With the business mindset nurturing at a rapid pace in the masses in recent times, there’s a massive influx of small and big entrepreneurs in the market all around. And with that, there is a huge increase in the demand for laptops and Chromebooks with number pads as well.
Confused??? Let me explain…
For quite an obvious reason, entrepreneurs have to do a lot of math tweaking the spreadsheets for managing their startup/business accounts, costs, revenues, budgets, and so on. And for all this number play, a separate numeric pad installed directly on your keyboard can save a lot of your time as compared to using a calculator or mobile phone.
Apart from that, because Chromebooks are often much cheaper than their laptop counterparts, they are quite gettable for almost anyone.
So no matter if you are a rather penniless student, an employee, or even a businessperson, if you often do a lot of math and counting, a Chromebook with a dedicated Numpad may greatly interest you.
And if yes, here’s a list of the top 6 such machines available in the market that I’ve gathered after hours of hectic research.
Each one on this list offers a full-fledged numeric keypad on its keyboard, a powerful set of hardware, is easy to carry, and yea, most of them come at quite a bargain price. So let’s wait no more and explore them.
1. Acer Chromebook 315 with Num Pad
Talk about Chromebooks and not start with Acer, that’s pretty unfair. The brand has got itself a solid singularity in the market compared to others when it comes to Chromebooks offering galore of great specs for quite nominal price tags. And here’s a live example of that.
Coming at just $200, Acer CB 315 features a spacious 15.6” touch-enabled display with LED-backlit IPS panels making it a breeze to read the screen even in the brightest outdoors. The visuals come out quite stunning as the display boasts a Full HD resolution and gets a bit of favor from the Intel UHD Graphics 600 integrated chip as well.
On the techy side, the laptop takes in quite an entry-level processor and I feel the company has been pretty tightwad with the memory and storage options too.
The dual-core dual-threaded Intel Celeron N4000 CPU normally clocks at 1.10 GHz but has a capacity of bursting up to 2.6 GHz.
The onboard 4GB RAM also seems quite below-par but what’s impressive, at least for me, is that it flaunts the energy-efficient LPDDR4 technology. So a bit heavy multitasking may be sluggish but that’s surely less energy-intense.
And finally, the installed storage here is 32GB eMMC.
Well, I wish these figures were somewhat better, but it’s still some get-back by Acer in these times of high inflation.
The laptop, not to mention, comes with Chrome OS featuring a galore of exciting features like in-built malware defense, automatic updates, access to all Google products, and services, and whatnot. And you also get up to 100GB of Google Drive space for backups.
If you ask me, what I love the most about this laptop is its MacBook-like sleek, silver-colored, metallic body with a sandblasted finish. It really adds to your personality.
To speak about the real deal i.e. the keyboard, I’d say it’s fine. It’s not backlit and rather lifeless but yea, there’s a complete numeric keypad sitting there to the right. So you’ve still got the job done.
On Acer 315 Chromebook, be assured that you can work for almost 8 to 10 hours nonstop, on average, on one charge.
Lastly, on this laptop, you get to see an extensive connectivity base comprising multiple USB-C and USB 3.1 ports accompanied by Wi-Fi 5 + Bluetooth 5 for snappy wireless hookups.
Features:
- 15.6” FHD (1920 x 1080 px), IPS, and LED-backlit Touchscreen
- Dual-core Intel Celeron N4000 Processor
- 4GB LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB eMMC Storage
- 2 multifunctional USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 ports, 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, microSD slot, and Kensington lock slot
- 3-cell Li-Ion battery with 9+ hours one-charge stand
- 3.6 pounds
Pros:
- Exceptional display quality with touch support
- Superb battery stand
- Great sound quality
- Lavish USB base
Cons:
- No backlit keyboard
2. Lenovo Chromebook C340 Laptop
Lenovo is making it really tough for other brands to practice monopoly in any area; so it’s not staying any little behind Acer in this Chromebook stretch of laptops.
Having said that, from my personal experience with Lenovo’s CB C340, I must say, if I’ve to ever buy a Chromebook again, I won’t think twice to get this one over anything else available in the market for the same bucks.
Well, if you’ve read the previous review, you’ll now understand why I’m saying that.
For quite a meek rise in the price, Lenovo is offering almost twice the hardware power of Acer CB 315 in the form of an 8th Gen Intel Core i3-8130U processor and 64GB storage – these figures can easily battle out any offer for this price point.
The CPU comprises a total of 2 cores and 4 threads and has a base speed of 2.2 GHz which can easily go past 3 GHz – courtesy of Intel Turbo Boost.
