• expired

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook i5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD $647 + Delivery ($0 to Metro Areas/ C&C/ in-Store) @ Officeworks

140

Just bought this from my local JB HiFi using a price match. They texted me a link to do the purchase and I was able to apply my $10 JB Perks voucher, so paid $637. Previous best priced Ozbargain deal on this was $699. Note that this is the "5i" (i5 processor), not the older "5" (i3 processor) version.

Update - Have marked as Expired. OW Price is now $897. Same as Amazon. Arrow Computers has it for $699 (plus $30 del / free pickup if you're in WA) so there is possibly the opportunity for an OW price beat to $665/ $693. However, it does indicate packaging damage in the fine print - so OW may not do a price beat.

Related Stores

Officeworks
Officeworks

closed Comments

  • +4

    These are really really good machines, my wife has one and it's very powerful. It feels crazy fast and battery life is good too. The speakers are great, the screen is good but could be a bit brighter, but she doesn't seem to mind.

    Highly recommend this machine.

    • Great to know. Thanks.

  • This would be good, but the price is getting near to Windows machines…

    • -2

      Judging by some previous OzBargain posts i5, 8gb RAM Windows machines are considered deals at over $900.

      • Disagree, although some people hate Acer, there's some ridiculous 11th gen or so Intel Acer Swifts for $800ish or less on sale. If $900+ is a bargain then Ozbargain has lost it

    • If a Surface Pro is considered a Windows machine then this was sub $900 and could be had for close to $700 for those who got it with 10% education discount plus Amex $100 statement credit offer.
      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/704255

  • +3

    This is the first time I've looked at a Chromebook deal and my gut reaction isn't, gee that looks under-specced for the price.

    • +1

      Windows under-specced = Chromebook over-specced.

  • i got so confused with the title with 5i and i5

    • Then you should try this free dyslexia test

      • OP is making me confused….

        here's the spec:

        Intel Core i5-10210U

        this is a good deal… i have the same unit with a 128gb ssd

        its the smoothest chrome experience youre going to have for the money

  • how to install windows for it????

    • +1

      It's very easy

      • it is? i'd love to see a way

        chrome isnt for me

        • +1

          I was being sarcastic just like I thought Giga was

    • Pretty easy, you can also install MacOS on it too. It’s all over on YouTube.

  • +1

    I wish Lenovo would make the model numbering as easy as OP claims. I have two variants of the Flex 5i Chromebook, one is the 5i with 10th gen i3 and the other is the 5i with 10th gen i5. Both are quite good, but the i5 is much better, mostly because of the bigger SSD. Sold out on Lenovo, I think because Intel has deprecated the 10th gen CPUs, but pics are still up there. https://www.lenovo.com/au/en/laptops/lenovo/chromebooks/Idea…
    I think Lenovo is also reusing the Flex 5i name with 12th gen CPUs, but has anyone seen a Chromebook with one IRL? I suspect it may be one of Lenovo's unobtainable SKUs. https://chromeunboxed.com/lenovo-debuts-11-inch-chromebook-d…

  • The hinge on these things is disgraceful. My girl has one, a year old now, and the hinge is only attached on one side. Puts strain on bottom right of screen and cracks the glass. Check out reviews on Amazon. Search Google. For a laptop that is supposed to flip open its a bit crap.

    • +1

      @Drj55 Rather than complaining here, you should be submitting a warranty complaint to Lenovo!!

    • Had bad right hinge on mine though not bad enough to crack the screen. Put in warranty claim and they swapped out the hinge and the aluminium top cover which was bent because of the bad hinge.

    • +1

      Well you shouldn't let a one year old play with a laptop.

  • Officeworks to appears to have changed to match $647.00

    Thanks excited to try, will be installing Ubuntu if not for me :)

    Bought one delivered
    but very little stock so be quick of cause

    • -1

      Ubuntu? I don't think modern Chromebooks work well with native Linux. But you can run Linux apps under ChromeOS.

      • https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/install-ubuntu-on-chromebook

        What you’ll learn
        How to put your Chromebook into developer mode
        How to install Ubuntu in a chroot on it
        Practical and entertaining uses for Ubuntu on Chromebooks

        • -1

          Yeah, that is several years old. I did a Crouton install back in the day. Do you really have any idea what you are linking?

