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Best Chromebook VPN in 2024
Chromebooks can also benefit from a VPN, and we've picked the best of the best to help you get started.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN), at its base, is a handy tool that blocks third parties from snooping your online activity. A great VPN will hide your IP and physical location, spoofing you into anonymity alongside other VPN users. A good VPN will not store any data logs beyond what is absolutely required to keep an account open, and it will not have any data to hand over to government agencies that come calling. A VPN is a great way to fight back against those who want to use your data for profit or more nefarious purposes, but that's not all.
Double your fun with big savings on the 2-in-1 Acer Chromebook Spin 514
The 514 offers impressive performance and build quality at this price
There is a sweet spot in Chromebooks (and really all consumer products) where features and build quality meet affordability, and this Acer Chromebook Spin 514 (3H) deal is an excellent example of that. The 514 is one of our picks for the best Chromebooks in 2023, due to its 1080p touch display, impressive performance, and solid build quality. There's a lot of bang for your buck here — especially since today's discount knocks it down to just under $400.
Lenovo's Chromebook Flex 3i folds down to $114 with this coupon code
A lightweight 2-in-1 Chromebook with USB-C is the real flex here
Chromebooks have made great strides over the years, becoming go-to budget-friendly options for those in need of a simple, no–hassle laptop that handles the basics. Offering a great alternative to Windows laptops thanks to Google's suite of free apps, including Google Docs and Google Sheets, Chromebooks are great for students and other users looking to keep it cheap while still getting the functionality of a full-fledged machine.
Acer's Chromebook Spin 514 just got an even deeper discount
One of our favorite 2-in-1 Chromebooks is on sale, but don't drag your feet
Craving the simplicity of Chrome OS combined with the versatility of a 2-in-1 convertible? Acer's Chromebook Spin 514, one of our favorite budget-friendly Chrome OS laptops, is on sale right now for the best price we've seen so far in 2023. Best Buy has it for just $299 right now, down $250 from its usual $549 price tag. This is one of the best Chromebooks for the money, and at this price, it's a steal if you're in the market for a solid workhorse laptop that won't break the bank.
Grab this $500 Acer Spin 714 before the best Chromebook around sells out — again
The best Chromebook deal of 2023 is here, but not for long
Looking for a laptop that's powerful, versatile, and stylish? Chrome OS machines have come a long way in recent years, and the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 is a shining example. Released last summer, the Spin 714 is a strong contender for the best Chromebook money can buy, and it's on sale right now for just $500. That's one of the best prices we've seen yet for this superb 2-in-1 laptop.
7 things every parent needs to know before buying a Chromebook
Your kids need a new laptop, but what do you buy? Here's what you need to know when it comes to Chromebooks.
Chromebooks have come a long way since their inception as low-cost cloud notebooks, and the best Chromebooks available fit the bill as viable alternatives to Macbooks and Windows laptops. Chrome OS is a lightweight operating system that can do just about anything these days.
Google boosts new gaming Chromebooks with free GeForce Now and Amazon Luna
RGB lighting here we come!
Hot off the heels of Stadia's death, Google is still somehow interested in gaming, and so there's a fresh initiative for Chromebooks centered around, you guessed it, gaming. Specifically, cloud gaming, with Nvidia at the forefront as the closest partner in the endeavor. Basically, Chromebooks are great for working in the cloud, and now that cloud gaming is so popular this year with multiple streaming-centric devices coming from the likes of Logitech and Razer, it's no surprise to see laptop manufacturers such as Acer, Asus, and Lenovo also jumping on the bandwagon with fresh Chromebooks made specifically for cloud gaming, including the telltale sign of a proper gaming laptop, RGB keyboards.
Microsoft's Surface Laptop Go 2 isn't as future-proof as this 2021 Chromebook
Really? With THAT display?
When one thinks Surface, they also think of Microsoft. It's a pretty good brand name. But the company has been slicing its product categories by form factors and price points deli-thin: would you like a premium, mid-tier, or entry-level Windows 2-in-1 or laptop? This week, the company updated its budget-ish laptop series with the Surface Laptop Go 2. On paper, it's super-portable, surprisingly performant, and costs between $599 and $799 — sounds like Microsoft wants a piece of the personal Chromebook market. But which should you go with?
Careless kids can be hell on electronics, and that gets expensive, fast. People who own Chromebooks know this, given how popular the laptops are with school systems around the world, and you don't have to look far to find reports of student usage associated with broken hinges, cracked screens, and scraped and chipped cases. While Chromebooks are affordable, that doesn't mean the devices are disposable. Google wants to help keep everyone's costs down, and to that end it recently announced a new Chromebook repair program for schools.
The Acer Chromebook Spin 713 is a killer deal for Groundhog Day
A discount this good won't last six more weeks
It's Groundhog Day and Pennsylvania's Punxsutawney Phil has informed the nation that we have six more weeks of winter to look forward to. If the prospect of that much extra cold and snow has you down, here's some good news: Acer's premium Chromebook Spin 713 — the Android Police 2021 Chromebook of the Year — is currently $200 off at Best Buy.
