Laptop Batteries, Chargers and AC Adapters

A Chromebook that’s also a ThinkPad? Should be good. Here’s our review of the Lenovo ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook

The ThinkPad brand is synonymous with dependable and premium laptops, usually of the Windows variety. For a while now though, some have come with ChromeOS installed, as is the case with theThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook from Lenovo.

So, how does the change in operating system affect the experience? Here’s the full Tech Advisor review of the Lenovo ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook.

Design & Build
Anyone who has seen a ThinkPad in the last decade or more will know that they come in black liveries. But, marking an unusual departure from form, the C13 Yoga Chromebook is decked out in Abyss Blue, which is a kind of metallic navy hue that looks very fetching on the aluminium chassis.

It still proudly claims its noble heritage though, thanks to the ThinkPad logo, along with the red glowing dot over the i, which occupies the top left area of the lid. Opposite this is the Chrome logo, denoting this a Chromebook, and there’s also metal plaque on the right lower side with the Lenovo brand.

While this might all sound a bit busy, it’s all tastefully done and keeps the efficient, business-like aesthetic for which ThinkPads are known.

Twin, angled hinges adorn the rear edge, providing a full 360-degrees of rotation for the 13in display, while the flanks have the ThinkPads usual wide selection of ports. These include 2x USB-C, 2x USB 3.0, HDMI, a microSD card reader, 3.5mm headphone jack and Kensington lock, alongside twin speakers.

Inspecting the lower edge of the front section reveals a small indentation. This is a stylus that lives inside the body of the C13 Yoga and can be used on the touchscreen display. A notched edge makes it easy to extract and then replace, which is excellent as little things like this are always easy to lose. There’s also a fingerprint sensor to the right of the trackpad, which adds another layer of security to the more business-orientated ThinkPad user.

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For those who prefer a larger screen when working on a Chromebook, the new Asus Flip CX5 could be a compelling device

asts a generous 15.6in display.

Design & Build
358 x 24 x 19mm dimensions
1.95kg weight
Aluminium lid and plastic base
As you might expect, the Flip CX5 (CX5500) is a bit of a beast. I’ve reviewed many Chromebooks recently, and the pattern is towards sleek, lightweight devices. Asus throws this out the window and delivers something quite different.

The expansive 358 x 24 x 19mm chassis is easily the biggest I’ve encountered for a device running Chrome OS, not to mention the hefty 1.95kg at which it tips the scales. This is not your typical, chuck it in your backpack and forget about it Chromebook, but that’s by no means a bad thing.

With so many of us working more from home in these days of Covid, having a honking big laptop isn’t really an issue as we only have to carry it from the kitchen to the front room. Plus, a bigger display might help with tired eyes and sore necks that arise from being hunched over smaller screens.

The design itself is quite attractive, though, with the aluminium alloy lid covered in a material that Asus states gives it ‘an elegant, ceramic-like texture for a gentle, simple aesthetic’.

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The affordable HP Pavilion 14 makes a powerful home-office companion – even with just a Core i3 processor. Here’s our full review.

HP’s Pavilion range has long been a popular option for consumers, offering a combination of performance and style at affordable prices, but how does the latest 14in HP Pavilion fare amidst a sea of competition? We find out in our full review.

Design & Build
The HP Pavilion 14 is a good-looking laptop. The aluminium chassis in frosted silver gives it elegance, despite the mid-range price. It’s polished for office use, without the awful chunkiness you get on some business laptops, such as the (otherwise excellent) Acer Aspire 3.

If you’re interested in a machine that will double up for personal and professional use, the Pavilion 14 definitely looks the part.

But more crucially: it’s portable. While there are lighter laptops out there, the Pavilion 14 isvery light at 1.46kg. Plus, it’s wonderfully compact. You can carry it with one hand if you need to rush off to the kitchen or a conference room for a call. Equally, it will comfortably balance on your lap if you’re commuting on a train.

A space-efficient keyboard does away with the numeric pad – which you’ll find on the larger Pavilion 15 laptops – reducing the overall footprint on your desk (or lap), while a slim profile keeps the laptop at less than an inch when closed.

Slipping it into a bag should pose no issues. See some of the best laptop bags and rucksacks here.

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The Alogic Thunderbolt 4 Blaze Docking Station is an 11-port docking station that boasts the latest Thunderbolt 4 connectivity standard and a generous selection of ports.

Buying Thunderbolt 4 now makes sense even if your current laptop is Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C, as it is both the latest technology and backwards compatible.

Using a dock, you add a bunch of useful ports to a laptop with just one cable connection, and at a potential 40Gbps.

Specs and features
One upstream Thunderbolt 4 port (40Gbps, 96W)
Three Thunderbolt 4 ports (40Gbps, 15W)
Three USB-A ports (10Gbps, 5.5W)
One USB-A port (480MBps, 7.5W)
Gigabit Ethernet
UHS-II SD Card reader (320MBps)
3.5mm audio jack
135W power supply
The 10 ports plus one upstream Thunderbolt 4 (TB4) port to the laptop should offer most of what you’ll need.

That upstream TB4 port can charge a laptop at an impressive 96W, which is one of the highest-rated charging docks we have tested. The overall power coming into the dock is 135W so there’s plenty available for charging other connected devices, although not enough for all to be charging at maximum capacity if the laptop is drawing full power at the same time.

Gigabit Ethernet means you can dodge flaky Wi-Fi with a strong wired Internet connection to your laptop.

The four USB-A ports should be all you’ll need for connecting older devices such as memory sticks, wired mouse and keyboard, printers and storage devices.

The front-mounted USB-A port is not for data transfer, being merely USB 2.0 that manages just 480MBps, but the three USB-A ports at the back are USB 3.2 and are racy at 10Gbps each.

The lack of a display port might confuse some buyers, but this is the way most docking stations are built these days.

Instead of an HDMI or DisplayPort connector, you use the TB4 ports to attach external displays.

You can connect these directly to a display that has a USB-C port or use an adapter for other monitors; for example, a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter. The only Thunderbolt 4 docking station we’ve seen with actual display ports is the Anker Apex Thunderbolt 4 Dock.

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Razer is a popular hardware manufacturer for hardcore gaming and esports players.

Its Chroma RGB proprietary RGB lighting technology lights up when in use, so its users probably work and play mostly in the dark to take full advantage of the changing colours coming from their glowing Razer PCs, laptops and peripherals.

The Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock Chroma is a fully fledged docking station with 10 ports, including the latest Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 connectivity standards.

Use it to instantly add these ports to your laptop so you can have a full desktop experience with your portable computer.

Specs and features
• One upstream Thunderbolt 4 port (40Gbps, 90W) • Three Thunderbolt 4 ports (40Gbps) • Three USB-A ports (10Gbps) • Gigabit Ethernet • UHS-II SD Card reader (320MBps) • 3.5mm audio jack • 135W power supply

The Razer Thunderbolt 4 Dock has one upstream Thunderbolt 4/USB4 port to connect to your computer, and three downstream Thunderbolt 4/USB4 ports to connect other devices, including external displays.

These are rated at Thunderbolt 4’s 40Gbps bandwidth and can charge devices at 15W each. The upstream port can charge a connected laptop at up to 90W, which is enough for most large laptops.

You can connect displays directly if they have a USB-C connection. Otherwise, you’ll require either a USB-C-to-HDMI or USB-C-to-DisplayPort adapter (not included) to connect to the TB4 ports.

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