And these gaming-machine-like figures make it just gulp all your more than moderate multitasking.
With twice the amount of storage, you can easily store more and push things to extra snappiness. Plus, being partnered with a big boy, the installed 4GB RAM would also be quite more effective here.
Anyways, except for the RAM and maybe the wired connectivity base (as the USB slots have been reduced here), this Lenovo Chromebook with number pad hits it all straight on the money – if you compare its hardware to the asking price.
Coming to the display department, here again, it’s a 15.6 inched touch-enabled IPS panel with FHD (1920 X 1080 px) display resolution. The narrow bezels all around make the screen consume large amounts of content and offer more room for comfortable viewing.
I just loved the 360-degree-flip-and-fold design of this laptop for I could easily turn it into a tablet anytime, anywhere required. But you know what, playing with all its three forms: laptop, tent, and tablet – is quite some fun!
I’ve had no issues whatsoever with the hinges. They always seemed just fluid, partly maybe because I used to be too careful with them, but ultimately because they are tried, tested, and built for such kind of use.
The keyboard here is quite ergonomic, and I loved the 1.4mm key travel which makes it quite nice and comfortable to type on. The separate numeric pad to the right eases all your math and counting as well.
Features:
- 8th Gen Intel Core i3-8130U Dual-core CPU with 3.4 GHz max burst
- 15.6” IPS-level Touchscreen
- Integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 support
- 4GB DDR4 RAM and 64GB Flash eMMC SSD
- > 8hr average battery stand
Pros:
- Stalwart CPU and ample storage
- 360-degree foldable – laptop cum tablet
- Smooth and strong mix-material build
Cons:
- Bit heavy
- No keyboard backlighting
3. HP Chromebook 15.6 with Numeric Pad
HP is also having a fair share of products in the Chromebooks market now; however, I believe the brand is putting quite unfair prices on its products. Just look at this one, for example – tagged at over $800.
Well, this laptop is quite a mix of the specs of the previous two. A quick peek under the hood shows this Chromebook carries the same CPU and graphics chip as Lenovo C340 i.e. Core i3-8130U CPU accompanied by the same Intel UHD 620 integrated graphics.
The pre-loaded storage on this Chromebook is, though, 128GB, I’m not at all impressed by HP. That’s because the storage is still eMMC, not the faster SSD, and the company is charging 800+ but still giving away only 4GB of RAM aboard!
I think this is totally offensive and HP should ideally have installed at least 8GB of memory here accompanied by a faster SSD chip.
Anyways, I’m sure that investment is going into other things like the laptop’s keyboard, audio/sound quality, and its overall build.
For instance, while most of the Chromebooks in the market still look a bit boring, this HP Chromebook with number pad with its two-toned metallic build is a complete exception. The Ceramic White upper hood connected to the Cloud Blue/Platinum deck via a round, inward-arched single hinge here makes the laptop look elegantly beautiful.
And despite having an all-metal being, the laptop weighs around 3.7 lbs only.
The full-sized keyboard on the sandblasted Cloud Blue hood looks so fancy with the awesomeness going manifold when the backlight comes up. So you’ve got no worry about working in zero-lights either. The touchpad is quite elongated with more room for extended hovers.
Plus, looking at the pretty sound grill on the deck, just above the keyboard, emitting the marvelous Bang & Olufsen dual-speaker sounds, I could say this Chromebook is fairly a partying gimmick as well.
Its 15.6-inches diagonal display boasts touch support and has Full HD as the native resolution. Although the screen covers only 64% of the sRGB color gamut, the 247-nits brightness makes it give off rather bright and vivid visuals.
The battery inside the HP CB 15 is phenomenal, at least for a Chromebook, and ensures around/over 8 hours of nonstop internet surfing or video chatting – thanks to the 720p Webcam.
Finally, the Chromebook has a couple of USB Type-C ports, one simple 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, a microSD slot, a headphone/microphone jack, and a Kensington lock slot as well.
Features:
- Dual-core Intel Core i3-8130U Processor
- 15.6” FHD, Nano-edged, WLED-backlit Touchscreen
- 4GB RAM and 128GB eMMC
- 802.11b/g/n/ac dual-band Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2
- Two-toned Metallic build – 3.7 lbs
Pros:
- Powerful processor
- Comparatively massive storage
- Beautiful backlit keyboard
- Splendid battery
Cons:
- Less amount of RAM
- Dull screen’s touch response
4. Latest Flagship Acer Chromebook with Number Pad
Acer is hitting the block again, but this time, I believe it’s going quite a bit pricey for the specs. However, you can think of it as an upgrade to the previously reviewed Acer Chromebook (the 1st review above).
