You’re in the market for a cheap Chromebook.
Maybe you don’t want to spend a lot because you don’t know what you’re getting into.
I mean, you’ve probably heard of these laptops, but you’re not willing to shell out that much cash to buy one.
Or maybe you expect Chromebooks to be cheap in the first place.
Or maybe you just want a very cheap laptop and came across the Hisense C11NB.
You may be familiar with it already, as it’s popular among Chromebook newbies due to its super low price for a laptop.
(You really can’t get a cheaper one.)
Last updated: 3/8/23. Although this model is now hard to find, it’s extremely cheap if you can find one.
It’s probably the most affordable Chromebook ever
Well, we wrote an in-depth review so you can get a good idea if it’s worth your cash or not.
Currently, you can get this Chromebook for cheap. If you can find it used, you can get it for less than $50. It’s pretty much one of the (if not, the) cheapest Chromebooks laptop you can buy.
If you’re unsure about Chrome OS, what better way to get into the game besides buying a very, very cheap laptop to give it a try?
Update: It’s a dated model now, but that’s why you can grab it for less than half the original MSRP. It’s pretty hard to find one that’s in new condition at this point. But you can find plenty used all over the Internet. Look on secondhand sites like eBay and Craigslist.
Because it’s hard to find, it’s antique now. So the prices will be inflated.
The reviews are generally positive all over the ‘net for this specific model.
There are definitely higher-spec models available for a cheaper price that’s comparable to this, however, they’re all used. The point is that you can grab this new (although it’s kind of hard to find one now, but you still can if you look for secondhand or refurbished dealers).
For the sake of this review, we’ll be reviewing it brand-new. Unopened. Factory condition.
So, let’s get it on.
Here’s our official review of the Hisense 11.6” C11NB Chromebook.
(If you’re looking for other cheap laptops, we have a buyer’s guide for Chromebooks under $200).
Even now in 2020, this model can still be found for sale, used, at many online retailers. Although we would suggest buying another comparable model rather than the C11NB because you can find many different cheaper alternatives. Check out the buyer’s guide for more details.
Design
Upon unboxing, we noticed that this laptop is definitely a little heavier than other similar laptops.
We checked the specs and it weighs in at 2.6 pounds, which is about 0.2lbs heavier than your average Chromebook’s weight.
Surprisingly, the 0.2lb difference is noticeable- believe it or not.
Next, we opened up the lid and gave the machine a quick look-through.
The lid itself is slightly patterned with almost a matte-like finish.
The “Hisense” logo easily contrasts with the black background, along with the “Chrome” logo in the corner.
The lid seems sturdy enough, as it was a crack to open. This may be because it’s still new.
As of now, you can still buy this new, but most places will only sell it used as it’s a pretty dated model. But there are many people who don’t need all the fancy bells and whistles of the newest craze, so it still makes sense to consider this.
The laptop comes with your standard 2 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI port, and audio jack. Nothing special. They’re all placed in convenient locations and are easily accessible. No complaints here. It’s simple and it works.
The machine itself is easily identified as plastic.
The construction seems like it wouldn’t handle bumps and drops too well. If you knock on the case, the edges seem hollow. So if you bump it on a corner, it may crack.
Fingerprints were also an issue on the lid, but this is common for cheaper laptops with black lids. It has a luxurious feel, but if you’re not proud of the Hisense brand, you may not be pleased as it’s very obvious.
Keyboard and Trackpad
The keyboard is your standard Chromebook keyboard. It has a few modifications apart from a traditional QWERTY Windows keyboard.
If you don’t know the differences, it’s mainly that some keys were removed, such as the F1-F12 keys and the Caps Lock key.
The arrow keys were also combined into a single key for Up/Down.
We think Google wanted to make a keyboard that was minimalistic, and they’ve definitely accomplished it. It does take some getting used to, but it’s nothing to really complain about. In the case of the Hisense, the keyboard seemed spacey and had a nice response and feedback. The travel distance is small, as with most laptops. Overall, it was comfortable to type with as we entered our user details and linked our Google Account.
Next, on the home screen, we tried out the trackpad.
It seemed to have some issues clicking around the edges, but the center worked fine.
It’s as if the outside is just padding around the actual “click zone” and you had to push a little harder for it to work. We didn’t particularly like that aspect, as if you’re browsing with your fingers laid back, you’ll have to reach forward to click. However, if you don’t want to use it, just plug a mouse using the USB port.
Many of us here don’t use the trackpads on laptops anyway.
First Cold Boot
The machine booted in exactly 9.3 seconds from a cold boot. It’s on the slower side, but you get what you pay for.
The average Chromebook boots in about 6 seconds.
We’ve seen some Chromebooks boot as fast as 4 seconds though, so it’s not the fastest.
