If you are looking for a budget but premium Chromebook in the market, the Toshiba Chromebook 2 CB30 might just be the best netbook on the market right now.
Chromebook started off as Google’s way to introduce their Chrome OS with super-cheap and affordable netbooks but has evolved much more than that. With the introduction of Chrome OS devices such as the Toshiba Chromebook 2 CB30, it is time that the consumers must consider Chromebook as a viable choice. Featuring a premium sleek design, professional quality components and all the added bells and whistles, the Toshiba Chromebook 2 CB30 is as premium as a Chrome OS netbook can be.
Design and Build
Toshiba perfected all the design aesthetics with the first Chromebook, and the Chromebook 2 CB30 bests it with the elegant and slimmer design it boasts. The Chromebook 2 CB30 is made with a silver textured plastic body and chassis, which looks and feels sturdy and premium. The base body of the Chromebook is angled from the front where it opens, which makes the laptop easy to open with just a finger or two.
The textures on the lid makes it easy to grip and carry around, so does its light weight of just under 3 pounds. The side frame of the Chromebook 2 CB30 has been made slimmer and redesigned to make appear sleeker and edgy. The interior part of the Chromebook 2 CB30 has been made out of smoother plastic, which not only makes very comfortable for palm-rest, but gives it a premium feel too.
The Display
In terms of display quality, it is a welcomed surprise to see that Toshiba has equipped the Chromebook 2 with a top notch display. Fitted with a 13.3-inch IPS panel display, the Chromebook 2 CB30 offers a wide viewing angles, sharp details and vibrant colors. The 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution offers a stunning viewing experience, and is higher than other Chromebooks in its category.
When put to test on the basis of color reproduction, the Chromebook 2 CB30’s display fared well with an sRGB color gamut of 98.5 percent. This score beats the ultraportable average, and the scores of its competitors, such as Acer Chromebook 13 (58.1 percent) and HP Chromebook 14 (61 percent).
With a Delta-E score of 1 (closer to Zero is best), the Chromebook 2 CB30 beats the competitors, Acer Chromebook 13 (11.4) and HP Chromebook 14 (1.3) in color accuracy with ease. The Chromebook 2 CB30 offers a brightness ratio of 339 nits, making it brighter than the Acer Chromebook 13 (222 nits) and the HP Chromebook (209 nits) as well.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The black keyboard on the silver base of the Chromebook 2 CB30 looks almost identical to the MacBook Air, but with some “key” differences. Lower than the standard 1.5mm to 2.0mm key travel, the Chromebook 2 was measured at 1.2mm, which might need a little time to adjust to. Nonetheless, the wider-spaced keyboard with full-sized keys makes typing comfortable.
The 4 x 2.8 inch touchpad moves smoothly and registers all the inputs effortlessly, recognizing the swipes, scrolls and taps almost every time. The large amount of palm-rest and the smooth surface of the keyboard base adds to the overall comfort of typing on the Toshiba Chromebook 2 CB30.
Under the Hood
The Intel Celeron N2830 processor rests in the heart of the Chromebook 2 CB30, which clocks at 2.16GHz and 2.41GHz with the Turbo Boost Technology.
The Chromebook comes 4GB on-board RAM, 16GB of SSD storage and 100Gb of cloud storage with Google Drive.
When pitted against the competition with the Sunspider Javscript test, the Chromebook 2 CB30 completed it in 5654.6 milliseconds, which was better than the Acer Chromebook 13 (625.2 milliseconds), but lower than then HP Chromebook (408.9 milliseconds). In terms of graphics performance, the Chromebook 2 CB30 offers very little with its Intel HD graphics card.
When tested with the Web GL Cubes test, the Toshiba Chromebook 2 CB30 rendered 15,000 rotating cubes at 11 frames per second, while the Acer Chromebook did it with almost double the frames per second. The battery life offered by the Chromebook 2 CB30 is decent in comparison to the Acer and HP Chromebooks, with an average of 8 hours with normal usage.
Pros:
- Full HD display with brilliant colors and crisp visuals.
- Impressive surround sound experience with Skullcandy speakers.
- One of the most lightweight and sleek Chromebooks available.
Cons:
- Graphics performance is not up to the mark.
- On-board storage only 16GB.
The Final Verdict
Chromebooks carry a bad reputation of being cheaply manufactured with mediocre specifications, but the Toshiba Chromebook 2 CB30 is here to change that. With a premium quality design and a screen that is found in most of the premium class laptops, the Toshiba Chromebook 2 CB30 is setting a definitive standard for the Google OS netbooks to come.
Admittedly, the minimum amount of on-board storage, the mediocre graphics processing power and the limited capabilities of the Chrome OS are a bummer. However, if you are looking for the out of the box experience of the Chrome OS, but do not wish to compromise on the build quality, display and processing power of the computer system, the Toshiba Chromebook 2 CB30 is the netbook for you.
