in their browser-based laptop. Of course, Lenovo's been selling rather dowdy, education-oriented Chromebooks for years. The company's first foray into retail has clearly graduated and is ready to break out of that mold, offering some better materials and features, plus some eye-opening color.
Lenovo Chromebook C340-11 pricing and features
Lenovo
Lenovo's Chromebook C340-11 offers a 360-degree for convertible versatility.
First up is the budget-minded Lenovo C340-11. This model has the same 11-inch display size and compact form factor of most Chromebooks. Its processor remains basic: up to an Intel Celeron N4000. However, an aluminum lid shaves off weight and adds a bit of premium feel (the bottom is still plastic), and the Sand Pink color option is a refreshing break from silver, black, and blue. Most important, it offers 360-degree convertible versatility to use the C340-11 as a tablet as well as a laptop.
Available in September with a starting price of $290, here are further specs and features:
CPU: Up to an Intel Celeron N4000
RAM: Up to 8GB LPDDR4
Storage: Up to 64GB eMMC
Display: Up to 11.6-inch IPS touchscreen, HD (1366x768)
Lenovo
The Chromebook C340-11 in Sand Pink. The lid is aluminum, while the rest of the chassis remains plastic.
Ports: Two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, Two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C (5Gbps), microCD, combo audio/headphone jack
Networking: 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.2
Weight: Starting at 2.6 pounds
Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.18 x 0.7 inches
Battery life: Up to 10 hours
Colors: Sand Pink, Platinum Grey
Lenovo Chromebook C340-15 pricing and features
Lenovo
Lenovo's Chromebook C340-15 moves up to a 15.6-inch display with up to 1920x1080 resolution and touch capability.
While the 11-inch form factor is great for Chromebook portability (and low pricing), it's not that great for productivity. That's where the big sibling C340-15 comes in. Sporting the same aluminum lid, it then stretches out to a 15.6-inch display and even adds a numeric keypad for number-crunching in Google Sheets or Office 365. It also offers the option of a full-on Intel Core processor, specifically the dual-core Core i3, which should be more than enough power for most browser-based work.
Unlike its smaller sibling the C340-15 comes in just one color, but the weirdest downgrade is this: just 4GB of RAM. I would have expected more in a Chromebook otherwise built to manage a bunch of online spreadsheets. However, this might have been a move to shave costs.
Lenovo
Lenovo's Chromebook C340-15 offers a numeric keypad, a great productivity feature that's still rare in Google laptops.
Available in October with a starting price of $430, the C340-15 will have these specs and features:
CPU: Up to an Intel Core i3-8130U
RAM: Up to 4GB DDR4
Storage: Up to 128GB eMMC
Display: Up to 15.6-inch IPS touchscreen, FHD (1920x1080)
Ports: One USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, Two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C (5Gbps), microCD, combo audio/headphone jack
Networking: 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.2
Weight: Starting at 4.37 pounds
Dimensions: 14.23 x 9.8 x 0.75 inches
Battery life: Up to 10 hours
Color: Mineral Grey
Lenovo Chromebook S340-14 pricing and features
Lenovo
The Lenovo S340-14 comes in a stunning Dark Orchid color
Lenovo knows that the bestselling Chromebooks remain budget models, so the S340-14 caters to that crowd while giving them an important display-size upgrade.
To keep costs down, the chassis is all-plastic, and the processor drops back to basics. But look at the stunning Dark Orchid color option (above): No one will see this and think you're compromising. Even the Black Onyx is somehow more chic than expected
The S340-14 will ship in September with a starting price of $250. Here are further specs and features:
CPU: Up to an Intel Celeron N4000
RAM: Up to 8GB LPDDR4
Storage: Up to 64GB eMMC
Display: Up to 14-inch IPS touchscreen, FHD (1920x1080)
Lenovo
The Lenovo Chromebook S340-14 also comes in a chic Onyx Black.
Ports: Two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, Two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C (5Gbps), microCD, combo audio/headphone jack
Networking: 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.2
Weight: Starting at 3.09 pounds
Dimensions: 12.9 x 9.2 x 0.77 inches
Battery life: Up to 10 hours
Colors: Onyx Black or Dark Orchid
With the new C340 and S340 Chromebooks, Lenovo is making laptops that won't remind you of the drab models you used in school. With a mix of features and price points, and especially colors, these are Chromebooks adults can enjoy, and they still cost a lot less than most Windows PCs.
