The HP Stream is a strong alternative to Google's Chromebook. It features solid performance, quality DTS speakers, and a comfortable keyboard in a fun, stylish chassis. Even better, the $200 notebook is currently on sale for $189.99.
The Stream is one of the most affordable Windows laptops we've tested. Like its Chrome-powered rivals, it's designed for cloud-based computing.
The laptop's 11-inch display offers 1366 x 768 resolution and can display 64.2 percent of the sRGB color gamut (close to 100 is best). It's not the best of screens, but it's good enough to pick out details in a hi-def movie. Its speakers, on the other hand, are great for a notebook in this price range. It registered 90 decibels in our audio test, which is higher than the 84 dB average for ultraportables.
In terms of hardware, the Stream 11 packs a 1.6-GHz Intel Celeron N3060 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 32GB hard drive. That's decent for casual computing and everyday tasks; we found the machine to be responsive, and it can smoothly stream an HD video while having multiple browser tabs open.
Whether you're a cash-strapped student in need of a budget laptop for the classroom or looking for a new coffee table laptop for all of your browsing needs, the HP Stream delivers a respectable punch for just $189.99.
