You are finally about to have the chance to pick one up yourself as the affordable 2-in-1 arrived on Best Buy at a starting price of $299 with a release date of May 6 (via Tom’s Guide).
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The iPad Pro isn’t in any danger from the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook, but for those who are considering the standard Apple iPad, the IdeaPad Duet is a considerably more affordable option that undercuts the price of the iPad even before you factor in a keyboard. The IdeaPad Duet Chromebook has a unique look; the tablet itself has a reasonably traditional-looking aluminum frame with a camera on the back. But it’s the detachable back cover and the included keyboard that make it a more interesting option. The removable back is made of dark gray fabric with an integrated kickstand that adheres to the metal tablet with magnets. The 10.1-inch screen seemed bright during our hands-on and at 1920 x 1200-pixels, it should make for a reasonable media consumption option. Given the Duet Chromebook’s size, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the keyboard is a little on the small side, but it does feature a touchpad and a reasonable 1.3mm of key travel. There have to be some cost-cutting measures to get this thing below $300 and the processor is the biggest factor. Powering the tablet is a Mediatek Helio P60T paired with an ARM G72 MP3 graphics card and 4GB of RAM. Internal storage is pretty good for a Chromebook, particularly in this price range, at 128GB. Rounding out the rest of the specs are a 7,180 mAh battery that Lenovo claims will get 10 hours of battery life and a 2MP front-facing camera and 8MP rear camera. The IdeaPad Duet Chromebook has just a single USB-C port, so you are going to need to check out our best USB Type-C hubs if you want to plug into more than a single peripheral.
