The Lenovo C340-11 Chromebook is a workhorse for routine jobs

The Lenovo C340-11 Duet Chromebook is an inexpensive laptop but where is it best used?

Lenovo C340 11-inch Duet Chromebook.

Chromebooks are inexpensive laptops that use a cut down operating system that runs smoothly on lower-powered devices. These laptops use Google’s Chrome OS operating system rather than Microsoft Windows yet are surprisingly versatile.

When Google first unveiled Chromebooks in 2011, they were designed to help you easily store your data in Google cloud and offered limited software options, but they now support a variety of applications. You can run Microsoft Office and Microsoft Teams, and millions of Play Store apps, including Adobe apps although you don’t get fully-blown Photoshop.

You can also try installing Linux apps which makes sense given Chrome OS is Linux based.

The wide ranging software choices means that businesses can buy Chromebooks and tailor their operation to specific tasks. You can connect Chromebooks to multiple displays, plug in a separate keyboard and mouse and use them like a desktop.

They are affordable workhorses for basic tasks and are generally light weight.

This year Lenovo has released its C340-11 Duet Chromebook which is a 2-in-1. You can rotate the screen almost 360 degrees from fully closed to laptop mode with the screen underneath the keyboard.

This laptop has strengths and weaknesses.

Lenovo Duet C340 11-inch in tent mode.

It has full-sized well spaced keys; typing is comfortable on the keyboard. The function keys and numeric keys are separated and there’s a reasonable trackpad.

Unfortunately the keyboard is not backlit so you can’t use this for taking notes in a dimly lit university lecture theatre or auditorium. To me that’s an unfortunate omission, because students wanting a cheapish laptop for note taking might be attracted to the C340-11.

Another strength is the array of ports around the left and right edges – a USB-C charging port, USB-A, microSD card reader and 3.5mm audio combo port at left, and another USB-C and USB_A port at right, along with a volume toggle, power button and Kensington lock. You won’t need to carry around a bag of adaptors.

The main negative is the display. It’s usable, but there is a large black frame or bezel around it, especially at the bottom, which reduces the screen real estate to work with. You end up with an 11.6-inch display.

The specs are not stellar: an Intel Celeron N4000 processor, integrated Intel graphics and a 1366x768 HD display. You get 4GB of LPDDR4 memory and 32GB of eMMC storage.

There’s a 720p selfie camera and 2x 2 watt speakers. The two speakers are underneath the laptop at the front left and right but the sound is a bit puny. I’d be sticking my headphones in that 3.5mm audio port.

If you run a business with a bunch of staff who all need a basic laptop for office work, the C340-11 duet might fit the bill. If you need a cheap, portable laptop to take away on business trips or holidays, it’s not a bad choice. You can download photos, do some basic fixes on them, and upload them to your Google Drive account. There’s enough device storage for some of your documents and photos; the storage is probably best reserved for what you are working on.

I wouldn’t recommend this laptop or other Chromebooks if you are a creative type doing serious image or video editing. For children, you need to weigh up what Chromebook software offers compared to the fantastic children’s software available on iPads or Windows laptops and tablets.

Nevertheless Chromebooks and the C340-11 have their place.

The Lenovo C340-11 is available in platinum grey and sand pink.

Recommended price: $469.