Review: The Lenovo ThinkPad X12 is the Microsoft Surface killer I've been waiting for
A windows detachable for keyboard fans
I can't tell you how many times I've almost bought a Microsoft Surface Pro, but I must have had one in my cart at least a dozen times. I like to plug in a small mechanical keyboard when I need to do a lot of typing on the go, and the detachable form factor makes that easier. However, once you add things like a Core i5 CPU and more RAM, the Surface costs well over a thousand dollars. That's before you add Microsoft's mediocre keyboard cover. So, I never pull the trigger, and now I might never have to after using the Lenovo ThinkPad X12. It offers the same detachable form factor as the Surface, but it comes with everything you need plus a few nice-to-have features.
Buying certified refurbished products on eBay just got a whole lot better
Hassle-free returns and two years of warranty coverage
Brand exclusives:
Get the brand-new Acer Chromebook Spin 713 for $529 ($100 off) from Best Buy
A great deal for this excellent new Chromebook
Acer's Spin 713 is an excellent Chromebook; a device with specs like these would usually set you back more than the usual $629 asking price. Being such a new product, we assumed it'd be a while before we saw any reduction in cost, considering how reasonable it already is. But we were wrong: Best Buy is currently selling the Spin 713 for only $529, a whole $100 off.
It's reasonable to assume, given our niche, that all (or almost all) of our readers have a phone. But, you've also probably got a laptop, and the interactions and integrations between those two devices can influence the purchase of each. With plenty of reasons for us to be thinking about it, do you want us to review Windows laptops — at least, major ones?
Let's say you're looking for a Chromebook: you want something that's versatile, premium-feeling, and... uh... well, not a Pixelbook Go. May we suggest Acer's Chromebook Spin 13? It's got full-blown Intel laptop power, 8GB of RAM, a convertible form factor plus a stylus, and its price has just fallen off a cliff edge on Amazon.Our Ryne Hager reviewed the Spin 13 a year ago and found it to be "the most powerful Chromebook you can buy, but maybe you shouldn't." The 'pro' part of the equation? A 2256 x 1504 display, a Wacom digitized stylus, a strong 54Wh battery, two USB-C ports, and dual-band Wi-Fi.The 'con' part of things was mostly found to be in the value proposition at time of launch. The particular model we're looking at has an 8th-gen U-series Core i5, 8GB of DDR3 RAM (somewhat unfortunate, but it's a Chromebook, so it's still a net positive), and 128GB of storage. This combination originally sold at close to the $1,000 mark, but has been checked down and down again for the past year.
Alongside the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, the Pixel Slate was announced today. It's a big, expensive, 12-inch tablet with an optional first-party keyboard cover that turns it into a sort of half-measure laptop. For those seeking a more traditional computing experience (but not enough so to buy a traditional computer), Brydge has a product that may interest you: the G-Type keyboard.
Thanks to the IFA 2018 trade show in Berlin last week, we now have several new Chrome OS options available to us. Lenovo announced three different Chromebooks, including a higher-end model with a 4K screen that Ryan took a closer look at, and Acer unveiled a follow-up to its popular Chromebook 14, although I wasn’t overly impressed by the quality of the pre-production hardware I got my hands on.
The Google Pixelbook is indisputably the best Chromebook around; in fact, it's one of the best laptops running any operating system. It's so good that many of my colleagues now use it as their main computer, David included. Seriously, spend even five minutes typing on that wonderous keyboard and I guarantee you'll fall in love.If there's one downside to the Pixelbook, it's that it isn't cheap. Thankfully, we're starting to see more and more deals on it, and this is one of the best yet. For just $909.32, you can get the 256GB model with an Intel Core i5 chip and 8GB of RAM from Amazon. That's a saving of $289.68, which is considerably better than the $250 discounts we've been seeing on the Google Store recently.
Prime shipping is also available, making this deal even sweeter. You're getting just the Pixelbook by itself, although it is also available with an extra charger or a pen for not too much more. The same configuration is currently $1,199 on the Google Store, so this is a legitimately good discount. If you've been biding your time until the right deal comes along, this could be the one for you.Source: Amazon
Some years ago, in the dark ages of Android, Motorola released a phone called the Atrix 4G. Moto created an accessory for that phone called the Lapdock, which was a laptop-like device powered by the phone. It was not a smashing success. They say those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it, and apparently, Razer was not paying attention. At CES, it has unveiled Project Linda, a prototype laptop dock for the Razer Phone. It's bananas.
We're careful about covering hardware Kickstarters because so many of them fail to deliver. The Superbook laptop dock first popped up a few months ago, then it hit Kickstarter last week. Whether or not this device lives up to the hype, there's enough hype that you should probably be aware of it. The Superbook has already pulled in more than a million dollars, and there are still a few more weeks left in the campaign.