Review of 14.1 inch Windows 10 laptop priced at Rs 9,999
Most of these laptops follow a certain pattern in terms of specifications. The main difference between these is design. Displays are typically 11.6 inches, although 14-inch models are also available. However, until now there was not a single 14-inch Windows 10 laptop for less than Rs 10,000.
Hyderabad-based company RDP recently launched its first consumer laptop. It has been named ThinBook (1430) and is priced at Rs 9,999. The specifications of the laptop are the same as in this segment, although it comes with a 14.1-inch display. This is a great hardware feature for productivity. On paper, this laptop looks like a great option, but its performance will be known only later during the review.
RDP ThinBook Design and Build
The RDP ThinBook fits the bill as a low-cost laptop. This does not mean that the product looks cheaper than anywhere else. The truth is that the company has done a good job on its build as per the budget. The plastic fittings and finish are good. For this reason the device becomes stronger. Its dimensions are same as ultrabook. The thickest part is 20 mm and weighs about 1.4 kg.
The 14.1-inch display has a resolution of 1366×768 pixels. Its color reproduction is fine. Due to the glossy panel, sometimes you will have to face reflection which can be irritating. Vertical viewing angles are bad, but horizontal viewing angles are not so bad. The display part doesn’t seem very sturdy. The display starts shaking even if you touch it lightly. If you use this laptop while driving in a car, there may be a problem of frequent screen shaking. Brightness is fine. However, there is no shortcut for brightness control in the keyboard.
Talking about connectivity, it has USB 3.0, USB 2.0, Mini-HDMI, headphone socket, microSD card slot and a charger socket. The microSD card slot is nice, but we wish the company had provided a full-sized SD card slot. The bottom panel has a decent amount of space for the palm rest and it also has a trackpad. However, the tracking performance is not good at all, because the surface is not smooth. The buttons attached to the trackpad are not easily pressed; they have to be pressed with more pressure to use them.
The chiclet buttons are well spaced, but there is a few degrees of curvature in the keyboard area. You will realize this while typing. We have realized that its keys are not suitable for typing. At the top of the keyboard you’ll see status LEDs for Power, Caps Lock, and Num Lock. After this, two holes are provided for the microphone.
Stereo speakers are provided at the bottom and give output at the bottom only. The lower part is completely sealed and there are no holes for air to escape. The lid of the ThinBook rotates 180 degrees at the back. The laptop comes with a 12.5-watt power adapter, which is slightly larger than the charger that comes with a typical smartphone.
RDP ThinBook Specifications and Features
RDP has used the capable Intel Atom X5-Z8300 chipset in this laptop. We also saw this processor in Notion Ink Able 10. This quad-core chip typically runs at a clock speed of 1.4 GHz and is capable of reaching speeds of up to 1.8 GHz when needed. It is made on such a fabrication process that it does not require cooling.
Like other laptops in this segment, you will get 2 GB RAM, 32 GB eMMC flash storage, Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0. It will be possible to expand the inbuilt storage via microSD card up to 128 GB. This laptop also has a VGA webcam whose quality is very average.
The ThinkBook runs 32-bit Windows 10. By the way, the company is selling the DOS version of this laptop for Rs 8,999. There are no useless apps pre-installed on this laptop. You’ll only get the apps that typically come with Windows.
rdp thinkbook performance
The general performance of Windows can be called satisfactory, certainly not excellent. At times, the system slowed down even while doing basic tasks like resizing and moving windows around on the screen. The unit we received for review was working a bit strangely. For example, the Start menu and search box sometimes stopped working on their own. We were left with no option but to reboot the system. Many times, while copying a file, the connection between the USB port and the hard drive was broken.
On the other hand, the system started extremely fast. You press the power button and within a few seconds the laptop is at your service.
The weak performance is also reflected in the benchmark results. Scores on a variety of tests were very average.
The trackpad will irritate you at times. Because the cursor sometimes starts jumping on the screen on its own, especially when you use the left mouse button or drag to select something. The display isn’t bad for watching videos from anywhere. However, the text appears too clumped together which isn’t great for reading.
The speaker produces decent sound, but the audio quality is below average. At high volume the sound becomes very tinny and thin. Apart from this, in our review unit, the right side speaker was louder than the left side speaker. For this reason the experience of hearing the voice was a bit strange.
RDP claims 8 hours of battery life with a thinbook, which is possible. In the battery test of PC Mark 8, the battery lasted for 7 hours 57 minutes which is around the claim.
our decision
Priced at Rs 9,999, the RDP ThinBook gives you the experience of a large display laptop at an affordable price. This is a value for money product. However, many compromises have been made in the product. But the truth is that it is not a bad product for the first try. The build and finish is good. The device is quite thin and light. The display is fine. You will be able to enjoy 4K media playback and perform small tasks simultaneously.
RDP plans to launch powerful variants of the ThinBook. In the coming time, the company will manufacture its laptops in India only, due to which the price is likely to reduce further. We hope that the shortcomings of this model will be addressed in future versions. For example, we would like a better trackpad because sometimes we don’t have a mouse. Apart from this, internal flash storage should have better read and write speed. This will affect the performance of Windows.
It is clear that RDP ThinBook has increased the competition in this segment. We expect more companies to launch products in this segment. Considering the purpose of this product, we feel that the ThinBook has a lot of potential and can prove to be a great option for users looking to buy a cheap PC.
Price: Rs 9,999
features
Slim design and good build quality
affordable
good battery life
Equipped with Windows 10
Good display for video playback
shortcomings
Poor read/write speed
Room for improvement in trackpad and keyboard
Shortcomings in Windows performance
Rating (out of 5)
Design: 3.5
Display: 3.5
Performance: 2.5
Software: 4
Value for money: 4
Average: 3.5
