The insanely popular Chromebook from Toshiba, the CB35-B3340 is one of the best deals out there in terms of value for money. This laptop will remain a favorite in many people’s hearts for years to come thanks to its main ingredients: quality materials, simple and ergonomic design, very good battery life and great specs considering the price it’s listed at.
2019 Update:
This Chromebook laptop has been discontinued.
If you’re searching for a similar model, check out the Acer Chromebook 14 at Amazon.
This sleek laptop comes with all the goodies provided by Google and although the technical specs are anything but top tier, the aid from the search giant makes the small Toshiba (and any Chromebook for that matter) a highly portable and versatile machine. Take the storage capacity for example: although it comes equipped with a fast SSD, it can only hold 16 GB of data, but with Google Drive integrated from the start, you can save up to 100 GB of data for free on the cloud. So, essentially you’d have 116 GB of storage space available.
However, this laptop really shines when it comes to portability: it delivers up to 9 hours of battery life and weighs just under 3 pounds. The smallish screen size of 13.3 inches is lavished with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, revealing a magnificent display with great pixel density and clarity. It also comes equipped with the new, faster 802.11ac wireless card and is guaranteed to start in seconds thanks to the SSD, the Intel Celeron processor and those 4GB of memory. The only thing I have against it is the lack of a fan dissipating heat from inside the casing. On hot days it may tend to overheat a bit.
Technical Specifications
| CPU | Intel Celeron N2840 2 cores, 2.16 GHz, 1 MB cache |
| RAM | 4 GB DDR3L-1600 SDRAM |
| Storage | 16GB eMMC |
| Display | 13.3″ FHD IPS touchscreen |
| GPU | Intel HD Graphics |
| Audio | Skullcandy tuned speakers |
| Connectivity | 802.11 ac WLAN Bluetooth 4.0 |
| Interface | 1 x USB 3.0 1 x USB 2.0 1 x HDMI 1 x Headphone/Microphone combo jack |
| Built-in Devices | 720p Webcam Card Reader |
| OS | Chrome OS |
| Battery | 3-cell Li-Ion Polymer, 45 Whr Up to 9 hours |
| Weight | 2.9 lbs. |
Conclusion
Although I gave it 65 points for performance, the Toshiba will do its job just fine if you use it to browse the internet, write emails, watch videos, edit spreadsheets and other daily tasks. Should I have taken those points into consideration, I would’ve probably given it 85 points. The fine tuned audio from Skullcandy is a nice touch: you’ll listen to rich and natural sounds using it. Also, the design is really on point. From the sleek lines, the glacial silver, the perfectly positioned touch pad to the laid-back lower case font they used for the keyboard, everything concerning the Toshiba CB35-B3340 screams quality. It’s a great, portable device to carry around wherever you go.
The pros:
- Great battery life
- Fast startup
- Fantastic design
- Lightweight
- Decent specs for everyday use
- Cheap, but not cheaply made
The cons:
- No fan (tends to heat up)
- A better processor would have vastly improved the spec sheet