The HP c640 Chromebook and Lenovo Flex 5G will be thought of transitional merchandise as we transfer from our present mannequin of desktop computing to the eventual mannequin of cloud computing that’s our projected future. Both merchandise are superior fashions, taking into consideration the learnings from the final three to 5 years on each Google’s and Microsoft’s makes an attempt to embrace our eventual cloud future. In addition–and I discover this fascinating–both merchandise have tailored considerably discarded strategies from one another to get there.
For occasion, Chromebooks began on ARM chips and have been penalized for efficiency, whereas the normal Windows-based pocket book has lengthy been criticized for battery life and WAN connectivity. The HP c640 has an Intel processor, and the i7 model I’ve isn’t any efficiency slouch, the Lenovo Fex 5G is ARM-based has a whopping 25 hours of battery life and that 5G WAN connection.
Let’s distinction these two very totally different merchandise which might be each concentrating on comparable alternatives.
The HP Pro c640 vs. Lenovo Flex 5G: Performance Appliance vs. Connected PC
In some methods, I have a look at each these merchandise and surprise if their respective corporations blended up their choices’ core necessities. But this sort of seeming confusion is commonly what occurs when the trade is making an attempt to pivot to a brand new mannequin through the use of present know-how. Because the cloud facet of this resolution isn’t absolutely cooked but, these constructing the shopper {hardware} are scuffling with the associated necessities.
As a outcome, we have now a high-performance Chromebook that isn’t at all times linked and a comparatively low-performance laptop computer that’s. Today’s world doesn’t but have 5G absolutely deployed, and the cloud portion of the answer isn’t absolutely cooked, which drove HP to pivot its providing to the present actuality. But 5G is rolling out, and VDI options are taking off, placing the Lenovo product extra on the innovative and nearer to the place the market will go through the subsequent decade.
This seeming inconsistency, I feel, additionally displays on the variations between Google and Microsoft. Google is nearer to a pure-play cloud vendor, however Microsoft with Azure has a extra sturdy cloud enterprise providing. So each merchandise considerably higher mirror the core know-how variations of their respective platforms.
Specs
On spec, each merchandise have 14-inch screens; each have fingerprint readers (the Lenovo can even do facial recognition, which isn’t working as properly proper now with masks necessities). The Lenovo has a 400-nit display screen, giving it a bonus over the HP, which solely has a 250-nit display screen (thus the Lenovo can extra simply work exterior). Prices aren’t low-cost for both product as configured (although you will get a Pentium-based HP for below $500) the Core i7 model I used to be despatched to overview is $1,129 whereas the Lenovo Flex 5G is $1,399.99.
Both merchandise have an identical set of ports, and each have a SIM slot for reminiscence growth. The Lenovo comes packaged with one yr of Office 365 Personal; the HP is extra tied to Google purposes however can run a model of Microsoft 365. Both have front-firing audio system with HP-branded B&O, and…
