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Aging Busta Rhymes witticisms aside, this new Lenovo might just be a contender for anyone on the lookout for a versatile Windows 8.1 machine. The Flex 10 is a 10-inch version of the Flex 14 and 15 models we've already seen, with the same 1,366 x 768 resolution and 10-point touch panel, but with a Bay Trail Pentium or Celeron processor instead of Haswell. It's a sort of half-way house between a fanless hybrid and a full-wattage laptop, and in some ways it offers the worst of both worlds -- for example, the base model provides a battery life of just four hours but has a relatively stocky weight of 2.6 pounds (1.2kg). On the other hand, the Flex 10 should run Microsoft Office and other productivity software at a faster clip than mobile-class machines like the Miix 10 or Miix2. Plus, it allows the screen to be flipped back 300 degrees into a "stand" mode, likely without costing as much as a Core i3-powered Yoga 11S -- assuming the unconfirmed starting price of $550 proves to be accurate. Lenovo has a habit of adding products to its website before releasing full pricing and availability, so we'll update this post when we learn more. (Woo Hah!)
Source: Lenovo
Acer gave its Chromebook line a welcome tune-up when it launched the Haswell-based C720, but the $250 starting price was no doubt disappointing to those who wanted the C7's $200 entry point. The company is accommodating those spendthrifts today with its $200 C720-2848 variant. The only sacrifice is a lower 2GB of RAM; owners still get a 1.4GHz Celeron processor, a 16GB solid-state drive and that vaunted 8.5 hours of battery life. Should you want to save a cool $50, or are just frustrated that you can't buy a Chromebook 11, you can pick up the new C720 today from Amazon or Best Buy.
Acer, Amazon
