Review: HP Chromebook 14
When HP killed WEBOS I promised myself that I would NEVER again buy an HP product. I kept my promise for a long time...but in the end I had to buy a new HP laptop: the HP CHROMEBOOK 14.
Last summer I had the pleasure to own a Samsung Chromebook ARM. I was very happy with my Samsung ARM but I realised it was kind of a slow machine with an extremely bad screen, so I sold it after few months.
But as I was decided to a second try with Chromebook and Google (sorry Windows….I don’t mind to be Scroogled), I caught my eye on the beautiful HP Chromebook 14.
I started to read reviews about it and watched a lot of Youtube videos. Finally I welcomed the beautiful HP Chromebook 14 (White) into my house.
Here is my review of the HP Chromebook 14.
PRO’S OF THE HP 14
Build quality: It is very hard to believe that the HP Chromebook 14 costs less than £299, because the build quality is outstanding. It is made of plastic (of course)...no Apple aluminium body here, but it is much better made than the Samsung ARM. It is extremely solid, there is no squeezy noise, it is definitely slim for a £249 laptop…..(yes Microsoft...this is a laptop!).
The Keyboard: I don’t have any complaints either. It is a joy to type, it has a good and responsive trackpad, and I find myself typing faster than on a Lenovo Yoga that I owned (Lenovo is well known for excellent keyboards). So, if you are planning to write a lot of documents with your Chromebook, the HP 14 is a perfect choice.
Battery Life. HP claims up to 9.5 hours of battery life, I never reached 9.5 hours but the battery is amazing. I can use my Chromebook for almost 8 hours + without charging. And for a £249 laptop...that’s a huge achievement.
Noise and heat. Well, you will be pleased to know that thanks to the amazing new Intel processor Celeron 2955U, there are no fans noise and no heat. You will enjoy the silence with the HP Chromebook 14 and for me this is a huge plus!
Speed. The HP Chromebook 14 is excellent. No problem at all. You can open as many tabs as you want, and this machine doesn’t struggle. You can watch HD videos on Netflix, Hulu and of course Youtube without any trouble at all. The processor is excellent. I am extremely satisfied with it.
Screen: For my last point it took me time to think if it was a Pro or a Con, then I decided I will include it as a Pro. Let’s talk about the screen. Yes the screen, one of the most important parts of a laptop. Your eyes are always looking at the screen. So, what do I think about it? First, The HP Chromebook 14 screen is big. 14” is a much bigger and better size. I can do more with it and I am more productive with a bigger screen. It has a good brightness and it is surprisingly good for videos and photos. But on a daily basis, using the web and Google doc, I find it a bit poor. But it is still better than a lot of HP windows laptops. So I will give it a 5.9/10 for the screen quality.
CON'S OF THE HP CHROMEBOOK 14
So, now it’s time for the con’s. Well, as I decided to include the screen on the pro’s (last minute decision), my list of con’s is now reduced to 1 point. But for me this is an extremely annoying point. I’m not sure this is really a problem coming from this laptop (as the Samsung had the same problem), I think this is more a Chromebook problem. But it is a very negative point in my opinion.
Chromebooks are fast and they can be powered in less than 7 seconds. This is a big selling point. It automatically updates on the background, so you will never get an annoying Microsoft message about pending updates. So, Google please answer me! When I take a break I close my laptop, as most of us I suppose. So why each time I come back to the HP Chromebook 14 and open it again, it loses the WIFI connection for 3-5 seconds. This is extremely annoying! This doesn’t happen on a PC, on a MAC, on iOS or on an ANDROID!! So please why Google? A Chromebook should always be ON (WIFI I mean). I know, maybe you will think that I am being unreasonable but this is something that I hate and find really annoying.
WHAT ARE MY FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE HP CHROMEBOOK 14?
Excellent laptop. The best laptop you can buy with £279. Chromebooks are extremely easy and user friendly (as MAC used to be in the past…).
I think the HP Chromebook 14 is perfect for a student, if you work from home, or a normal user, in fact I think this laptop is for everybody.
Let’s be honest, 95% of the time a normal computer user is connected to the web so a Chromebook is a perfect choice.
Highly recommended.
Excellent build quality.
I can’t wait for the next generation...with an HD screen hopefully!
So, that was my review of the HP Chromebook 14. What are your thoughts on the latest HP Chromebook? Do you use a Chromebook? If you have 2 computers at home, do you find yourself using the Chromebook more?
Buy the HP Chromebook 14.
Do you want to buy the HP Chromebook 14? Dadmadeinbritain.co.uk recommend buying your HP Chromebook 14 from Amazon (Great price and Customer service). Links to Amazon UK available below:
If you live in France you can visit Amazon.fr and buy your HP Chromebook 14: Link here:
The HP Chromebook 14 is also available on Amazon.com (Link below)
