More specifically the Lenovo – Chromebook Duet – 10.1″- Tablet – 128GB – With Keyboard – Ice Blue + Iron Gray available from Best Buy for $229, which is a very good price!
So, when one already owns 6 Chromebooks (4 that I still actively use), how does one (that’s me) justify buying another? Well, here goes… 5 of my Chromebooks are laptop configurations (aka clamshell), and 4 of those are obsolete and will no longer update. And of the two (of the original 6) that will update, one is considered a ‘convertible’ (folds 360 degrees to become a tablet). So what’s missing? What’s missing is an actual Chrome OS ‘tablet (keyboard optional).
Chrome OS tablets are recent development and I am just really curious how well they work, when compared to the iPad or to higher-end Android tablets. Agreed, curiosity did in fact kill the cat, but in my case, since I teach this stuff, I need to know what the end user experience is going to look like. So, the bottom line, I’m doing this for YOU.
Since my Duet doesn’t arrive until later today, I’m going to leave you with a couple data points that convinced me this was a good idea.
Data point 1: this YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgJ-1qPM3FY)
Data point 2: the price – best pre-Black Friday price found here (Best Buy). Interesting that today their price is $299 and yesterday it was $229 (with one-day free shipping). Here’s the proof:
Data point 3: the specs
Processor
MediaTek™ Helio P60T Processor (2.00 GHz, 8 Cores, 8 Threads)
Operating System
Chrome OS
Display Type
10.1″ FHD (1920 x 1200) IPS, glossy, touchscreen, 400 nits
Memory
4 GB LPDDR4X (Soldered)
Hard Drive
128 GB eMMC
Warranty
1 Year Mail-in
Graphics
ARM G72 MP3 800GHz
Bluetooth
Bluetooth® 4.2
Camera
Front: 2 MP Fixed focus
Rear: 8 MP Auto focus
Keyboard
US – English
Wireless
802.11AC (2 x 2)
Again, I have not seen my new Duet yet so I’ll either be totally amazed or not. Best Buy’s return policy is great so if it just doesn’t meet my expectations, then back it goes. Oh, and there is one other interesting nit I should mention. That is, there is only one (that’s right, 1) port on this device and no memory card expansion. So what to do?
My proposed solution to this problem is to buy an small device called a USB-C adapter. Here’s a picture of the one I bought, and it wasn’t very expensive ($20). It plugs into the single USB-C port and allows HDMI connectivity, charging, SD and USB connections, etc. If it actually works (TBD) then this makes the lack of additional ports on the Duet a non-issue.
How do I love thee. Let me count the ways… I have lived with the Duet a couple weeks now. I like the size when compared to other tablets from Apple and Samsung. I like that the keyboard is standard and it integrates well with the tablet (and draws power from the tablet rather than having its own power source). I also like the cover/stand that’s standard equipment. This means I didn’t need spend extra for cover and/or keyboard.
The screen quality and resolution are excellent and processor is good. I do miss having more external ports, but the QGeeM (shown above) works quite well and is small enough to carry along. The only concern I have so far is Zoom access. My first Zoom test was great, but there was no screen sharing during that meeting. The second test was a disappointment in that the screen being shared came up black on the Duet. This I cannot explain and it’s not something I have experienced on any other Chromebook to date.
So, to check this behavior again, I ran another Zoom test. This time I did a screen share to an HP Chromebook and to the Duet at the same time. I expected there to be difference in how each Chromebook tracked the Zoom screen share during video playback. What I found during this test was no difference and both Zoom streams were very acceptable. A short recording of these results appears below:
Zoom stream from center PC, HP Chromebook on the left, Lenovo Duet on the right.
All in all, the Duet has met all my expectations and is now a constant travel companion. Battery life is especially good so I can usually leave the power supply home. At $229, the Duet is a very good investment!
