Micromax Canvas Lapbook L1160

We’ve covered a wide swathe of the budget Windows 10 laptop segment, right from the RDP Thinbook and Acer Aspire One Cloudbook 11 to the most recent iBall CompBook Exemplaire. Most of the laptops here have essentially the same barebones specifications, with just enough power to run Windows, with the only differentiating factors being build quality and design.

Micromax Canvas Lapbook L1160 design and build
An 11.6-inch laptop has a few distinct advantages, one of them being the compact nature of the device. It’s very light at just 1.1kg so you’ll hardly feel it in your backpack or a handbag. It’s also quite slim when closed, which we really like. The Lapbook is built entirely of plastic but despite that, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the lid has very little flex and the hinge has good torsion so it doesn’t flap about too much in use.

Looking at the laptop, you can tell that Micromax has tried its best to mask the fact that it’s a budget device. The grey lid breaks the monotony of the full-black base. We quite like the texture used here as it doesn’t pick up fingerprints that easily.

There are two USB 2.0 ports, a LAN port, a combo headphones and microphone socket, a full-sized HDMI port, and a microSD card slot. The fit and finish of the chassis could have been better in our opinion. The power button is a bit fiddly and so is the charging socket, which only works when the plug is lined up perfectly. It’s a shame we don’t have a USB 3.0 port, which is sorely missed.

There are no vents underneath or around the hinge area because the SoC used here is typically meant for tablets, so there’s no need for active cooling. The keyboard and palm-rest area are built from a single piece of plastic, to minimise flex while typing. The chiclet keys themselves are quiet and have decent travel, making typing quite comfortable. The trackpad buttons are a bit spongy and they tend to get in the way while typing.

Pros

• Very affordable
• Good battery life
• Compact and lightweight
• Ships with Windows 10

Cons

• Dated SoC
• No USB 3.0 ports
• Build could have been better
• Keyboard feels cramped 

Ratings (Out of 5)

• Design: 3
• Display: 3.5 
• Performance: 2
• Software: 4
• Battery life: 4
• Value for Money: 4.5 
• Overall: 3.5