The Lenovo 300e was designed to be the best netbook and the best laptop for education. Affordably priced with dual functionality, the 300e is at-home researching over wi fi, processing word documents, & playing flash games online (for the kids that don’t pay attention in class). While you certainly won’t be making a dedicated gaming device out of this 2-in-1 device, it excels at what it was created for: ease of access to education.
Why We Like It – Lenovo 300e
If you’re looking for a computer that will last the entire school day, then you’ll definitely find yourself considering the Lenovo 300e. Review its specs and see why this small laptop, despite lacking in performance, is an excellent educational tool.
- Runs On the Windows 10 Operating System (Also Available with Chrome OS)
- Up to 8 Hours of Battery Life
- Drop Resistant
- Standard HD Display
- Limited Internal Storage
Related: In case you prefer a device that has a longer battery life, check the Huawei Matebook X Pro review
Power & Performance
This isn’t a laptop built for performance; in fact, it actually runs on a mobile micro processor. Intel provides the 300e with an Intel Celeron N3450, which runs at a base frequency of 1.10 GHx but is capable of running up to 2.20 GHz. Graphics are provided by Intel HD Graphics 500, an integrated GPU. The 300e also has 4 GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 64 GB of eMMC storage. While this storage definitely isn’t enough for a heavy user, assuming the netbook is used only for school work, the internal storage offered should be sufficient for most students.
Battery
With most schools having days of 8 hours or less, the battery life of the Lenovo 300e has the perfect amount of power for the job (the Dell inspiron 11 3162 specs is an alternative device with a longer battery life). The 3-cell lithium ion battery can last for up to eight hours, which isn’t particularly impressive, but should meet the needs of the students it was intended for. This assumes that the laptop is run on the pre-installed Windows 10 in S mode; if you run Windows 10 Professional instead the battery life may suffer.
Ports & Expandability
You get a surprisingly large number of connections with the 300e. Rather than just including a single USB-C connection, the 300e has one USB 3.0 port, 2 x USB 2.0 ports, a micro SD card slot, an HDMI port, and a standard 3.5mm audio port. Unfortunately, the Lenovo doesn’t have a USB C port, but that’s OK as students can get by with USB-A ports in most cases. As mentioned above, this netbook only has 64 GB of eMMC storage, but students can always use the micro SD card slot if they need more storage.
Related: Looking for a great laptop for kids? Read the Lenovo Chromebook review
Build Quality
The design of the Lenovo 300e (besides being a 2-in-1 design), isn’t particularly attractive, but it meets the durability and functionality requirements that students will need. The device is MIL-SPEC tested, meaning it’s resistant to humidity, drops, pressure, and vibrations. It uses two hinges to attach the screen to the body, which keeps the screen secure in both laptop and tablet modes. The bezels are very thick compared to similar options, but an aesthetic appeal isn’t particularly important on this type of device.
Value
Education institutes looking into purchasing the Lenovo 300e should be prepared to spend over $400 per unit. Schools looking for a cheaper alternative may want to take a look at our HP Chromebook 14 review instead. For those that do decide to go with the Lenovo 300e, they will be happy to learn that the netbook has received generally positive customer reviews. Scoring a 4.3 out of 5 stars on Amazon (based on 581 ratings), the Lenovo netbook seems to make the cut when it comes to the educational workspace.
Lenovo 300e Wrap Up
For individuals, the Lenovo 300e may not be the best choice (if you need a netbook for home use, check out our HP Spectre x360 13 8th gen review). However, for its target audience of educational institutes, the 300e checks off all the boxes and has proven itself as a valuable asset perfect for students and teachers alike.
