We recently reviewed the RDP Thinbook. It was available for around Rs 9,999. This was the lowest price ever for any laptop with a 14-inch screen. Now a well-known brand iBall has launched two new products to challenge the RDP Thinbook – the 11.6-inch CompBook Excellence for Rs 9,999 and the 14-inch CompBook Exemplar for Rs 13,999. The only difference between the two models is the screen size. We got the chance to review the variant with the larger display.
Look and Design of iBall CompBook Exemplar
Considering the price, we have no complaints. The iBall CompBook Exemplar is extremely slim, so slim that it puts many premium ultrabooks to shame. It doesn’t look cheap at all and doesn’t have any rough edges either.
iBall has used a deep brown colour scheme in the laptop. The stylish K logo is present in the centre of the lid. And the iBall logo is on one of the sides. You will find a DC power inlet and LED, USB 2.0 port and mini-HDMI video output. The second USB port, 3.5mm audio socket and microSD card slot are on the right side. The speakers are on the bottom panel. This results in a muffled sound. Due to the presence of Atom processor, there is no fan in this laptop.
The delete button is placed a little oddly. You won’t find a Windows menu button. We also found that there is no shortcut button to control screen brightness.
The screen and keyboard seem to have a bit too much plastic around them, but that’s not a big issue. The screen is a bit dull and grainy. It struggles with saturated colors and blacks. Viewing angles aren’t great either. But then again, we have to keep in mind the price of the CompBook Exemplar.
The total weight is 1.46 kg. This laptop is convenient to carry around while travelling. However, it is not a very sturdy product. We found that its body can be bent easily. It is possible to rotate the entire laptop.
iBall CompBook Exemplar specifications and software
The iBall CompBook Exemplar is powered by the Intel Atom Z3735F processor. It is quite old but is still capable enough for general use. You will find this CPU in most popular and affordable laptops. The Z3735F quad-core CPU offers a clock speed of 1.33 to 1.83 GHz. It comes with basic Intel HD graphics integrated.
The CompBook Exemplar has 2GB of RAM. But you only have 32GB of storage. Our review unit had only 21.5GB of storage available for use. You can use a microSD card up to 64GB if you want. It is possible to use an external storage device, but both ports will run at USB 2.0 speeds.
The screen resolution is 1366×768 pixels which is common in low-cost laptops. You will get a 32-bit edition of Windows 10 Home. Apart from the official Windows 10 apps, you will not get any other software pre-installed.
iBall CompBook Exemplar Performance
Considering the limited capabilities of the hardware, we have assessed the performance of the iBall CompBook Exemplar. The good thing is that it starts up quickly. This is thanks to the flash storage. In general use, it is a bit slow. Things like the Windows Settings app and the context menu also take time to open. It did fine for web surfing and general document creation tasks. There was no problem with HD video playback either. The speakers disappointed us. No sound is heard clearly.
The keyboard is good to use. But the keyboard is a bit deep in the center. The keyboard is great for typing. If you need a cheap laptop for typing then the iBall CompBook Exemplar is far better than its competitors. The trackpad is also quite good, multitouch gestures were recognized well. However, it was not completely accurate.
Connectivity and storage are lacking. We had to install the benchmarks one by one. Talking about benchmark tests, this laptop did not run on many occasions. And the results of the tests we were able to perform were average.
Battery life works in this laptop’s favour. In the Battery Eater Pro test, it lasted for 5 hours and 58 minutes. In normal use, the iBall CompBook Exemplar’s battery lasted for a day. Let us tell you that during this time, there was some web browsing and video streaming on YouTube. However, the battery took a lot of time to charge.
Our decision
The two biggest drawbacks of ultra-cheap Windows devices have been weak components and a less-than-ideal form factor.
iBall is one of the few companies that has tried to put together a few cheap parts into a suitable body. Don’t be fooled. This is a very cheap tablet in the body of a laptop. But it works. To be honest, this is the best laptop we have reviewed in this price range. It is not versatile or very fast. But it will come in handy for students who need a laptop for home use. For many of us, it can also be a secondary personal computer.
If you are using a budget smartphone or tablet just because it is an accessible device, then you now have a new option. Only time will tell whether it is durable or not. But we hope that it will last as long as a smartphone. Such devices help spread personal computers in a country like India.
Price: Rs 13,999
Features
low price
Good keyboard and trackpad
Thin and light
windows 10 license
Disadvantages
Old and weak CPU
Only 32GB of storage
No USB 3.0 port
Body bends easily
Ratings (maximum 5)
Designs :- 3
Display: 3
Performance: 2
Software: 4.5
Battery life: 4
Value for money: 5
Total: 3.5