The Dell Chromebook 11 (Intel Core i3) ($379 as tested) is the latest in a string of new Chromebooks that push the envelope of what the inexpensive Chrome-OS-based laptops can be, remixing the basic Web-connected laptops with new features and unique capabilities. As the name implies, the Chromebook 11 (Intel Core i3) boasts an Intel Core i3 processor, a big step up from the Intel Celeron and Samsung Xynos processors that have populated the category thus far. It's not the first—the Acer C720 Chromebook (C720-3404) also offers a Core i3-powered Chromebook—but it is another in a rapidly evolving category.

Design and Features
The Chromebook 11 (Intel Core i3) looks just like the Dell Chromebook 11 we reviewed last year, with the same 8-by-12-by-0.9-inch (HWD) chassis, dark-charcoal color, and plastic construction. The only hint that anything is different is the small blue Intel sticker on the palm rest, which indicates that this particular Chromebook boasts an Intel Core i3 processor.

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The overall design is nice, weighing just 2.84 pounds and being sized perfectly to slip into a backpack or laptop bag. The 11.6-inch display offers basic 1,366-by-768 resolution, which is a little disappointing considering the 1080p displays that are offered on the HP Chromebook 11 (Verizon LTE) and the Toshiba CB35-B3340 Chromebook 2, but for any screen smaller than 12 inches, it's perfectly acceptable.

The system has a tile keyboard, with a layout optimized for Chrome. The function keys are all tied to specific Chrome functions, indicated by icons; the Caps Lock key is replaced with a dedicated search button, and there is no Windows key or Chrome equivalent. The keyboard is on the small side (understandable on an 11-inch device), but otherwise is pretty good, with good spacing between keys, and firm typing response. The touchpad is equally solid, supporting Chrome gesture controls like two-finger clicking for right-click and two-finger scrolling.

The port selection, identical to that of the last iteration, is healthy. There are a full-size HDMI port, an SD card slot, and two USB 3.0 ports. Dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi provides the wireless connectivity you need. The SD card slot is nice in that it allows the card to be fully inserted into the system. In some competing Chromebooks, like the HP Chromebook 11, the card reader is only half as deep, leaving half of the memory card protruding from the side of the system, just waiting to be snagged on some loose clothing or have a heavy object set on it by accident.

As a Chromebook, the system uses the Google Chrome operating system. For a Windows based alternative in the same price range, consider something like the HP Stream 11 (11-d020nr). The Chromebook 11 has a 16GB solid-state drive (SSD) for downloads and offline apps and documents, but that's not the only storage you have available. Included with the system is 100GB of free G-Drive cloud storage from Google (free for two years). Dell covers the laptop with a one-year warranty, including mail-in service.

Performance
The big selling point of the new Chromebook 11 is that this system boasts a 1.7GHz Intel Core i3-4005U processor instead of the usual Intel Celeron CPU. It's a change that makes a difference in two ways. First, the price is significantly higher, and that $80 bump is a pretty big leap when looking at a budget-friendly system. The second big difference is in performance.

The Intel Core i3 processor offers
some excellent performance, but it's in multitasking and demanding applications where the CPU really makes a difference. The Chrome experience isn't quite the same as on a Windows machine, as there is no locally installed software, and a bump in processor capability doesn't necessarily translate into support for different applications. Instead, because Chrome is so Web-dependant, the basic Web apps and browser plugins that make up the Chrome ecosystem all work exactly as they did, but they may be a bit faster and they will definitely work more smoothly. Most Chromebooks will bog down once you have 10 or 12 tabs open. During testing, I had as many as 24 tabs open, with multiple streaming media services running simultaneously (Grooveshark, Pandora, Youtube, Netflix, and Hulu), and the system kept up just fine.

The other area where Chromebooks often falter is video chat, specifically in Google Hangouts. A Hangout with multiple people can fill your screen with as many as 10 video streams, but most Chromebooks have enough trouble dealing with three or four due to the Celeron and Atom processors they use. Not so with the Chromebook 11 (Intel Core i3). The faster processor not only keeps up, it does so without so much as a hiccup. If you regularly rely on video chat for work, collaboration, or just hanging out with friends, this is the Chromebook to get.

Aside from these specific instances, overall performance was quite good. The system boots in 5 seconds, actually slightly faster than the other Core i3-equipped Chromebook, the Acer C720-3404, which saw boot times between 5 and 7 seconds. Both of these are faster than the already speedy boot times seen on Celeron-powered alternatives, which often range between 8 and 10 seconds.

Although the performance is significantly improved, the battery life doesn't take a hit. The Chromebook 11 (Intel Core i3) lasted 9 hours even in our battery rundown test, a mere 8 minutes behind its previous iteration. That's significantly longer than the HP Chromebook 11 (Verizon LTE), which lasted only 5:31, and ahead of the Acer C720-3404 (7:05). It's not the leader for the category, however, as others have outlasted it by a significant margin. The Asus C200 Chromebook, for example, lasted 11:14. And if you're considering a Windows system in the same general price range, the HP Stream 11 lasted 9:23.

Conclusion
The Dell Chromebook 11 (Intel Core i3) is definitely a step up from the previous Dell Chromebook 11, thanks to the switch to an Intel Core i3 processor, but the improved performance is comes with an uptick in cost. In a category where competing systems frequently sell for under $300, the Dell Chromebook 11 (Intel Core i3) comes at a pretty steep price. And while the more powerful processor does offer smoother, faster performance, the extra power will actually be overkill for most Chrome users. Our Editors' Choice remains the HP Chromebook 11 (Verizon LTE) for its unique offering of wireless broadband and a higher-quality In-Plane Switch (IPS) display, all for $80 less.