Review of iBall’s Rs. 13,999 two-in-one Windows 10 laptop
Most laptops in the segment come equipped with mediocre displays, CPUs and other components. But Indian companies like iBall have tried to raise the bar by introducing something new. Today we will discuss the CompBook i360. This two-in-one touchscreen laptop can double up as a tablet and is priced under Rs 15,000. On paper, it seems like a good option, but we will know its actual performance only after reviewing it. We will also try to find out if iBall has done anything regarding the shortcomings of the previous model that we highlighted.
iBall CompBook i360 design and build quality
The material quality of these laptops in the budget segment is almost the same. The i360 is also made using plastic. The champagne colour model looks good, but the build quality is average. The laptop is quite thick. The thickness is 17 millimetres and weighing 1.35 kilograms, this system feels a bit heavy.
The dual-hinge technology gives a sturdy feel. Being convertible, you can flip the display all the way back and the laptop will function like a tablet. The physical connections are also pretty good. You get one USB 3.0 port, one USB 2.0 port, mini HDMI, 3.5mm headphone and microphone combo port. There is also a microSD card slot. There is no SD card reader. The power button is on the right side and after that there is a switch to disable the keyboard. This switch is useful when using the laptop in tablet mode. However, it would have been better if this function was automatic.
The display is an 11.6-inch TFT LCD panel with a resolution of 1366×768 pixels. It comes with multi-touch support. Viewing angles are not great and the display is not great in terms of colour reproduction either. The low resolution means that text doesn’t look great on the screen. The trackpad has ample space and the buttons are easy to press. But the tracking is not great. We had a few instances where Windows was minimised when we just wanted to move the cursor. The island-style keyboard has a pretty good layout. Unfortunately, typing on it is not very comfortable. In the box, you will find a charger, cleaning cloth and a micro-USB cable.
iBall CompBook i360 Specifications
Intel Atom X5-Z8300 chipset has been used in CompBook i360. The same chip is also given in RDP Thinbook and Notion Ink Able 10. It has four CPU cores. The maximum clock speed of this processor is 1.84 GHz. And HD graphics are also present. Flash storage is 32 GB and RAM is 2 GB. Wi-Fi b / g / n, Bluetooth 4.0 and VGA webcam are provided in the laptop.
The CompBook i360 laptop will come with Windows 10 Home 32 bit. The number of pre-installed apps in the laptop is also not very high.
iBall CompBook i360 Performance
While the iBall 360 is capable of performing dual roles, we have to remember that this is an entry-level hardware. So don’t expect too much. Fortunately, the flash memory is quite fast so the system doesn’t take much time to power on. The good thing about the laptop’s chipset is that it doesn’t require active cooling. So the i360 works quietly. The base gets a little warm while charging. But not so much that you should be bothered.
App and gaming performance is weak. Programs take a while to load. Sometimes even Windows Explorer takes time to open. This shortcoming is also highlighted by the benchmark results.
The iBall CompBook i360 is not a very efficient tablet even when converted, especially because of its weight and thickness. The 10-finger touch response is good, but the distance between the outer surface and the actual display makes it feel like a resistive panel. Also, the brightness is quite low. Viewing angles are poor and colours are very weak. We are not very happy with the large bezels around the display.
The iBall CompBook i360 plays high resolution videos with ease due to its video decoding engine. You will also be able to play 4K videos. The stereo speakers are at the bottom. The sound coming from them is not blocked in tablet mode. The speakers also produce decent volume.
CompBook i360 has a 10000mAh battery. This battery lasted for 5 hours and 53 minutes in the Eater Pro test. In normal use, it will easily last for a day. The problem is that the 1.25 watt power adapter takes a lot of time to charge this battery.
Our verdict
iBall’s idea of i360 is good, but its implementation is lacking. It is not easy to include so many functions in a laptop at this price. Due to this, big brands have not yet made any effort in this direction. The iBall version of the convertible laptop at Rs 13,999 is not very great. We believe that you will use the regular laptop for more work.
The interesting thing is that iBall has a model called Flip-X5 which costs Rs 2,000 more. However, you will get it cheaper in the market. This device will have a full-HD display. By the way, we have not reviewed this laptop so we would not like to say anything about the performance. But you are sure to get a sharper display.
The battery life of the CompBook i360 works in its favour. Apart from that, it is one of the cheapest Windows 10 machines available in the market. However, if your needs are more of a computer, then you may want to consider some other options.
Price(MRP): Rs 13,999
Features
- Cheap 2-in-1 Windows 10 Laptop
- Touchscreen
- Good battery life
Disadvantages
- Slow charging
- fat and heavy
- Weak display
- Keyboard and Trackpad
- Poor app performance
Ratings (maximum 5)
- Designs :- 3
- Display: 3
- Performance: 2.5
- Software: 4
- Battery life: 4
- Value for money: 4
- Average: 3
