Dell Chromebook 3400 Overview

The Dell Chromebook 3400 is right for patrons on a good funds who need a strong, spill and shock-resistant laptop computer. It is ideally for a consumer of main or early secondary college age, however the display shouldn’t be nice, and efficiency is so-so. In case your funds can stretch to it, the Dell Chromebook 3100 2-in-1 could be a greater choice.

Professionals

• Sturdy, splash-resistant design
• Responsive keyboard and trackpad
• Good value

Cons

• Fuzzy, low-resolution show
• Poor viewing angles

Key Specs

• Overview Worth: £390
• 14-inch 1366 x 768 show
• Google Chrome OS
• 2 x USB-A, 2 x USB-C, microSD, 3.5mm, lock slot
• Intel Celeron N4000 (dual-core, 2.6GHz 4MB cache)
• 32GB eMMC storage

What’s the Dell Chromebook 3400?

The Dell Chromebook 3400 is a laptop computer that’s aimed toward youthful college students. Very similar to the Dell Chromebook 3100 2-in-1, it’s a light-weight however toughened laptop computer that’s been examined to resist the rigours of the classroom. 

The primary distinction between this and the 3100 2-in-1 is that the Chromebook 3400 follows conventional laptop computer design – i.e. it’s not a 2-in-1. The show can’t be pushed all the way in which again across the hinge and it’s not touch-sensitive, so the Chromebook 3400 can’t be used like a pill.

Whereas it’s a reasonably standard-looking laptop computer, the Dell Chromebook 3400’s trump card is its sturdiness. It’s been examined in MIL-STD situations, just like the stress checks the U.S. Army applies to gadgets destined for the sector, with the intention of proving that the Chromebook 3400 can survive being by accident dropped from desk peak, or coming into sudden contact with liquids. 

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Stable as a rock – the Dell Chromebook 3400 is constructed to take a beating, however that’s not in an invite to make use of it as a weapon, thoughts.

Dell Chromebook 3400 design – Sturdy black plastic  

Sturdy is probably one of the best phrase to explain the general feel and appear of the Dell Chromebook 3400. 

Weighing 1.56kg, it’s comparatively light-weight, however it’s firmly anchored to your desktop always thanks to 2 rubberised strips which run laterally throughout the underside. It’d take some doing to dislodge the Dell Chromebook 3400. 

The hinge mechanism additionally feels reassuringly strong. It’s very straightforward to maneuver the show right into a place which fits, however there’s little wobble as soon as it’s set in place. There’s a bit little bit of flex within the centre of the keyboard, however you’d actually need to hammer away on the keys to note this. 

I appreciated how there are rubberised strips framing the sting of the border of the show, too, which means that when the Chromebook 3400’s shut, there’s no probability of the display coming into direct contact with the keyboard. 

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Rubberised strips imply that the Dell Chromebook 3400 stays firmly anchored to your desk – till you stand it up like this.

You get two Kind-A USB ports and two Kind-C USB ports – one in all every on both aspect – a microSD card reader, 3.5mm audio jack for headsets and headphones, and a lock slot. 

That stated, it’s best to be aware that not one of the ports right here will be sealed with plugs – this can be a splash-resistant laptop computer, not a water-resistant laptop computer. 

That’s sufficient when it comes to ports on your typical schoolgoer, who could want to join a USB mouse and switch recordsdata and pictures from a reminiscence card. 

As regards to storage, you get 32GB on board right here, 17.2GB of which is user-available. That’s not an enormous quantity of area in any respect, however, when you think about that almost all of your work will probably be saved to your Google Drive and saved within the cloud, you don’t want to fret about any homework, essays, or experiences going lacking. Nonetheless, this implies the variety of pictures, apps, and different recordsdata it can save you immediately on the Dell Chromebook 3400 is proscribed. 

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Ports on the Dell Chromebook 3400 on the left-hand aspect L-R: Kind-C USB, Kind-A USB, micro SD card reader, 3.5mm audio jack

Dell Chromebook 3400 specs – Naked bones specs, however then once more, Chrome OS doesn’t want a lot

Talking of which, it’s best to be aware that the specs of the Dell Chromebook 3400 should not precisely leading edge. 

That’s as a result of Chrome OS is designed to be a light-weight working system which doesn’t want the newest and biggest parts to run it. 

Within the absence of any up-to-date benchmarking instruments that are designed particularly for Chrome OS, utilizing comparative outcomes to present an at-a-glance concept of efficiency is our greatest guess for now. 

Working the present is an Intel Celeron N4000 Processor, the identical one which powers the Dell Chromebook 3100 2-in-1, so it’s not shocking that they returned comparable Geekbench scores – a single-core rating of 2147, and a multi-core rating of 3823. 

That’s under the same old benchmark that Geekbench makers Primate Labs recommend for common processor efficiency (4000 for single-core, and 8000 for multi-core) however that calculation relies on a Microsoft Floor E-book with an Intel Core i7-6600U processor – Chrome OS can fairly clearly run on a lot much less highly effective parts. 

