GeoBook 2E: My Review

Around a month ago I saw a laptop for sale on Amazon called the GeoBook 2E and due to the price, I decided to pick one up purely so I could have a spare machine in case I ever needed one I have to say I am not disappointed with it. Quick information before I go into the review it came with Windows 10 and I did install Windows 11 but I wiped it and put ZorinOS on and my review is based on using that operating system.

Design and Build Quality

Surprisingly the box that it came in looks quite nice and comes with the manuals and a plug which plugs into a DC port but you can power (and charge) the laptop using a USB-C cable which is the route I went with as I like to keep my devices in a charging dock overnight.

Taking the GeoBook 2E out of the box you will see that it is very thin and while the design of the laptop looks nice you will find the laptop seems to be cheaply built. There is no real weight to the laptop and the case attracts fingerprints and damages easily. The material of the GeoBook 2E seems to be plastic but with mild heavy usage, I can’t see any physical damage or anything that would impact the usage of the laptop.

Display

The display on the GeoBook 2E is a mixed bag but comes with a 12.5″ screen. The resolution of the laptop is very low for modern standards and comes at a 1366 x 768. You won’t be watching any videos in 1080p quality. The display itself is quite sharp and does get quite bright but it isn’t something you will be able to use with the sun glaring on the screen.

I am unable to comment about how accurate the colours of the screen are but I can tell you that I wouldn’t trust it if you need it to be perfect but I can tell you something annoying and that is the GeoBook 2E I have has an annoying blue hue on display. While it isn’t noticeable after a short while most people who posted a review about the GeoBook 2E have commented the same and it isn’t the blue light filter that some people suggest it is.

The viewing angle isn’t that great but there is no real problem with someone watching the screen sitting next to you. I have watched YouTube and Netflix on the laptop and I had no real issues watching nor have any complaints that wouldn’t just be nitpicking to the extreme.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The GeoBook 2E’s keyboard isn’t bad. I installed Visual Studio Code and could spend a few hours coding without any major issues beyond the keys feeling in the wrong place but that happens with every new keyboard you use. The keys do feel mushy when typing and it is not something I would recommend for gaming (although saying that I wouldn’t recommend the laptop for that anyway but more on that later).

The mousepad works fine and I was able to click things around with no issues and could change the settings if needed. It was right enough to play OpenRA for a while but other than that it is your standard mousepad so I have no real comments.

Performance

While it is nice having a style-ish laptop, a meh keyboard and an alright mouse it is time to discuss just how powerful the laptop is. To start with let us look at the specs that matter.

• Intel® Celeron® N3450 Processor (1.1GHz, Quad Core, 2MB L2 Cache)
• 4GB LPDDR4 Integrated
• Intel® HD Graphics 500

As you can tell from the processor it is not that powerful and you will not be watching games on it. You will be able to browse the Internet, do office-related stuff on it and do very light gaming such as emulation but beyond that, you will not get much out of it. The graphics aren’t that great either but it is on-board graphics, what do you expect?

The RAM has 4GB in it and that is enough for your day-to-day usage when it comes to browsing the web and word processing (such as writing this review), you honestly won’t have many issues. I would not recommend it for gaming but for some light browser games and old-generation emulators ran right and I got a chance to try Final Fantasy VI T-Edition (which may, or may not be the next Playing Games with Snat after Final Fantasy XIII and VII is done) and it ran alright.

Battery Life

One of the good things I like about this laptop is the battery life and that it uses USB-C to charge (although it does come with a plug). For normal usage with a web browser, I got around five hours before I had to charge it up which is pretty good in my opinion.

When the battery is charged it uses about 4.2W according to my USB-C cable and more when it is charging. It supports PD and when I put it on charge it used 17W while the device was turned off. When using the device with its charging it uses around 24W.

Connectivity

The laptop comes with quite a few connectivity options. First, you have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi although sadly no ethernet. I am not surprised at this due to how thin it is but it would have been nice to have seen people that might be using this laptop in an office.

You have a couple of USB options including USB-C which accepts charging so you do not need to use the plug that came with it if you prefer something else. You have a micro HDMI which I did not test but I would assume it will allow you to load things up on a second screen and you have a headphone jack. For extra storage, you can put in a micro SD and while I haven’t tested the write speed it works well enough for every day to day stuff.

Software and User Experience

The only thing that comes preinstalled is Windows 10 and I had a mess around with it and it worked well enough although I installed ZorinOS. There is not much to say about Windows as everyone has likely used it by now and knows what you get.

Price and Value

This is now where I think this laptop works and that is because it is only £100. For £100 you get a laptop that can easily do day-to-day stuff. This is a laptop that is ideal for educational stuff or most general office work if you need one for home.

At this price, it is also useful to have as a spare device for friends and family when they pop around. Seriously at this price, it is worth what you get and more so when you think you would spend around the same to get an alright tablet.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Join the discussion

What are your thoughts on budget laptops like the GeoBook 2E? Do you think they offer good value for their price, or do you believe investing more in a higher-end device is worth it in the long run? Share your experiences and opinions in the comments below!