Newer models boot much faster from what we’ve seen, so this is one that still has one of the fastest boot times we’ve ever tested. It’s snappy even on a cold boot even if not the best.
Screen
The Hisense C11NB comes standard with an 11.6” screen and doesn’t offer it a larger size.
This is common among lower-priced Chromebooks. A bigger screen means a bigger jump in price.
We launched the Chrome Web Browser and went to YouTube.
We tried watching a random video featured on the homepage and amped it up to 720P. It loaded quickly and looked sharp, although this depends on your connection speed.
This model has a screen resolution of 1360×768, which is standard for Chromebooks in this price range. It’s HD, but not full HD.
We then viewed some high-resolution images and they were sharp and crisp until we tilted the screen. That brings us to the next point.
Screen Angle
The screen angle sucks. The C11NB doesn’t seem to be viewable unless you’re staring straight at eye level with only an upwards tilt.
Basically, imagine the top of the laptop’s lid about 6 inches down from your eye level, if you were staring straight.
At this level, it’s slightly opened more than 90 degrees.
That’s the sweet spot. Any other tilting beyond that resulted in a blurry or faded image, and anything below that level resulted in the same thing. The Hisense doesn’t come with an IPS screen, so this is expected. Most newer models come with IPS displays, which means you can view it from a variety of angles without tilting your head to get a better picture.
Battery Performance
The C11NB is advertised to run 8.5 hours.
Now, we didn’t literally sit in front of the screen for 8.5 hours to verify this claim.
Instead, we thought of what a typical user would be doing on the machine and wanted to test that claim. We opened up a Google Doc, had a playlist running in another tab via YouTube on loop, and had Facebook and Twitter in 2 other tabs.
This isn’t too much, yet isn’t too little.
We left the machine running after a full charge from our other tests and checked in on it periodically. About 6 hours later, the battery was at 12%.
We did set the screen to never dim and the machine to never sleep or hibernate.
At this point, we concluded that the battery would give about 7h of use at moderate processing levels.
Considering that YouTube was the only thing that required constant processing, we weren’t impressed.
The other tabs were static and once they were loaded, they didn’t spike the CPU. Only YouTube would require more processing power due to the constantly looping playlist.
Getting Things Done, Multitasking, and Productivity
We tried doing a random list of stuff, such as typing a Google Doc, trying out Google Hangouts, and playing Angry Birds from the Chrome web store.
All the tasks loaded quickly and efficiently, but you can get that with pretty much any Chromebook.
The productivity level of Chromebooks, in general, is high, and this was no exception.
The performance matched some of the higher end models.
The webcam it comes with is decent, but has a slight delay and noticeable lag, as expected. The more expensive models have much higher performance and clarity in their webcams.
If that matters to you, you may want to look for another model. The webcam on the Hisense isn’t for a business meeting or constant use, either. It gets slow and the blurriness gets annoying fast.
Specs, Speed, and Under the Hood
For other techies, we’ve included this small section for the C11NB’s specs:
It’s powered by an ARM Cortex-A17 CPU, running at 1.8GHz, and comes with 2GB of DDR3 RAM.
The hard drive is an SSD drive with a 16GB capacity.
We think this is just standard for many Chromebooks at this price, but the processor is a drawback. You can spend a little more and get an Intel Celeron processor along with Intel HD graphics. This machine has no special GPU. Getting an Intel processor will also make it a lot easier to run Linux if you plan to get your familiar programs and applications.
By now, these specs are just barebones nowadays. Most models now have 4 or 8GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, along with touchscreens and convertible bodies.
They’ve come a long way, huh?
Update: Nowadays, you can easily get a well-equipped Chromebook with 4GB of RAM and an Intel Celeron CPU for just about $140, which would be much faster than the Hisense.
Overall Rating of the Hisense C11NB
We think it’s a decent computer for the budgeted user.
It’ll do your basic everyday tasks easily, but note that it runs Chrome OS.
If you have no idea what that is, we wrote an article explaining why you may want to get a Chromebook. Chrome OS won’t be able to do many of the things you’re used to on a Windows computer, but rather offers Google’s way of doing it. This laptop is good for a typical user who mainly just wants to browse the ‘net, play some light games, and get some work done.
You can think of it like an over-glorified netbook.
We definitely don’t recommend this for the power-user, due to the low-end CPU and GPU. Or if you want to play Minecraft, don’t get it. If you need a Chromebook and want to get the most use out it, we suggest going with a Samsung or ASUS. However, if you just want a cheap Chromebook to “play” with, this would be your perfect companion.
It’s the cheapest Chromebook you can buy (new). It’s decently fast. And it’s perfect for getting things done. Just don’t drop it.
