CTL Chromebook J41 - Review 2022

CTL sticks to the nuts with its latest classroom chromebook. The 11.six-inch Chromebook J41 ($219) ditches the whiteboard chapeau, rotatable webcam, and retractable handle of the CTL NL61TX we reviewed last yr in favor of an all-blackness torso with a rubberized coating that's pleasing to the touch while also helping to avoid slippage. Its rugged chassis should withstand a driblet, also every bit being casually tossed around at school. The Editors' Selection Acer Chromebook Spin 11 offers armed services-form ruggedness, but costs nigh twice as much, making a CTL J41 purchase much more than reasonable for student and school district budgets alike.

Rugged With an Understated Fashion

Most low-cost chromebooks utilise a flimsy, plastic chassis, but not so with the CTL J41. It has a plastic enclosure, just it's very rigid with none of the keyboard flex that plagues competing models. Even with this added strength, the CTL J41 isn't heavier than boilerplate, weighing in at 2.67 pounds. By comparing with other 11.vi-inch models, the Asus Chromebook Flip C213SA and the CTL NL61TX Education Chromebook each weigh 2.75 pounds, and the Lenovo Flex 11 Chromebook weighs 2.ix pounds. The Acer Chromebook Spin 11, with its MIL-SPEC 810G toughness, tips the scales at 3.09 pounds.

The CTL J41 measures 0.75 past xi.4 by 8.1 inches (HWD), which places information technology among the thinner chromebooks. With its whiteboard hat, the CTL NL61TX is 0.88 inches thick, the Lenovo Flex eleven Chromebook is 0.viii inches thick, and the Acer Chromebook Spin 11 is 0.82 inches thick.

Similar Johnny Cash, the CTL J41 comes dressed in all black. The only pop of colour on the system is the grayness-and-red CTL logo on the bezel beneath the display and on the corner of the lid, plus the Chrome logo in some other corner on the chapeau. The overall look is understated nevertheless stylish; the system looks like it should cost more than information technology does. Many sub-$300, teaching-oriented chromebooks look similar a kid's toy, but the CTL J41 looks like a real calculator for doing real work. Middle and high school students tin can carry the CTL J41 through the halls without worrying most their friends making fun of them.

The hat, keyboard tray, and bottom of the chromebook are coated in a soft-touch condom blanket. While it provides a bully feel, it's likewise an uber-magnet for greasy fingerprint smudges. They wipe off with a soft textile, but you may want to refrain from snacking on irish potato chips while banging out homework assignments on the CTL J41.

Stone Solid, if a Scrap Potent

Designed to take abuse from students with its solid build quality, The CTL J41'southward rigid chassis not simply protects it against bumps and bruises, but also creates an enjoyable typing experience. The keyboard decks on many upkeep chromebooks flex under your fingertips as you type, but the CTL J41'due south deck doesn't budge. The keys themselves feel springy with good travel. The non-backlit keyboard is h2o-resistant and channels liquids away from the internal components, which provides peace of heed for students who might need to sip a Red Balderdash or a Mount Dew to get through a term paper. Nosotros put the CTL J41 to the examination with several drops and spills, and it came out unscathed.

The touchpad, as well, provides a expert feel; its shine surface allows your finger to swipe and glide without resistance. Information technology recorded our gestures and swipes accurately, but it feels a chip stiff when clicked. It offers too much resistance for thumb clicks to our liking, and we institute ourselves using the pointer finger of our left, non-mousing hand to perform clicks.

The system features a non-touch, eleven.half dozen-inch IPS display with a 1,366-by-768 resolution. The resolution is standard for the display's size. The image is fairly well-baked but you tin can run across some pixelation as yous get close to the screen. It suffices for web browsing and YouTube watching as long equally you stay seated and don't lean in. It offers the wide viewing angles of an IPS brandish, and CTL outfits it with an anti-glare finish that does an admirable job combatting annoying glare and reflections. And unlike the rest of the soft-touch chassis, the display repels fingerprints, although you won't be touching the non-touch screen on purpose. Lastly, the display stays firmly rooted in identify no thing its angle (it can rotate 180 degrees and then its lying flat), cheers to its sturdy hinges. Display wobble isn't an issue.

You'll want to keep headphones in your backpack and a Bluetooth speaker within range at home because the CTL J41 produces predictably poor sound. You may exist able to sit through some YouTube videos, only music playback is a definite no-become. The system's tiny stereo speakers fire downward and offer tinny, muddied sound.

The webcam doesn't rotate like that of the CTL NL61TX, merely sits fixed in identify like your typical webcam. And like a typical webcam, it produces a somewhat grainy image that washes out easily. Information technology's adequate for video chats.

At that place is a useful choice of ports, including both USB Type-A and Type-C. You'll detect a USB Type-C port, a USB iii.0 port, a microSD slot, and a combo audio jack on the left side. On the correct, you'll detect the aforementioned pair of USB ports along with a Kensington lock slot. What you won't find is an HDMI port, which means you'll demand a USB-C to HDMI adapter if you want connect to a secondary brandish.

Adept Performance, Great Battery

The CTL J41 features the 1.1GHz (2.4GHz turbo) dual-core Intel Celeron Processor N3350 CPU (from Intel'due south Apollo Lake family), 4GB of RAM, integrated Intel Hard disk 5000 graphics, and 32GB of eMMC flash storage. Those are fairly meager specs for a chromebook; pay a chip more and you'll notice options that include a quad-cadre processor and double the RAM. In fact, CTL will let you customize the J41 with a quad-core Celeron N3450 chip, 8GB of RAM, and a touchscreen brandish. (The version of our model with a touch on display is $249; pricing for the other upgrades has not yet been released.) Despite its basic specs, our J41 review unit of measurement feels peppy because Chrome OS doesn't require much muscle to run smoothly. And peachy news for decorated students; the J41 boasts outstanding battery life. More than good news: Like other Chrome OS systems, the J41 nets you a costless 100GB of Google Bulldoze infinite for two years.

Boot time is a lackluster 14 seconds. The older CTL Chromebook J2 booted in eight seconds and the Core-i3-equipped Dell Chromebook 11 booted in four seconds. After it starts upward, yet, the J41 provides more than than adequate performance. Chromebooks can't run our usual array of Windows benchmark tests, and so to put information technology to the test, we launched Chrome and opened 15 tabs, including one streaming video on YouTube. The J41's dual-core Celeron CPU and 4GB of RAM were up to the task. Nosotros didn't notice whatsoever slowdown under this multitasking load; the arrangement continued to feel snappy and responsive, and the YouTube video played without skipping, stopping, or buffering.

See How We Test Laptops

In the one test that chromebooks do share with Windows laptops, our video-playback battery rundown, the CTL J41 lasted for an impressive 13 hours and five minutes. That'due south 35 minutes longer than than the CTL NL61TX and 17 minutes more the Acer Spin xi, both of which, it should be noted, offer impressive bombardment life in their ain right. The CTL J41 will last all through the schoolhouse day on a single charge, with plenty juice left over for homework well into the evening.

Cheap simply Smart

CTL spent its money wisely when putting together the J41. It outfits the chromebook with basic specs and a small display but wraps them in a rugged, compact enclosure along with a battery that will run all day. Students and school districts with tight budgets will find the CTL J41 to be a capable performer that will fit the beak for primary or secondary school use. The Editors' Pick Acer Chromebook Spin 11 offers higher-stop features including a affect screen and included stylus, merely costs almost twice as much, making the CTL a bargain for students looking for a basic merely good-performing chromebook.

Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/laptops/20637/ctl-chromebook-j41

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