As there’s no discrete charging port, one of many USB-C connections tends to face in for this – which means that the USB-C port on the right-hand aspect is the one you’ll primarily use for information switch.

I ran Octane 2.0, Google’s now-discontinued Chrome OS benchmark, and acquired a rating of 15136, which is similar to what I noticed on the Acer Chromebook 514 (13162), however far under what I recorded on the Dell Inspiron Chromebook 7000 2-in-1 (31575). 

With most of your work being written inside Google Docs and Google Sheets, and all the things being backed as much as the cloud robotically, among the ‘lifting’ is being achieved by Google, and when writing, your experiences will by and huge will rely upon the standard of and native site visitors on the Wi-Fi connection you’re utilizing. 

That stated, the Dell Chromebook 3400 shouldn’t be unbelievable at multi-tasking, even while you’re on good Wi-Fi. When writing a report (or chunks of this very evaluation), I’d discover that I’d run right into a slowdown if I had greater than ten tabs open in Chrome whereas I used to be flipping between engaged on this evaluation and an app like Pixlr or Photoshop Categorical. 

Like lots of people, I wish to have YouTube playlists on autoplay working within the background whereas I work – this did trigger complications, because it’s a little bit of a drag on processor energy. Granted, a variety of schoolkids most likely gained’t be listening to music throughout lesson time, however throughout homework, after college hours, not having the ability to simply hearken to any lo-fi examine assist playlists is a little bit of a downside. 

The Dell Chromebook 3400’s keyboard feels simply as robust and strong as the remainder of the laptop computer does.

Dell Chromebook 3400 keyboard and show – How appropriate is the Dell Chromebook 3400 for schoolwork?

The Dell Chromebook 3400’s 14-inch show shouldn’t be probably the most high-quality or high-resolution show on the market. 

The spec sheet says ‘HD’, however you get a decision of 1366 x 768, not the 1920 x 1080 decision which constitutes Full HD. 

Moreover, I recorded a most brightness of simply 237.86 nits. That’s tremendous for indoor work, and can swimsuit for the classroom, however in direct daylight, anybody utilizing that is going to endure. A low black stage of 0.80 nits is nice, however that every one provides as much as a weak distinction stage of 294:1. The recorded color temperature of 6758K can also be too far north of the 6500K spot to present you something near pure colors.

Color area protection can also be far under what you’d want for correct photograph work; 55.3% sRGB, 38.4% Adobe RGB, 39.5% DCI-P3. 

When you can run fundamental photograph modifying apps on the Dell Chromebook 3400, it’s in no way appropriate for studying about digital images or digital artwork. 

The viewing angles are additionally poor, to the purpose the place it’s solely actually OK for engaged on in case you’re trying on the show head on. 

That stated, the keyboard gives a pleasant, chunky typing expertise. As with the remainder of the laptop computer, the keycaps of the Dell Chromebook 3400 really feel strong. They snap again properly and responsively in a way which makes it very straightforward to get accustomed to. The keyboard format signifies that the letter keys are comparatively small and have a bit extra space round them than they’d on mainstream way of life laptops, which means that youthful, smaller palms may discover them simpler to become familiar with. 

The 3400 is a strong essay author and boasts wonderful battery life – however it’s actually solely appropriate for writing and light-weight Web looking.

Dell Chromebook 3400 battery life – Can I get a days’ energy out of the Dell Chromebook 3400?

It is best to simply have the ability to get six to seven hours value of use out of the Dell Chromebook 3400, possibly extra, relying in your use.

Working the Geekbench 4 battery benchmark, with the display brightness set to 150 nits, it took me seven hours and 26 minutes to go from 100% to six% energy.

When writing and streaming music (or making an attempt to) I’d have the ability to get by means of a typical working day with out having to achieve for the charger.

Charging the Dell Chromebook 3400 again as much as full sometimes takes simply over two hours. After an hour on the charger, it’s best to count on to have between 45-50% of the tank full.

The Dell Chromebook 3400 is a sturdy examine assist, however if you would like a laptop computer which might supply greater than that, there are higher choices obtainable.

Ought to I purchase the Dell Chromebook 3400?

Should you, your baby, or your pupil’s wants are restricted to only needing to jot down, entry e mail and discover ways to use spreadsheets, then streamlined entry to Google providers, mixed with the sturdy and durable design will come into their very own right here. 

Nonetheless, the poor show and common battery efficiency imply that it’s not the best choice for anybody older than secondary college age. Faculty or college college students could be higher off investigating the Acer Chromebook 514 or the Dell Inspiron Chromebook 14 7000 2-in-1. 

Even then, in case your funds can stretch to it, the versatile Dell Chromebook 3100 2-in-1, with its foldable design and higher display, could be a better option for youthful laptop computer customers. 

Verdict

A robustly-built and designed Chromebook aimed squarely at youthful customers.