Performance-wise, this one is giving out nothing as such new or elite but one of the same Intel Gemini Lake Series processors and 4GB RAM. However, the storage is twofold here.
That said, unlike the previous Celeron N4000 CPU, the N4020 implemented herein has still a bit more capacity to bear the heavy tolls on it as it can rush up to 2.8 GHz of max clocking frequency.
So for the same 2 cores, you get here an increase of up to 200 MHz of speed at the upper extreme for a comparatively faster and smoother performance rendering.
The single-toned silver covering of the laptop makes it look quite minimalistic yet beautiful. And the metallic-brushed surface with diamond-cut front and back bottom of the lower clamshell adds more to its elegance.
However, I feel the 4.1 pounds of weight may still be felt like a little damage to that elegance.
What I loved the most about this Chromebook is its extremely narrow screen bezels making this 15.6” panel look like something around 17, 18”. And because it’s a touchscreen, working on such a big surface using your fingers feels quite some royal thing.
Also, be assured that you can use the laptop in direct sunlight too, as the screen is glare-free and displays solid brightness.
The keyboard on this Chromebook always seemed quite frail and flimsy to me, but because I didn’t have as such a typing job, I had no problem with that.
But I must say, for accountants like me who work a lot on spreadsheets and do math often, the dedicated number pad here can be the best thing to ever happen to them.
You don’t have to worry about having the power adapter packed with you 24/7 as well. The battery, when I would use the laptop nonstop for 8 – 9hr at my office, would still easily last for one complete working day.
So the battery is at least never gonna be the reason you’ll get over this machine.
Features:
- Large 15.6” Full HD, IPS, Touchscreen panel with ultra-narrow bezels
- Intel Celeron N4020 Dual-core CPU – 1.1 GHz base and 2.8 GHz max speed
- Integrated Intel UHD Graphics
- 4GB DDR4 SDRAM and 64GB eMMC
- 10+ hour avg one-charge battery stand
- 2 USB-C, 2 USB-A 3.1 Gen 1, 1 microSD slot + Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth
Pros:
- Spacious screen with solid colors
- Good hardware
- Excellent touch response
- Exceptional battery
- Include add-on accessories
Cons:
- Weak sound volume
- Flimsy non-backlit keyboard
5. Acer Chromebook 715 Full HD Laptop with Number Pad
Another Acer Chromebook with number pad and Acer’s dominance over the list continues. Chromebook 715 by Acer is one of the members of the premium class of Chromebooks that offer powerful performance in a MIL-SPEC-810G tested superbly-durable, yet pretty lightweight (4.3 lbs), all-aluminum chassis.
You know what, Acer CB 715 is oftentimes referred to as the world’s first Chromebook to feature a full-fledged num pad on its keyboard.
Well, Acer CB 715 is available in multiple variants with different specs and prices, but the one I’m reviewing here, I believe, hits that exact sweet spot between the price, looks, and performance.
This Chromebook takes in the same i3-8130U 8th Gen CPU as that in Lenovo C340 and HP CB 15 (2nd and 3rd reviews, respectively). The processor boasts two cores, four threads, and up to 3.4 GHz of max clocking capacity taking up all mid-to-mildly-high-range performances like a boss.
This 3+ GHz-roaring CPU combined with 128 GB of eMMC storage is more than enough to cruise you through multiple tasks at once without any slowdowns. And if the system still feels any hiccups, the onboard 4GB RAM is there to help out.
Apart from that, I’m totally disappointed with what Acer has done in the display department here. The 15.6” display not only has quite noticeable dark slate-gray bezels but also demos rather mediocre visuals despite boasting a Full HD (1920 x 1080 px) display resolution.
The colors, vividness, and sharpness, everything is noticeably off the mark with only 63% sRGB gamut coverage, and the trivial 230-nit brightness is making it even duller.
Anyways, the island-style keyboard on this laptop is fairly ergonomic, needless to say, the separate numeric pad on the right eases a lot of your math and calculations. The keyboard on this variant has no backlight – but you can go with the premium model if you want that.
The Gorilla-glass trackpad you get here is exceptionally lucid and equally smooth-n-sound is the laptop’s wireless connectivity – courtesy of the speedy Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 combo.
