The world’s first budget detachable Chromebook, the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook, is now available for pre-order following a brief hiatus in orders. Spotted at Best Buy by Chrome Unboxed, this is actually the second time the device has been put up for presale. It was first put up by the retailer earlier in the week before being marked as ‘coming soon’.
The gadget, which features a detachable folio-style keyboard on a 10.1-inch display platform, was originally set to ship by May 11. Now, Best Buy lists the gadget as becoming available as of May 6. Other retailers such as Amazon still have the device listed as ‘unavailable’. The detachable laptop comes in at just $299.99.
What is the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook?
Now, being the most affordable detachable, as its IdeaPad branding implies, doesn’t mean this device is a slouch. Lenovo first introduced the IdeaPad Duet Chromebook at CES 2020 and packed it with respectable hardware. The tablet-sized Chromebook ships in a dual-tone aluminum build in a silvery-blue and gray finish. Substantial bezels surround the 10.1-inch display, likely to give users a place to grip the gadget when in tablet mode.
At the front, Lenovo included a 2-megapixel fixed-focus camera alongside an LED indicator. That’s so that users can see when this detachable’s 10-hour-rated 7180mAh battery is full or dying. Charging takes place via a single Type-C port. An 8-megapixel auto-focus camera resides at the back for world-facing shots.
That camera hardware isn’t best-in-class but it is serviceable. And Lenovo incorporated a dual-array mic and dual speakers to make the experience even better.
The keyboard, meanwhile, has some pretty good specs too. To begin with, it’s stand allows for a 0- to 135-degree free stop. Meaning it can be placed at any angle between those. 18mm key pitch and just 1.3mm key travel should allow for a comfortable typing experience. As should this gadget’s weight, at just under 1lb.
Under the hood, a MediaTek-built Helio P60T chipset takes the lead. That’s an octa-core SoC backed by ARM G72 for graphics and 4GB LPDDR4x RAM. Storage is ample compared to other devices in the price range too at 128GB.
Rounding out the perks, Lenovo has also said its IdeaPad Duet Chromebook will receive 8-years of update support. That’s as compared to the 6-years Chromebooks typically see from their launch.
When will your pre-order arrive?
Best Buy’s pre-order for the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet Chromebook doesn’t seem to indicate users will be waiting long. Reservations are expected to ship, the site says, by May 20. So, buyers should see their devices arrive within just a couple of weeks.
Conversely, this is the second time Best Buy has listed the device too, as noted above. In fact, the retailer first listed the device this week. And it’s not immediately apparent why that is.
The company may simply have listed too early or it may have run out of stock. In the latter case, that could mean that some consumers will still see their devices arrive by May 11. Or it may not arrive until the later date if the initial listing was a site-specific error. errors.