          • @bargaino: Last update 2021

            I think i'm ok with that

    • The deal posted is for Officeworks at $647 - so they haven't changed their price to $647. The price match I did was with JB HiFi. JB seems to have a lot more stock. They told me they had 5 at my local store - and that there were "lots" at their other stores.

  • BTW I have found that since earlier this year you can now install ChromeOS (or more precisely ChromeOS Flex) on other computers. You aren't able to access the Play Store or install Android apps (which is a recent development for OE Chomebooks). However, there seem to be ways of doing this, by installing ChromeOS Flex through a Linux (Mint) install. I have just tried it as a live USB on a 2013 13-inch Sony Vaio Pro Ultrabook (Core i5, 4gb RAM - about $1,500 at the time) - that my Yr 6 daughter has been using with Windows 10 for a few months (which had already ground to a halt and which I was intending to rebuild with a W10 reinstall). I have had a quick play around with it and it looks great. My daughter has only been using the Google Suite on it anyway, so once she has had a try of it this morning - which I'm sure she'll be really happy with - I am going to install it. No need to waste time reinstalling W10 and rebuilding it now. The touchpad and keyboard work perfectly, including the keyboard backlighting, I have tried an external wireless keyboard with it and that works too - so do the camera, speakers and microphone - so I'm really impressed with the hardware compatibility. I have known about Chromebooks for several years, but have never seriously looked into them until now. The one I bought on this deal is for my Y4 son - so now both he and my YR6 daughter will have Chromebooks. I might even look at repurposing an old laptop for my YR1 son too. They really seem ideal for school age kids. I expect the specs on this one should last my son into late high school, or beyond. And ChromeOS is apparently supported for about 8 years on Chromebooks sold after 2020. The fact that ChromeOS needs no real admin maintenance (no managed OS upgrades, antivirus etc) is a great advantage as a parent. I have set up my daughter's as a "child device" - which means I have it linked to FamilyLink, so that I have appropriate parental controls. (And you can apparently install other parental control apps if you wish). I haven't even picked up my son's one from JB HiFi yet, but now I know what to expect - and am really confident this is the right device for him.

  • I see this deal is expired now and have marked it as expired. OW Price is now $897. Same as Amazon. Arrow Computers has it for $699 (plus $30 del / free pickup if you're in WA) so there is possibly the opportunity for an OW price beat to $665. However, it does indicate packaging damage in the fine print - so OW may not do a price beat. Really pleased I snagged this model on this deal.

    Just for information for anyone looking at this deal later for this product, or Chromebooks in general, I can confirm that this model has default access to the Android Play store and Android apps can be installed on it, which is only true of a limited number of Chromebooks.

    For some reason I had issues trying to access the Play Store a week or so ago - the screen just remained blank and the Play Store did not appear - and I then found this model was not listed as running Android Apps on various sites, including this one https://www.chromium.org/chromium-os/chrome-os-systems-suppo…. I was going to write to Google yesterday - as their website clearly shows the Play Store icon on the Flex 5 (128 gb model) and states Play Store Apps can be installed - https://www.google.com/intl/en_au/chromebook/device/lenovo-i…. I read somewhere that child accounts can't install Play Store apps, so I thought that might be an issue as the only account on the machine is my 10-yo son's.

    However, I gave it another go yesterday - and it worked, no problem. The parent simply has to authorise the installation - and has the option of allowing the kid to install any free apps without authorisation. I must say that my 10-yo son is really loving this machine and getting a lot of benefit from it. The Android Apps I installed are times tables apps - as he needs help with that - and he is loving it for his creative writing. Since I converted my old Windows ultrabook to ChromeOS Flex for my 12-yo daughter at the same time I bought this, she is also using it a lot more - and a lot more productively.

    Note that ChromeOS Flex does not have Play Store access. I have seen hacks on the web, but haven't tried, so can't verify anything - and my daughter hasn't had a use for android apps yet. I'm avoiding telling my kids about the app store anyway - as they will no doubt want to install games and social media apps - and I would rather they used these for more productive purposes.

    So far I am really happy with the choice of Chromebooks over Win/ iOS devices for my kids - and with this machine. Interesting that you can apparently run Linux apps too. I'm an experienced Linux user and may look into that out of interest - but I don't see a use case for it for my kids atm.

    BTW - It is important to check the end of support date for any Chromebook you buy. ChromeOS is supported on this model till June 2029 per the official support page - https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/6220366?hl=en#zip…. This can also be checked in the settings - but better to check on the support page before you buy the product.

Login or Join to leave a comment