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Getting a budget laptop is tough. Laptop hunters continue to face fewer choices and much higher prices — and budget notebooks are especially hard to find. In fact, despite the PC boom during the pandemic, it hasn’t gotten any better to find a fully loaded budget notebook. But an Indian startup now claims to figure out the formula to offer notebook priced under Rs 20,000.
I have been testing the Primebook 4G for the last two weeks, and here is my take on one of the most affordable laptops with SIM connectivity in India.
One of the best things about the Primebook is its compact size. It’s an 11-inch laptop, which is super light to carry around. The device has a matte-plastic body, which does attract smudges that can be wiped off with a clean cloth. Even with respect to I/O, I really liked the fact that it comes with a microSD card slot, USB-A, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a SIM card slot. While it comes with a mini HDMI port, I would have loved to see a full-sized HDMI slot.
Again, a device like the ASUS Chromebook Flip priced at Rs 14,990 definitely has better build quality. However, as a whole package, the Primebook 4G definitely stands out.
The laptop has an 11.6-inch 720p HD resolution IPS display, similar to most laptops in this price range. I wasn’t expecting much, but the display is plenty bright enough for indoor usage, and I even liked the slightly punchier colour tuning. While there is nothing much to speak about the speakers, I was glad to find 3.5mm wired earphones in the retail package.
Overall, the 720p display is good for attending online classes and even for watching tutorials on platforms like YouTube. The dedicated USB-A port also enables users to share data with friends and family with ease.
The primary reason to recommend the Primebook 4G over other affordable laptops is the built-in SIM card slot. The Primebook 4G takes micro SIM cards, and one can use a SIM card from Airtel, Jio, and Vi with ease. Jiobook is another similar proposition. However, unlike Primebook 4G, the Jiobook is network-locked.
The Primebook ships with Android-based PrimeOS optimized for mouse and keyboard input. Do note that it comes with its own app store and not the Google Play Store. One can either download apps and games from the built-in app store, or they can also sideload APKs by downloading them from the web.
While it does take a while to load the website and services, once loaded, everything works as expected. Similarly, it also comes with a desktop-class web browser and also supports a faster 5GHz Wi-Fi network along with Bluetooth connectivity. When it comes to connectivity, I didn’t face any issues when connected to my home Wi-Fi network or when I used my Jio SIM card to access the internet (although it did take a while for me to search for the micro SIM card adapter for the nano SIM).
This is also one of the first laptops that I have used where one can make calls and even receive calls, thanks to the MediaTek MT8788 processor. Again, the call quality was okay due to the lacklustre speaker setup.
While the company claims that the Primebook 4G with a 4,000 mAh battery can last for 8 hours, in my experience, the laptop can easily deliver around five and a half to six hours of battery life, which should be pretty good for a student. It also supports fast charging.
Last year, when I reviewed the ASUS Chromebook Flip, it was probably the best-built laptop under the Rs 20,000 price mark. However, the same cannot be said about the Primebook 4G. The device doesn’t feel as well-built as its counterparts. Similarly, unlike most budget laptops that run on ChromeOS, the PrimeOS-powered Primebook mostly feels like a tablet with a keyboard and a trackpad, rather than a laptop.
There is a 2MP web camera; however, the picture quality isn’t that great. Lastly, it uses a proprietary charging port, and there is no USB Type-C port at all. The laptop ships with a two-year-old Android 11-based PrimeOS, and there is no information on future software support. Performance is good enough as long as you open just one app or service. If you try to open more than one, the hardware starts to show its weakness and makes it feel choppy even while doing basic tasks. So, if you are a multi-tasker, this is definitely not the laptop to consider.
The Primebook 4G is definitely meant for school kids and not for college students. While the 4G connectivity won me over, I felt that the product unfinished in some aspects. For someone who wants a compact laptop with a built-in 4G modem, the Primebook 4G is an excellent option. However, for those who already have broadband, there are definitely much better options in the market under Rs 20,000, especially from brands like Asus, Lenovo, and HP.
