The Hisense Chromebook isn’t going to win any awards, but at a certain point you have to ask yourself what you could possibly expect for $149. It provides a good, basic experience that doesn’t feel as slow as some past ARM Chromebooks have. To get a significantly better machine – Haswell or Broadwell processor, 4GB of RAM, and much-improved battery life – you’re looking at a $249 or $299 computer. That’s a pretty big price hike if cost is what’s most important to you.
The biggest downside to either of the $149 Chromebooks might be their retailer exclusivity. Schools and businesses buy lots of Chromebooks, and they usually need to deal with more established OEMs with better support options. For any individual looking for a cheap Chromebook, though, you could do a lot worse.
Perfect machine for schools. Easy to maintain, and quite cheap.
Just wait around for refurbs. Haswell based ones are getting rarer but still can be found under 200usd on refurb. The nastier atom based ones can be found under 150usd. But I won’t complain about lack of options. More availability is good!
The refurbished Chromebooks might have their goodies (100 GB Google Drive space or the Gogo WiFi passes) already redeemed. Depending on how much you value these, a refurb could be a worse deal than buying them new.