I have a different sort of ASUS notebook to review. It’s a Chromebook which means it runs the Chrome OS. It also can be run as a notebook or a tablet. And it feels like one of the more upscale offerings from ASUS. It’s the ASUS Chromebook Flip C434:
Here it is in notebook mode. The first thing you’ll notice when you open it is the 14″ barely-there bezels that surround the display. It has a 87% screen to body ratio which means you get a whole lot of screen real estate to work with. It is a 1080p touch screen, which is fairly bright and vivid.
The keyboard is also a huge plus. In an age where Apple notebooks have horrible keyboards due to their lack of feedback and reliability, it is refreshing to use a keyboard that has excellent feel. I can’t speak to the reliability, but because it uses traditional keyboard switches I expect it to be reliable. The keyboard is also backlit which is handy in dark rooms.
When you flip it to tablet mode, it makes the Flip C434T usable in environments where a full notebook would be unusable. And you can stand it up like this to make it a hand free media streaming device for example.
Here’s the specs of the review unit that ASUS sent me:
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Intel Core m3-8100Y processor – 1.1GHz dual-core with Turbo Boost (up to 3.4GHz) and 4MB cache
- Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 615
- 14” LED-backlit FHD (1920 x 1080) 16:9 standard display
- 4GB of RAM
- 64GB eMMC
- 802.11 ac WiFi
- Bluetooth 4.0
- HD Camera
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2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C (up to 5Gbps)
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1 x USB 3.1 Type-A (up to 5Gbps)
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1 x microSD card slot
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1 x Audio combo jack
All of this is great for running Chrome OS for the most part. I noticed some minor lag when switching between tabs when I opened up 20 tabs at the same time, but the Chromebook Flip C434 did a great job overall. The bottom-firing speakers on the front of the Flip C434 pump out clear sound that’s loud enough to fill a large room. The webcam like most webcams these days is average. In terms of battery life, I got about 9 hours which is more than respectable.
So, the only question is how much does the ASUS Chromebook Flip C434 cost? I found it on Amazon for just over $700 CDN which is a bit pricey for a Chromebook. But the other side of this argument is that if you need a notebook with a lightweight OS and a fair amount of functionality in the box, then this might be an option. The Chromebook Flip C434 is a standout 2-in-1 that gives Mac and Windows users a compelling reason to switch to Chrome instead of grabbing another Windows or Mac laptop.