Microsoft Takes on Chromebooks With New $250 Surface Laptop SE

Microsoft Takes on Chromebooks With New $250 Surface Laptop SE

The laptop has rather modest specs, which is not a surprise given its price tag. At the heart of the all-plastic beast lies a Celeron processor, either in dual-core or quad-core trim, along with 4 or 8GB of DDR4 memory. Storage is handled by an embedded eMMC card, which is available in either 64GB or 128GB capacities. It offers an 11.6” TFT display with 1366 x 768 resolution, 80211.AC Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, a 720p webcam, and lone USB-A and USB-C ports for connectivity. Microsoft claims the 2.45lb. laptop offers up to 16 hours of battery life.

Microsoft Takes on Chromebooks With New $250 Surface Laptop SE

Though the hardware is interesting, Windows 11 SE shares top-billing, as it’s a new version of Windows designed explicitly to be run by IT administrators in a classroom setting. This is not to be confused with Windows 11 S Mode, which is also a streamlined version of Windows 11. Ok, it is confusing, we admit it. That said, this new SE version comes pre-configured for student privacy and remote management, according to Microsoft, and is also a “cloud-first” OS, so it’s safe to assume many of the devices apps will be run from the Cloud, as opposed to being installed locally. Naturally it runs Microsoft’s Edge browser, but can use Chrome extensions, Google Classroom web Apps, and Office 365 web apps as well. This should make it easier for schools to ditch Google’s hardware for Microsoft’s, as the transition should be relatively trouble-free as far as compatibility goes.

Another interesting feature is Microsoft told Ars Technica that, “…vital components like the display, battery, keyboard—even the motherboard—can be easily repaired onsite, saving time and money for IT admins and schools.”

This is certainly a major play in a market dominated by Google and Apple, and as we reported earlier Chromebook sales have skyrocketed as schools transitioned to hybrid learning in the pandemic. We noted at the time that the rise of Chromebooks is a big threat to Microsoft due to the age at which eager students become engrossed in the Google ecosystem. With the Surface Laptop SE, Microsoft is obviously hoping to turn the tide.

Continue reading

ARMing for War: New Cortex-A78C Will Challenge x86 in the Laptop Market
ARMing for War: New Cortex-A78C Will Challenge x86 in the Laptop Market

ARM took another step towards challenging x86 in its own right with the debut of the Cortex-A78C this week. The new chip packs up to eight "big" CPU cores and up to an 8MB L3 cache.

Apple’s New M1 SoC Looks Great, Is Not Faster Than 98 Percent of PC Laptops
Apple’s New M1 SoC Looks Great, Is Not Faster Than 98 Percent of PC Laptops

Apple's new M1 silicon really looks amazing, but it isn't faster than 98 percent of the PCs sold last year, despite what the company claims.

Best Games for Laptops and Low-End PCs in 2020
Best Games for Laptops and Low-End PCs in 2020

Just because you've got an older or low-end PC doesn't mean you can't enjoy gaming. There are thousands of back titles in the PC catalog. Here are some of our favorites.

ET Deals: Dell Inspiron 15 5000 Intel Core i7-1165G7 Laptop for $674, iRobot Roomba i7+ 7550 Robot Vacuum for $599
ET Deals: Dell Inspiron 15 5000 Intel Core i7-1165G7 Laptop for $674, iRobot Roomba i7+ 7550 Robot Vacuum for $599

Today you can take advantage of a 10 percent discount to snag a Dell Inspiron 15 5000 laptop with an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor, 12GB of RAM and a 512GB NVMe SSD for just $674. You can also get iRobot's Roomba i7+ robot vacuum for just $599.00, which is the same price it was on Cyber Monday.