Last week, Google announced its brand new Chromebit PC-on-a-stick dongle, as well as a slew of new affordable Chromebooks to look forward to. The two initially touted as the most affordable Google-powered laptops yet, the Haier and Hisense Chromebooks, are expected to go on sale for a mere $149. Today we're getting excited about the Hisense, and have enough specs to give a decent review of it.

There's a number of Chromebooks out there priced similarly to Hisense's version. In fact, the ones that come to mind are around the $199-$299 range, yet Hisense seems to provide similar specs to its competitors at an even lower price. First off, connectivity ports are reasonable. They include a USB 2.0 and HDMI on the left, plus a USB 2.0 and microSD card reader on the right. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are also featured.

The 11.6-inch, 1366 x768 display is a cheap TN panel, nothing short of blah; yet contains a pretty thick bezel, which for some reason makes the device look sturdy. Its keyboard is standard, and contains those Chrome OS-style function keys you see in all other Chromebooks. Unfortunately, its trackpad could work better, apparently having trouble clicking and dragging. Diving into the Rockchip CPU, has anyone ever heard of the RK3288? It's a little weak when comparing benchmark tests of similar-level processors. Finally, as far as battery, don't trust Google's claim of 8.5 hours, everywhere I have read reports something around 6.5-7 hours of battery life.

Although you can't expect a $149 laptop to be everything you desire, you've gotta remember these browser-based Chromebooks are perfect for individuals and schools that are on a tight budget; especially with everything going online these days. Ars Technica reviewed it, and despite its obvious budget hardware, says it's “surprisingly good”. Business Insider used the Chromebook for days, and felt that it was a solid investment for $149. I'd say this is true. Plus, if you count in the fact that these are already being sold at Walmart, don't you imagine them just flying off the shelves? Don't let them literally fly though, they'll break into a million pieces.