As regards the battery performance, I believe it’s superbly efficient. I’d see my colleague use his Acer CB 715 all day long and still go with > 30% of battery juice after we’d off. So I believe the battery fairly has a one-charge stand of over 10 hours.
Rest, all the investment on this laptop, I believe, goes just into the premium build at a perfect ratio with the coolest of the designs.
Features:
- 8th Gen Core i3-8130U CPU with Intel integrated Graphics
- 15.6” Full HD, LED-backlit, IPS panel
- 4GB DDR4 RAM and 128GB eMMC
- 2 multifunctional USB-C, 1 USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 port, and more
- 4-cell Li-Ion battery with 10+ hour stand
Pros:
- Super-sturdy military-grade build
- Cool all-aluminum one-toned chassis
- Outstanding battery
- Fine hardware – especially CPU and storage
Cons:
- Mediocre quality non-touch display
- Poor sound
6. Asus Chromebook 17 with Number Pad
This list would have been incomplete without the honorable mention of another big fish in the market – ASUS. So presenting you my next pick from Asus’s arena.
But you know what, before listing this laptop here, I had to do a heck of research just to make sure this offer isn’t a steal. Steal? Why? Well, keep reading to understand.
Asus Chromebook 17 is a gigantic 17.3-inched laptop running at easy-to-use Chrome OS and boasting all the Chrome OS features like booting up in seconds, having built-in virus defense, and much more.
Looking beneath the hood, I found that this machine also incorporates the most up-to-date Intel’s Gemini Lake N-series processors i.e. Celeron N4500 – one of the 6 latest launches in the market in 2021.
This dual-core, dual-threaded CPU with 4 MB L3 Cache runs at a trivial 1.1 GHz in normal circumstances but is capable of the cycle-frequency-burst of up to 2.8 GHz for demanding tasks. Besides, you get 32GB of eMMC storage and 4GB of DDR4 RAM for a higher altogether system efficiency.
The one-toned silver-colored forged aluminum chassis at 0.78” thickness with a completely black keyboard sitting in the middle of the deck feels so cool and svelte. And the minimalism in the laptop design makes it even more professional.
One thing I hate about the keyboard is that the stick-on letters on the buttons, I don’t know why but I feel, are small and not so easily readable. So not sure, but I think you, maybe, need to get large-lettered stick-on covers for the keys some day after the purchase.
Otherwise, it’s quite comfortable to type on this full-sized keyboard with the separate num pad making it yet another plus.
The diagonal 17.3” display doles out visuals at 1920 x 1080px resolution, and the LED backlighting makes it fairly bright and easy to read.
You also get here a fair share of USB slots including a couple of USB Type-C and two USB Type-A ports for subtle wired connectivity, a microSD slot for add-on storage, and a Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth for wireless hookups.
Features:
- Intel Celeron N4500 Dual-core CPU
- Integrated Intel HD Graphics 5000
- 17.3” FHD, LED-backlit display
- 4GB DDR4 RAM and 32GB eMMC
- Up to 15+ hours of battery life
- Metallic build with 5.3 lbs weight
Pros:
- Peerless battery performance
- Extra-wide display
- Great hardware for the price
- Speedy Wi-Fi 6
- Multifunctional and brisk USB-C support
Cons:
- Not easily portable
- Poor keyboard readability
Conclusion
Chromebooks with number pads have been one of the top-of-the-line demands in the computer market for quite some time now. The rising demand for Chromebooks is obvious considering their rather low prices, high portability, lots of add-in modern-day features, and more.
But why has the demand for number pads to be installed on a Chromebook so much increased? Have people finally started loving math? Jokes aside, that seems pretty impossible to me.
Well, it may be because the involvement of numerals today has increased more than ever with a lot of numerists far and wide. For example, coders, programmers, entrepreneurs, accountants, freelancers, etc.
All these and many more professionals love playing in numbers more than most of us love our studies.
So because they need separate calculators or cell phones for all the math they do each minute, a dedicated number pad directly on the keyboard of their laptops significantly interests them.
And having all these numerists in mind, I’ve listed above the top 6 Chromebooks with dedicated numeric pads on their keyboards available in the market.
However, if you still can’t figure out as to which one is the ultimate best for you out of these final six, I recommend getting a closer look at Lenovo C340. I’ve used it myself so I know how good a machine it is.
Other than that, if you’re fond of great looks, you can consider Acer Chromebook 715. Or if you want a mighty 17” screen, check out the super-budget-friendly Asus Chromebook 17.
Go up, read all the reviews, and I’m sure you won’t go empty-handed from here!